Description

A manuscript in German language is a modified transcription of a theatre play, written by a Viennese female author Marie Gordon (1810-1862).  

Marie Gordon was a Viennese female author of mostly theatre pieces, who was publishing under the name Alexander Bergen.  A young widow, who was fluent in German, English and French, translated in 13 years circa 60 plays and wrote a series of her own texts, some of which were published only after her death. 

Our play is a version of Gordon’s play Der Mord in der Kohlmessergasse, first published in 1860 (https://books.google.de/books?id=FiV8lyU4lQkC&pg=PA6&dq=Mord+in+der+Kohlenbrenner+ Gasse++Langer&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5jvuAn7zjAhUV4KYKHfX8DcgQ6AEIKTAA# v=onepage&q=Kohlenbrenner&f=false ), but with modified title (Kohlmessergasse was a street in Vienna and would not have any meaning to non-Viennese inhabitants) and added text on the end. The author’s name, which reads Langer instead of Bergen suggests, the text was copied after another manuscript, as in German cursive Gothic script the two names would look similar.

The farce was popular at the time in village theatres and folk’s fests. A play with our version of the title was recorded in February at the Carnival in Ansbach, Bavaria, and was described by the local newspaper as exceedingly funny (“urkomisch”), well received and its humour kept the audience laughing hours after the end (Sonntags-Beigabe der Fränkischen Zeitung (Ansbacher Morgenblatt), No. 9, Sonntag, den 2. März 1873).  

Our version was probably made for one of such folk’s fests or for a local theatre.