entered in the visitors' book of Hugo and Lily Steiner, first occupants of the celebrated "Haus Steiner" in Vienna, designed in 1910 by Adolf Loos,

1) the quotations contained on a single page and comprising, in order, by ANTON WEBERN, two bars, on two hand-drawn staves, from the opening of the third piece of Six Pieces for Orchestra, Op.6, signed and dated "Anton v. Webern 27 III. 1913"--ALBAN BERG, the opening two bars of the vocal part from the fifth number of Five Orchestral Songs on Picture-Postcard Texts by Peter Altenberg, Op. 4, signed "Alban Berg"-- ARNOLD SCHOENBERG, three bars, on a single hand-drawn stave, of the theme at fig.21 from the Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9, signed and dated "Arnold Schoenberg 27/3 1913")



2) the volume also containing over 550 other signatures and inscriptions, including by EGON SCHIELE (his 'block' signature dated 1918) and Edith Schiele, Peter Altenberg, Adolf Loos (signed at the beginning of the book, and also inscribed later, in January 1933), Karl Kraus, Josef Frank, George Besson, Marcel Ray, Karl Nierendorf, Otto Benesch, Heinrich and Anna Benesch



c.87 inscribed pages in all, plus blanks, 8vo (20.4 x 12.5cm), stamps to front paste-down ("Nachlass Otto und Eva Benesch Unveräusserlich Unentlehnbar"), two watercolours by O. Laska, original red morocco, metal clasps, Vienna, c.1910-1933, a few pages excised, one clasp lacking, light wear to binding

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

THIS IS A REMARKABLE ALBUM REFLECTING VIENNESE CULTURE IN 1913, JUST BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR I.

The concert given by Webern, Berg and Schoenberg at the Musikverein, Vienna, on 31 March 1913, was the occasion of a celebrated fracas, one of the most scandalous in music history, on a par with the riot which accompanied the premiere of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring a few months later, on 29 May 1913. For the conservative tastes of the Viennese public, the experimental expressionism of the Second Viennese School - as represented that evening by Webern's Op.6, Zemlinsky's Four Orchestral Songs, Op.13 nos.1,2, 3 and 5, Berg's Fünf Orchesterlieder, nach Ansichtkarten-Texten von Peter Altenberg, Op. 4, nos.2 and 3, and Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 - was a musical bridge too far. Fighting broke out in the course of the Berg songs, and the concert was abandoned prematurely before Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, also on the programme, could begin.

Quite aside from the historical nature of its musical contents, the visitors' book is a remarkable document in its own right, recording🍃 as it does the visitors to one of the major buildings of the architect Adolf Loos, considered by some the first completely modern dwelling: the residential house "Haus Steiner", St.-Veit-Gasse 10, in the Unter-Sankt.-Veit district of Vienna. The first occupants of the house, which was built in 1910, were the artist Lily Steiner and her husband Hugo, who moved in 1927 to Paris. Uniting the worlds of architecture, the visual arts and music, the volume provides a remarkable conspectus of Viennese culture at its apogee. Another signature in the volume is that of the noted Austrian art historian, and subsequent owner of the book, Otto Benesch (1896–1964), son of Heinrich Benesch, an important patron of the artist Egon Schiele (also represented here with his famous 'block' signature).