[REVOLUTIONS of 1848] [GERMANY] Anon

Demokratische Thronrede um 22sten Mai 1848 nicht gehalten. Dem demokratische Klubb gewidmet

[Berlin: 1848]: Vereins Buchdruckerei. Broadside, 27cm x 20cm (ca 10-3/4" x 8"). Printed in blackletter on white wove stock. Slightly toned, with old vertical and horizontal fold-lines; creased at margins; Very Good.

Satirical broadside in the form of a fictional speech by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, in which he (ironically) expresses support for the demands made by liberal parliamentarians at the May 18th Parliamentary Assembly in Frankfurt-am-Main. These included expanded rights for the underprivileged classes (including, most importantly, universal male suffrage); attenuation of executive power; the election of a permanent German parliament, and monetary reforms including a unified German currency. The great wave of liberal revolt that washed over the European Continent in 1848 proved short-lived; by 1851, most of the newly-established liberal régimes had been quashed by reactionary movements, with radical leaders either imprisoned, murdered, or driven into exile. Out of this crucible would arise the Franco-Prussian War and the militant Marxist, nihilist, and anarchist movements of later in the century. A highly evocative document of the first wave of German radical revolt. Rare; OCLC and KVK note three locations only, all in Germany.

Price: $450.00

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