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OJ 10/12, [1] - Handwritten letter from Aline Dunn to Schenker, dated February 19, 1931


⇧ 42, Murrayfield Avenue,
E[dinburgh] 19 – II – 31.


Sehr geehrter Herr Doktor, 1

Obgleich ich selbst noch nicht ganz verstehe, was ich Ihnen schreibe, fühle ich, dass ich Ihnen, als einen, den mein Mann so unendlich bewunderte[,] das Unfassbare mitteilen muss.

Mein Mann ist am 4. II. abends um 11 Uhr von einem Auto umgerissen worden u. ohne dass [recte das] {2} Bewusstsein wieder erlangt zu haben im Hospital 11.40. verstorben. 2

Was über mich herumgebrochen ist, ist so furchtbar, dass ich es kaum zu ertragen vermeine. —


Mit stillen Grüssen
Ihre ergebene
[signed:] Aline Petrie Dunn

© Transcription William Drabkin, 2007

⇧ 42, Murrayfield Avenue
Edinburgh, February 19, 1931


Dear Dr. [Schenker], 1

Although I do not myself entirely understand what I am writing to you, I feel that I must communicate the unimaginable to you, being someone for whom my husband had boundless admiration.

On February 4, at 11 o’clock in the evening, my husband was hit by a car and, without {2} regaining consciousness, died in hospital at 11.40. 2

What has befallen me is so frightful that I hardly believe I shall be able to endure it.


With silent greetings,
Your devoted
[signed:] Aline Petrie Dunn

© Translation William Drabkin, 2007

⇧ 42, Murrayfield Avenue,
E[dinburgh] 19 – II – 31.


Sehr geehrter Herr Doktor, 1

Obgleich ich selbst noch nicht ganz verstehe, was ich Ihnen schreibe, fühle ich, dass ich Ihnen, als einen, den mein Mann so unendlich bewunderte[,] das Unfassbare mitteilen muss.

Mein Mann ist am 4. II. abends um 11 Uhr von einem Auto umgerissen worden u. ohne dass [recte das] {2} Bewusstsein wieder erlangt zu haben im Hospital 11.40. verstorben. 2

Was über mich herumgebrochen ist, ist so furchtbar, dass ich es kaum zu ertragen vermeine. —


Mit stillen Grüssen
Ihre ergebene
[signed:] Aline Petrie Dunn

© Transcription William Drabkin, 2007

⇧ 42, Murrayfield Avenue
Edinburgh, February 19, 1931


Dear Dr. [Schenker], 1

Although I do not myself entirely understand what I am writing to you, I feel that I must communicate the unimaginable to you, being someone for whom my husband had boundless admiration.

On February 4, at 11 o’clock in the evening, my husband was hit by a car and, without {2} regaining consciousness, died in hospital at 11.40. 2

What has befallen me is so frightful that I hardly believe I shall be able to endure it.


With silent greetings,
Your devoted
[signed:] Aline Petrie Dunn

© Translation William Drabkin, 2007

Footnotes

1 Receipt of this letter is recorded in Schenker’s diary for February 21, 1931: “Von Frau Dunn (Br.): ihr Gatte sei von einem Auto niedergestoßen worden, er sei tot. Kein Zweifel, daß ich einen ergebenen Gefährten verlor, auf den ich noch hätte hoffen können.” (“From Mrs. Dunn (letter): her husband has been knocked down by a car, and is dead. There can be no doubt that I have lost a devoted companion, from whom I could have hoped for more.”). — This letter was published in English in Heinrich Schenker: Selected Correspondence, ed. Ian Bent, David Bretherton, and William Drabkin (Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press, 2014), p. 452.

2 Schenker’s reply is recorded in his diary for February 23, 1931: “An Frau Dunn (Br.): Beileid.” (“To Mrs. Dunn (letter): Condolences.”).

Commentary

Format
2p letter (Bogen format), red ink on pink paper, holograph salutation, message, valediction, and signature
Provenance
Schenker, Heinrich (document date-1935)--Schenker, Jeanette (1935-c.1942)--Ratz, Erwin (c.1942-c.1955)--Jonas, Oswald (c.1955-1978)--University of California, Riverside (1978-)
Rights Holder
Heirs and representatives of Aline Petrie Dunn; deemed to be in the public domain.
License
All reasonable efforts have been made to identify the heirs of Aline Dunn: this document is assumed to be in the public domain. Any claim to intellectual rights on this document should be addressed to the Schenker Correspondence Project, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, at schenkercorrespondence[at]mus(dot)cam(dot)ac(dot)uk.

Digital version created: 2024-02-03
Last updated: 2010-04-23