WAGNER, Richard. Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft. viii, [2], 233, [1] pp. 8vo., 177 x 111 mm, bound in contemporary half morocco over marbled boards. Leipzig: Otto Wigand, 1850.

First Edition of one of Wagner's major aesthetic tracts, in which ideas of his Dresden period found their first full expression. The basis of his theory is that real art cannot exist until there is a new and free humanity (he then proceeds to rail against the politicians of the day, to whom he attributes all evils). Wagner's "Artwork of the Future" embraces all genres of art (including music, architecture, painting, acting and singing), the fullest exposition being the union of Opera and Drama. Such an art, he maintains, expresses all the faculties of man. The phrase "artwork of the future" soon gave rise to the catchword "music of the future" which was employed by Wagner's numerous critics. Occasional light spotting.

Wagnerian Companion 231.