Hi Marie,
It's nice to hear from you again. I'm sorry to hear about your health and computer problems. I haven't spent much time at the forum lately. It's so hard for me to understand everything in German, and with both you and Volker gone, I finally gave up. It's so nice that Volker is finally back, although unfortunately (for me), it probably won't be for long.
Yes, I did hear back from Prof. Ralph Freedman. This is what he wrote (via e-mail):
My apologies for being so late in answering your question about Rilke's death mask. I'm afraid the answer is not wholly negative but incomplete.
I asked the translator of my Rilke book into German, the curator of all Rilke material in Sierre, Switzerland, Rilke's last residence until just before his death. The mask obviously is part of that material and Curdin Ebneter knows more about Rilke than anyone I know. But it isn't quite clear in this case. Though you'd probably read it in German, I'll quote his answer in my translation in case you don't.
When I asked him about the death mask, all but certain he'd have a definitive answer, he replied:
"Unfortunately not. I believe to have seen a photograph of the death mask in Bern. But it is definitely in Marbach [Deutsches Literaturarchiv nr. Stuttgart] and in the archives of the Insel Verlag [where my photo in the biography came from]."
Curdin Ebneter continues: "I think I remember that Nanny Wunderly-Volkart [Rilke's close friend during the Swiss years] had ordered the mask made. Or was it Werner Reinhart [Rilke's chief supporter in Switzerland]?"
My own advice is to do what I did: Contact the Insel/Suhrkamp Verlag and ask them for any information they can give you about the mask. Their address is: Lindenstr. 27 (or Postfach 101945) , 60019 Frankfurt/M.
Again, apologies for the delay. Sincerely, Ralph Freedman
Because my German is not very good, I have hesitated to pursue the matter any further with Insel Verlag.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! (Frohe Weihnachten!!)
Linda
