Catalogue of the papers of Franz Kafka, 1882-1940

Bodleian Library, University of Oxford

Tim Rogers and Margaret Czepiel

2011

Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts
Bodleian Library
Broad Street
Oxford
OX1 3BG
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 277152
Fax: +44 (0) 1865 277187
E-mail: enquiries.sc@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries/collections

Table of Contents

Introduction
A    Notebooks - Tagebücher and Reisetagebücher, 1909-23
    A.1   Tagebücher, 1909-23
    A.2  Reisetagebücher, 1911-13
B    Notebooks – novels, short stories and fragments, and (MSS. Kafka 29-33) Hebrew vocabularies and exercises, 1911-24
    B.1  ['Der Verschollene'], a novel also known as Amerika, [Sept. 1912-13]
    B.2  Short stories
    B.3  Oktavhefte, 1911-23, mainly 1916-18
    B.4  Short stories, 1915, 1921-2
    B.5   Hebrew notebooks, 1922-3, n.d.
    B.6  Das Schloss, [1922]
    B.7  Short stories, 1922-4
C    Loose leaves, including fragments from Tagebücher, novels, and short stories, 1914-24
D    Letters, 18[82]-1940
    D.1  Letters to Kafka's sister Ottla, 1909-26
    D.2  Family correspondence, with some letters from friends, 18[82]-1940
E    The Schocken gift

Papers of Franz Kafka, 1882-1940

Abstract:
Papers of Franz Kafka (1883-1924) comprising diaries and literary notebooks, with some loose fragments, and some correspondence and photographs, 1882-1924, with some family papers to 1940. Predominantly in German, some correspondence in Czech and vocabularies in Hebrew. Kafka's drawings are also present.

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 1-55

Extent: 55 shelfmarks

Biographical History

Franz Kafka was born on 3 July 1883 in a German-speaking, Jewish family in Prague in the then Austro-Hungarian Empire. Kafka studied at the Charles University in Prague graduating in 1906 with a doctorate in law. He spent most of his legal career in the Worker's Accident Insurance Institute from which he retired earlier on health grounds. He was engaged twice to Felice Bauer, but never married. There were other women in his life, including Milena Jasenska with whom he corresponded extensively and Dora Diamant who was his companion in the last two years of his life. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 41. Kafka is recognised as one of the most infuential writers of the 20th century and a cultural icon. Further information on the author and his works can be found in Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie. 2nd ed. and Dictionary of Literary Biography. Vol. 81: Austrian Fiction Writers, 1875-1913.

Scope and Content

The Bodleian Library holds the majority of Franz Kafka papers. The collection comprises diaries (MSS. Kafka 1-12) and travel diaries (MSS. Kafka 13-14), letters and postcards (MS. Kafka 49-51), aphorisms (MS. Kafka 43), German-Hebrew vocabularies and Hebrew exercises (mainly in MSS. Kafka 29-33), and a small and a small number of photographs (MS. Kafka 55). The literary notebooks include two (out of three) unfinished novels, Das Schloss (The Castle) (MSS. Kafka 34-9) and Der Verschollene (America) (MSS. Kafka 15-17), and short stories: Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis) (MS. Kafka 18A), Das Urteil (The Judgment) (MS. Kafka 6, fols. 15-27) as well as others (in alphabetical order): Ein altes Blatt, Der Bau, Beim Bau der chinesischen Mauer, Ein Bericht für eine Akademie, Das Ehepaar, Elf Söhne, Ein Hungerkünstler, Der Jäger Gracchus, Josefine die Sängerin, Ein Landarzt and others. There are drawings by Kafka (sketches and doodles) in MSS. Kafka 1, 2, 10, 11, 19, 23, 26, 33, 46, 49, and 50 (see the folio references for descriptions).

Custodial History

The history and ownership of the Kafka papers are complex. Although Franz Kafka had asked his life-long friend Max Brod to burn all his manuscripts, Brod took the decision not to do so. For many years, from Kafka's death in 1924, Brod looked after the manuscripts. In 1939 he removed them from Prague to Tel Aviv, and in 1956 sent most of them to Switzerland. The ownership was shared among Kafka's four nieces: Gertrude Kaufmann (the daughter of Kafka's sister Elli) - one third, Marianna Steiner (the daughter of Kafka's sister Valli) - one third, and two other nieces (the daugthers of Kafka's sister Ottla) - one sixth each.

Acquisition

In 1961, Marianna Steiner (acting also on behalf of the other owners) put on deposit in the Bodleian most of the papers listed here. This was done to facilitate the publication of the first critical edition of Kafka's writings under the direction of Sir Malcolm Pasley (see Das Schloss, Kritische Ausgabe, Apparatband, 1982, p. 15). The manuscript of Die Verwandlung (MS. Kafka 18A) was added by Marianna Steiner in August 1969. A box containing letters was deposited by her in 1970. With great generosity, Gertrude Kaufmann bequeathed her share to the Bodleian (1972), and Marianna Steiner hers (2001). A further group of papers was very generously given to the Bodleian by the Schocken family, through Professor Miriam Schocken (and Bodley's American Friends) in 1989 – now MSS. Kafka 52-5.

At present, the majority of the collection is owned jointly by the Library and the children of Ottla's daughters. The letters to Ottla (MSS. Kafka 49-50) were purchased in 2011 jointly by the Bodleian Library and the Deutsches Literaturarchiv in Marbach as part of a collaborative partnership. The Library owns the part of the collection that forms the Schocken gift.

At Marianna Steiner's request, Sir Malcolm Pasley was responsible (on the owners' behalf) for all matters relating to the administration of the papers from 1961. In July 1997 this responsibility was transferred to the Keeper of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library.

Restrictions on Access

Readers needing access to these manuscripts would be asked to consult printed and electronic surrogates in the first instance.

Restrictions on Use

For permission to consult the papers, please make written application to the Keeper of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts, well in advance of a visit.

Preferred Form of Citation

Oxford, Bodleian Library [followed by shelfmark and folio or page reference, e.g. MS. Kafka 1 fols. 1-2].

Bibliographical References

Nearly all the manuscripts have been published in the ongoing Kafka Kritische Ausgabe, ed. Jürgen Born et al., published by S. Fischer Verlag. Stroemfeld Verlag are in the course of publishing facsimiles of the manuscripts, accompanied by diplomatic transcripts and CD-ROMS, ed. Roland Reuß and Peter Staengle.

Arrangement

Most of the Kafka papers now in the Bodleian were listed and assigned numbers by J.M.S. (Sir Malcolm) Pasley in Modern Language Review, vol. 57, no. 1 (Jan. 1962), pp. 53-5 (with a few unpublished passages printed on pp. 55-9). The Kafka Kritische Ausgabe assigned new numbers, mainly in the same order as Pasley's. Neither set of numbers was written on the manuscripts themselves, but are referred to in the present catalogue. The Kritische Ausgabe also assigned folio numbers to the leaves of each manuscript – but usually excluding the flyleaves, and sometimes excluding loose leaves inserted in the volumes. These folio numbers were not written on the leaves themselves. The present foliation corresponds to the Kritische Ausgabe numbers, using a, b, etc. where inserted leaves needed to be numbered. The totals usually differ from the published totals, as flyleaves and inserted leaves are included in the present foliation. Detached leaves have been kept with, or returned to, their original notebooks, when on conservation grounds this seemed right. Otherwise they have been kept separately in fascicules. The titles written in this catalogue in italic script are titles provided by Kafka, those in roman script are titles assigned by editors. The titles given in square brackets are not written on the manuscripts themselves. The physical description of the manuscripts is given in great detail in the Kafka Kritische Ausgabe, Apparatbände (see references in individual catalogue entries, below), including binding, colours of papers and inks, watermarks, measurements, note of original notebooks (for loose leaves), description of texts and where printed (text volumes, and variants and some paragraphs not related to the main text in Apparatbände), earlier page numbers and notebook numbers, additions in later hands (e.g. by Max Brod), notes of drawings, shorthand passages, and the location of leaves and notebooks separated from the collection over the years before 1961. Most of this information has not been repeated in the present catalogue. This catalogue owes a great deal to the Kafka Kritische Ausgabe, a set of which was very kindly donated by S. Fischer Verlag to the Bodleian, and to the time and advice so kindly provided by Dr. Hans-Gerd Koch, who also provided the index of titles and its KKA numbers.

Abbreviations used in the catalogue:

Personal names (NCA Rules)

Kafka | Franz | 1883-1924 | Writer
David | Ottilie | b. 1892 |

Subjects (LCSH)

Authors, German -- 20th century
Kafka, Franz , 1883-1924 -- Diaries

A   Notebooks - Tagebücher and Reisetagebücher, 1909-23

A.1    Tagebücher, 1909-23

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 1-12

Large 4° notebooks, in brown or black cloth wrappers, some with an added paper wrapper.
Scope and Content:

Diary entries and some literary and miscellaneous writings.


Biographical History:

There is a chronological list of all the diary entries in Tagebücher, Kommentarband, pp. 271-88, with page and line references to the printed text, and an index to the first lines of all the literary entries, pp. 297-302. To identify the manuscript containing a particular entry, check the printed page number in Tagebücher, see which notebook it belongs to ('Erstes Heft' etc.) in the contents list of the text volume, p. [1065], and find the corresponding entry below ('Erstes Heft' = 'Tagebuch, I', etc.). There are also indexes in the Kommentarband, pp. 302-40, of (1) Kafka's works, (2) persons, books, and periodicals, and (3) places, mentioned in these notebooks.

Note: N.B. For MSS. Kafka 1-6, 8-11, and 13 with earlier pagination written at the top right of the rectos, the folio numbers are written at the bottom right of the rectos.

[Tagebuch, I, 1909-12 ]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 1
MLR ref: A. (i) I
KKA ref: KBod AI, 1
Extent: i + 61 leaves. Earlier pagination 1-116 (not including the loosely inserted leaves, now fols. 38b, 38c)

Scope and Content:

Including travel entries and other material:

  • (fols. 2v, 4r) drawings, reproduced, Tagebücher, 12, 15
  • (fols. 5v-13r) 'Der kleine Ruinenbewohner' (the title only, is in MS. Kafka 2, fol. 5r)
  • (fols. 14r, 19r, 20r) ['Du, sagte ich'-Fragmente], continued in MS. Kafka 2
  • (fols. 38b, 38c) postcard photograph of 'Flora Klug, Herrenimitatorin' (reproduced, Kommentarband, 28) and 'Programm …. 24. Oktober 1911' for a performance including her (reproduced, Kommentarband, 53).
Note: A postcard without any writing on it, formerly loosely inserted in the notebook, is MS. Kafka 48, fol. 3. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 1 (pp. 19-20); Tagebücher (A) – item I (pp. 33-5). Printed: Tagebücher, 9-103. Fol. 11r reproduced, Malte Kleinwort, Kafkas Verfahren (Würzburg, 2004), pl. 1. Fol. 13r reproduced, Tagebücher (A), after p. 93. Fols. 31 & 32r, reproduced, Centre de Cultura Comtemporània de Barcelona, The City of K. Franz Kafka and Prague (2002), pp. 62, 66. Complete facsimile: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Quarthefte 1.

[Tagebuch, II, 1911]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 2
MLR ref: A. (i) II
KKA ref: KBod AI, 2
Extent: i + 50 leaves. Earlier pagination 1-96

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 2-4) [Unglücklichsein]
  • (fol. 5r) title only of 'Der kleine Ruinenbewohner' (see MS. Kafka 1, fols. 5v-13r, for the text)
  • (fols. 5-9r, 10-11r, 11v-12r, 13v-14, 20v, 21r, 21v) ['Du, sagte ich'-Fragmente], continued from MS. Kafka 1; with (fol. 8v) pencil drawings, reproduced, Tagebücher, 119
  • (fols. 26-31) 'Die städtische Welt'
  • (fols. 38-49a) parts of 'Der Verschollene' (Amerika) - 'Der Heizer', continued from MS. Kafka 6, fols. 29v-44.
Note: Fols. [50-51] of KKA that continue the fragment of 'Der Verschollene' are now MS. Kafka 42, fols. 1-2 (to be read in the following order: MS. Kafka 42, fol. 1v, 1r, 2r and 2v); a small fragment of the left margin of fol. [51] is stuck to fol. 49b. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 2 (p. 20); Tagebücher (A) – item II (pp. 35-7); Verschollene (A) – item II (pp. 32-4). Printed: Tagebücher, 107-91, Tagebücher (A), 37, and (fols. 38-49a) Verschollene, 32-56. Fol. 5r [sic] reproduced, Tagebücher (A), before p. 94; fol. 35r [sic] reproduced, Tagebücher (A), before p. 98. Fols. 5r and 8v, reproduced in Malte Kleinwort, Kafkas Verfahren (Würzburg, 2004), pl. 1. Complete facsimile (including MS. Kafka 42, fols. 1-2): Stroemfeld, Oxforder Quarthefte 2.

[Tagebuch, III], Oct.-Nov. 1911
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 3
MLR ref: A. (i) III
KKA ref: KBod AI, 3
Extent: i + 45 leaves. Earlier pagination 1-88

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 19v-20r) [Grosser Lärm]
  • (fols. 33v-34r) [Das Unglück des Junggesellen]
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 3 (p. 20); Tagebücher (A) - item III (pp. 37-8). Printed: Tagebücher, 195-267. Fol. 2v reproduced, Kommentarband, 54.

[Tagebuch, IV], Nov. 1911
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 4
MLR ref: A. (i) IV
KKA ref: KBod AI, 4
Extent: i + 45 leaves. Earlier pagination 205-92

Scope and Content:

Including (fols. 34r) 'Schema zur Charakteristik kleiner Litteraturen'. Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 4 (p. 20); Tagebücher (A) – item IV (pp. 38-9). Printed: Tagebücher, 271-342.

[Tagebuch, V], Jan.-Apr. 1912
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 5
MLR ref: A. (i) V
KKA ref: KBod AI, 5
Extent: i + 45 leaves. Earlier pagination 293-380

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 2-3r) [Der plötzliche Spaziergang]
  • (fol. 17) [Entschlüsse]
Note: Lower half of fol. 11 missing. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 5 (p. 20); Tagebücher (A) – item V (pp. 39-40). Printed: Tagebücher, 345-415.

[Tagebuch, VI], May-Sept. 1912
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 6
MLR ref: A. (i) VI
KKA ref: KBod AI, 6
Extent: i + 45 leaves. Earlier pagination 381-468

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 15-27r) [Das Urteil]
  • (fol. 27) notes relating to [Das Urteil] and to the typescript of [Der Heizer]
  • (fols. 29v-44) part of 'Der Verschollene', 'Der Heizer', continued in MS. Kafka 2, fols. 38-49a.
Note: A note in the hand of Max Brod, relating to fol. 4v, is MS. Kafka 48, fol. 15. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 6 (pp. 20-1); Tagebücher (A) – item VI (pp. 40-1); Verschollene (A) – item I (pp. 31-2). Printed: Tagebücher, 419-88; Verschollene, 7-32.

[Tagebuch, VII], Feb. 1913-Aug. 1914. (further entries for 1914 are in MS. Kafka 42, fols. 31-3)
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 7
MLR ref: A. (i) VII
KKA ref: KBod AI, 7
Extent: i + 35 leaves. Earlier pagination 1-11 (at the front) and 557-613 (from the back; following MS. Kafka 8). Pp. 614-25 (from a notebook that no longer exists) are MS. Kafka 42, fols. 34-9

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 2-6r) [Ernst Liman-Fragment]
  • (fols. 9r-6v rev.) part of [Erinnerungen an die Kaldabahn], continued in MS. Kafka 42, fols. 34-9
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 7 (p. 21); Tagebücher (A) – item VII (pp. 41-2). Printed: Tagebücher, 491-553. Fol. 27r reproduced, Tagebücher (A), after p. 105.

[Tagebuch, VIII], May 1913-Feb. 1914
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 8
MLR ref: A. (i) VIII
KKA ref: KBod AI, 8
Extent: i + 45 leaves. Earlier pagination 469-556 (preceding MS. Kafka 7)
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 8 (p. 21); Tagebücher (A) – item VIII (p. 42). Printed: Tagebücher, 557-638.

[Tagebuch, IX], June-Nov. 1914
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 9
MLR ref: A. (i) IX
KKA ref: KBod AI, 9
Extent: i + 19 leaves. Earlier pagination 626-59. Pp. 660-5 (from a notebook that no longer exists) are MS. Kafka 42, fols. 31-3

Scope and Content:

A fragment of the diary, including

  • (fols. 1r & v, 2v) passages relating to 'Der Verschollene'
  • (fols. 3-10) 'Verlockung im Dorf'. These leaves were originally loosely inserted in a 'Spare loose cover [brown wrappers]' by Sir Malcolm Pasley, n.d. (note on fol. 1v rev.).
Note: 16 leaves (now at the Deutsches Literaturarchiv in Marbach) from the same notebook are part of Der Process - see Der Process (A), 30. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 9 (p. 21); Tagebücher (A) – item IX (pp. 42-3); Verschollene (A) - item XII (pp. 48-50). Printed: Tagebücher 641-72; Verschollene (A), 48-9. Fol. 2r reproduced, Tagebücher (A), before p. 106.

[Tagebuch, X], Nov. 1914-May 1915
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 10
MLR ref: A. (i) X
KKA ref: KBod AI, 10
Extent: i + 21 leaves. Earlier pagination 666-701

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols.8-9) [Das Schwert]
  • (fol. 11v) drawings by Kafka, reproduced, Tagebücher, 728
  • (fols. 20v-19v rev.) ['Monderry'-Fragment]
Note: Loose or separated leaves that originally belonged to this notebook are MSS. Kafka 34, fols. 15-23, 28; 42, fol. 61; 48, fols. 92-3 (KKA KPriv BI, 1). Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 10 (p. 21); Tagebücher (A) – item XII (pp. 44-5). Printed: Tagebücher, 697-748.

[Tagebuch, XI], Sept. 1915-Aug. 1917
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 11
MLR ref: A. (i) XI
KKA ref: KBod AI, 11
Extent: i + 40 leaves, 36v-40v blank. Earlier pagination 702-72

Scope and Content:

Including (fol. 23) drawings by Kafka, reproduced, Tagebücher, 796, and (fols. 34-6r) fragments of In der Strafkolonie. Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 11 (pp. 21-2); Tagebücher (A) – item XIII (pp. 46-7). Printed: Tagebücher, 751-828.

[Tagebuch, XII], Sept. 1917-June 1923
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 12/1-12/2
MLR ref: A. (i) XII-XIII
KKA ref: KBod AI, 12
Extent: 12 leaves (MS. Kafka 12/1, fols. 1-12); i + 39 leaves, 19v-32r blank (MS. Kafka 12/2, fols. i, 13-52). Earlier pagination 773-84 (= fols. 1-6), 785a-796a (= fols. 7-12), and (notebook reversed) 785-823; (fols. 13-32r not paginated)

Scope and Content:

Including

  • MS. Kafka 12/1: beg. 15 Sept. 1917, with (fols. 7-12) [Zu der Reihe 'Er']
  • MS. Kafka 12/2: beg. 15 Oct. 1921, with (fols. 13-19r) continuation of [Forschungen eines Hundes] (continued from MS. Kafka 27, fols. 18-27; a later version is MS. Kafka 28, fols. 2-7 ).
Note: MS. Kafka 34, fols. 29-32 and MS. Kafka 42, fol. 60 originally belonged to this notebook. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 12 (p. 22), and (fols. 13-19) Nachgelassene II (A) – item 15 (pp. 113-14); Tagebücher (A) – item XIV (pp. 47-8). Printed: Tagebücher, 831-926 and ('Forschungen') Nachgelassene II, 460-82. Fol. 46r rev. reproduced, Centre de Cultura Comtemporània de Barcelona, The City of K. Franz Kafka and Prague (2002), p. 78.

A.2   Reisetagebücher, 1911-13

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 13-14 [MLR A. (ii) XXVII]

Note: Two sections are in the Bodleian (see below), the rest are in private hands (see Tagebücher (A), pp. 49-66).

[Reisetagebuch, I], Jan.-Feb. 1911; 28 June-6 July 1912
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 13
KKA ref: KBod AII, 1
Extent: i + 39 leaves, 28-37r blank; black cloth wrappers with buff paper wrappers pasted onto them
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *1 (p. 25) and item 9 (pp. 60-1); Tagebücher (A) – item I (pp. 49-52). Printed: Tagebücher, 931-40, 1021-37; Nachgelassene I, 182 and (same text) Tagebücher (A), 51-2.

[Reisetagebuch II], 7-22 July 1912
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 14
MLR ref: part of A.(ii) XXVII
KKA ref: KBod BIII, 3
Extent: ii + 34 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 1-34) loose leaves in a wrapper (now fols. i-ii) annotated by Max Brod, with
  • (fol. 33r) pencil drawing of a locomotive by the six-year-old Albert Schön
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 3 (pp. 31-2); Tagebücher (A) – item V (pp. 62-5). Diary entries printed in Tagebücher, 1037-57; other contents in Tagebücher (A), pp. 63-5.

B   Notebooks – novels, short stories and fragments, and (MSS. Kafka 29-33) Hebrew vocabularies and exercises, 1911-24

B.1   ['Der Verschollene'], a novel also known as Amerika, [Sept. 1912-13]

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 15-17


Scope and Content:

Three 4° notebooks. Parts of the work are in MSS. Kafka 2, fols. 38-49a; 6, fols. 29v-44v; and 42, fols. 1-30.


['Der Verschollene', Erstes Romanheft], beg. 'bung ist'
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 15
MLR ref: A. (i) XX
KKA ref: KBod AI, 13
Extent: i + 45 leaves; brown cloth wrappers. Former pagination 60-147
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 13 (pp. 22); Verschollene (A) – item III (pp. 34-5). Printed: Verschollene, 56-140.

['Der Verschollene', Zweites Romanheft], beg. 'sowie den von den Seitenstrassen'
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 16
MLR ref: A. (i) XXI
KKA ref: KBod AI, 14
Extent: i + 45 leaves; brown cloth wrappers. Former pagination 148-235
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 14 (p. 22), Verschollene (A) – item IV (pp. 36-8). Printed: Verschollene, 140-230. Fol. ir reproduced, Verschollene (A), 65.

['Der Verschollene', Drittes Romanheft], beg. 'das Telephon abstellen'
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 17
MLR ref: A. (i) XXII
KKA ref: KBod AI, 15
Extent: i + 43 leaves; brown cloth wrappers. Former pagination 236-318

Scope and Content:

Including (fol. 42v) an entry dated 15 Oct. Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 15 (pp. 22-3), Verschollene (A) – item V (pp. 38-40). Printed: Verschollene, 230-321, and (fol. 42v) Verschollene (A), 39.

B.2   Short stories

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 18A-18B


[Die Verwandlung, beg. 'Als Gregor Samsa', Nov.-Dec. 1912]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 18A
MLR ref: A. (i) XXV
KKA ref: KPriv AI, 1
Extent: i + 45 leaves, 42v-5 blank; brown cloth wrappers
Note: Described: Drucke (A) – item H (p. 177). Printed: Drucke, 115-200. Complete facsimile: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Quartheft 17.

[Elberfeldheft, beg. 'Ein junger ehrgeiziger Student ', 1914-15]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 18B
MLR ref: A. (i) XXIV
KKA ref: KBod AI, 16
Extent: i + 14 leaves, 2v-14 blank
Note: 15 leaves from this notebook are MS. Kafka 42, fols. 45-59, and three leaves (now at Marbach) are part of Der Process - see Der Process (A), 67-8. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *16 (p. 23); item 15 (pp. 71-5). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 225-8.

B.3   Oktavhefte, 1911-23, mainly 1916-18

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 19-26

Dark-blue/purple wrappers, large label on each front wrapper.
Scope and Content:

A group of 8° notebooks, containing miscellaneous writings, in pencil.


[Oktavheft A, Das siebente Oktavheft], Nov.-Dec. 1916
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 19
MLR ref: A. (ii) XXXI
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 1
Extent: 37 leaves

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fol. 1r) 'Unverbrüchlicher Traum'
  • (fol. 1r & v) 'Zerisssener Traum'
  • (fols. 9v-11r) 'Erzählung des Grossvaters'
  • (fols. 11-12) 'Auf dem Dachboden'
  • (fols. 16-37v) [Der Gruftwächter], with (fol. 18r) pencil sketches by Kafka, reproduced, Klaus Wagenbach, Franz Kafka: Bilder aus seinem Leben (2nd ed., Berlin, 1995), 203.
Note: See also MS. Kafka 47, fols. 18-23. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *1 (p. 26); item 17 (pp. 77-9). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 267-89. Complete facsimile: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Oktavhefte 1.

[Oktavheft B, Das erste Oktavheft], Jan.-Feb. 1917
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 20
MLR ref: A. (ii) XXXII
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 2
Extent: 36 leaves

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 1-2) [Die Brücke]
  • (fols. 2v-11) [Der Jäger Gracchus]
  • (fols. 11v-15) 'Der Kübelreiter'
  • (fols. 16v-23r) [Schakale und Araber]
  • (fols. 26v, 27v-28) [Der neue Advokat]
  • (fol. 30r) 'Ein Irrtum'
  • (fols. 30 ff.) [Der Aufruf]
  • (fol. 36v) a list of titles, and a draft letter
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *2 (p. 26); item 19 (pp. 81-3). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 304-34, and I (A), 81-2. Complete facsimile: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Oktavhefte 2.

[Oktavheft C, Das sechste Oktavheft], Feb.-Mar. 1917
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 21
MLR ref: A. (ii) XXXIII
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 3
Extent: 40 leaves

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 3-27) 'Beim Bau der chinesischen Mauer'
  • (fols. 19-20r) [Eine kaiserliche Botschaft]
  • (fols. 25v-27r) [Fragment zum 'Bau der chinesischen Mauer']
  • (fols. 28-31) 'Ein altes Blatt'
  • (fols. 31v-33) [Der Schlag ans Hoftor]
  • (fols. 37v-38r) 'Der Quälgeist'
  • (fols. 39v, 40v) notes
  • (fol. 40r) a list of titles
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *3 (p. 26); item 20 (pp. 83-7). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 335-69, and I (A), 84-5. Complete facsimile: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Oktavhefte 3.

[Oktavheft D; Das zweite Oktavheft], Mar.-Apr. 1917
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 22
MLR ref: A. (ii) XXXIV
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 4
Extent: 40 leaves

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 1-3) [Der Nachbar]
  • (fols. 4-7) 'Eine Kreuzung'
  • (fols. 11v-19) [Fragment zum 'Jäger Gracchus']
  • (fols. 19v-21) [Fragmente zum 'Bericht für eine Akademie']
  • (fols. 27v-40) 'Ein Bericht für eine Akademie', with (fol. 40v) notes
Note: The half leaf from some other notebook, formerly loosely inserted at the end of the volume, is now MS. Kafka 47, fol. 1. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *4 (p. 26): item 21 (pp. 87-9). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 370-99. Complete facsimile: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Oktavhefte 4.

[Oktavheft E, Das fünfte Oktavheft], Aug.-Sept. 1917
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 23
MLR ref: A. (ii) XXXV
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 5
Extent: 35 leaves, 17v-35r blank

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (label on front wrapper and fols. 2r, 5v, 6r, 7r, 10r, 11r, 12v, 17r) drawings and doodles by Kafka
  • (fols. 7v-10r) [Neue Lampen]
  • (fol. 35v) notes
Note: Loose leaves 'A' and 'B' (Nachgelassene I (A), 91-2) are now MS. Kafka 47, fols. 2-3. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *5 (p. 26); item 22 (pp. 89-94). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 400-18, and I (A), 91-2. Complete facsimile: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Oktavhefte 5.

[Oktavheft F; Das achte Oktavheft], Sept.-Oct. 1917
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 24
MLR ref: A. (ii) XXXVI
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 6
Extent: 37 leaves

Scope and Content:

Miscellaneous writings, with (fols. 37v-8r rev.) Hebrew exercises, 1922-3 (see below, MSS. Kafka 29-33, for other Hebrew exercises)

Note: Fol. 2, formerly in MS. Kafka 41, has been returned to its place in this notebook. A blank fragment of a torn-out leaf (location unknown) is attached to the back wrapper. Described Nachgelassene I (A) – item *6 (pp. 26-7); item 23 (pp. 94-7); fol. 2 described, Nachgelassene II (A) – item 25(a) a1 (p. 134). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 419-29. Complete facsimile: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Oktavhefte 6.

[Oktavheft G, Das dritte Oktavheft], 18 Oct. 1917-Jan. 1918
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 25
MLR ref: A. (ii) XXXVII
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 7
Extent: 40 leaves

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 4v-5r) [Eisenbahnreisende]
  • (fols. 6v-8r) [Eine alltägliche Verwirrung]
  • (fol. 9r) 'Ein Leben'
  • (fols. 9v-10r) [Die Wahrheit über Sancho Pansa]
  • (fols. 11v-13) [Das Schweigen der Sirenen]
  • (fols. 14-15r) [Eine Gemeinschaft von Schurken]
  • (fol. 20) part of [Paralipomena]
  • (fol. 33) [Prometheus]
  • (fol. 40) notes
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 7 (p. 27), and II (A) – item 2 (pp. 41-4): Tagebücher (A) – item 2 (pp. 75-9). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 29-78, and II (A), 41-2; Tagebücher (A), pp. 75-9.

[Oktavheft H, Das vierte Oktavheft], 1909, Jan.-May 1918
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 26
MLR ref: A. (ii) XXXVIII
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 8
Extent: 34 leaves

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 22v-24r) 'Die besitzlose Arbeiterschaft'
  • (fols.28v-29r) notes in Hebrew
  • (fol. 29v) pencil drawings by Kafka
  • (fol. 30) laundry list and notes
  • loose leaves: (fol. 31r) 'Kleine Seele' (poem); (fols. 32-3) laundry list, and notes on Josef Tesch; (fol. 34r) beg. '17 wie ein Armer … ' [probably one of the leaves removed from between fols. 27 and 28]
Note: Fol. 34, formerly in MS. Kafka 41, has been returned to this notebook. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *8 (p. 27), and (fol. 31) item 8 (p. 59); Nachgelassene II (A) – item 3 (pp. 45-8), and (fol. 34) item 25(a) ar2 (pp. 134-5); Tagebücher (A) – item 3 (pp. 79-82). Printed: Nachgelassene I (A), 59 and Tagebücher, Kommentarband, 71, (fol. 31 – Kleine Seele); Nachgelassene II, 79-112, and II (A), pp. 45 (fol. 30), 47 (fols. 32-3), 134-5 (fol. 34); Tagebücher (A), pp. 80-2.

B.4   Short stories, 1915, 1921-2

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 27-8


[Ein Hungerkünstler], 1915, 1921-2
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 27
MLR ref: A. (i) XXIII
KKA ref: KBod AI, 17
Extent: i + 28 leaves; brown stiffened wrappers

Scope and Content:

Containing (fols. 1-5,10v-17) miscellaneous texts, including

  • (fol. 2v) [Der Aufbruch]
  • (fols. 3v-4) [Fürsprecher]
  • (fols. 4v-5r) [Der Unschuldige]
  • (fols. 5v-10) [Hungerkünstler]
  • (fols. 12-14r) [In unserer Synagoge]
  • (fol. 14r) [Das Dorngebüsch]
  • (fol. 17r) a paragraph relating to [Das Schloss]
  • (fols. 18-27) the first part of 'Forschungen eines Hundes', which is continued in MS. Kafka 12/2, fols. 13-19r (with a later version in MS. Kafka 28, fols. 2-7)
Note: Four leaves (now at the Deutsches Literaturarchiv in Marbach) from this notebook are part of Der Process - see Der Process (A). Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 17 (p. 23) and II (A) – item 14 (pp. 106-12); Schloss (A) – item IX (pp. 55-8). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 371-459; Schloss (A), 466-7.

[Forschungen eines Hundes], 1922
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 28
MLR ref: A. (i) XXVI
KKA ref: KBod AI, 24
Extent: i + 63 leaves, 7v-61v blank; purple stiffened wrappers

Scope and Content:

Containing

  • (fols. 1r, 62 rev.) miscellaneous texts
  • (fols. 2-7r) 'Forschungen eines Hundes' (a later version than that in MS. Kafka 27, fols. 18-27, and continued in MS. Kafka 12/2, fols. 13-19)
Note: Described Nachgelassene I (A) – item 24 (pp. 24-5), and II (A) – item 16 (pp. 114-15). Printed: Nachgelassene II, miscellaneous texts, pp. 483-4, 492-4, and'Forschungen', pp. 485-91.

B.5    Hebrew notebooks, 1922-3, n.d.

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 29-33

Note: For other Hebrew exercises, see MSS. Kafka 24; 26, fols. 28v-29v; 46, fols. 5-8; 47, fols. 4-15.

Notebook containing Hebrew exercises and vocabularies, 1922-3
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 29
MLR ref: A.(ii) XXX
KKA ref: KBod AII, 4
Extent: i + 17 leaves, 12-16r blank; dark blue paper wrappers, with paper label (like those on MSS. Kafka 19-26)

Scope and Content:

Containing

  • (fols. 1r, 17v rev.) German text
  • (fols. 17r-16v, 11v-1v rev.) Hebrew exercises and vocabularies, mainly in pencil, with (fol. 16v) draft of part of a letter, in Hebrew
Note: Fol. i is a stub, with traces of letters from the beginning of two words remaining, where a leaf (location unknown) has been torn out.
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 4 (p. 26), and II (A) – item 23 (pp. 130-3). German text printed: Nachgelassene II, 542-4.

Small notebook containing German-Hebrew vocabularies. Vocabulary I, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 30
MLR ref: A.(iii) XXXIX
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 9
Extent: 36 leaves; dark blue/purple paper wrappers
Note: Mainly in ink, some pages in pencil. Fol. 34 is a stub where a leaf (location unknown) has been torn out. Loose leaves formerly in this notebook are now MS. Kafka 47, fols. 4-14.
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 9 (p. 27).

Small notebook containing German-Hebrew vocabularies. Vocabulary II, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 31
MLR ref: A.(iii) XL
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 10
Extent: 39 leaves; dark blue/purple paper wrappers
Note: Mainly in pencil. First leaf (location unknown) has been torn out.
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 10 (p. 28).

Small notebook containing German-Hebrew vocabularies. Vocabulary III, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 32
MLR ref: A.(iii) XLI
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 11
Extent: 24 leaves; dark blue/purple paper wrappers
Note: In pencil. Fols. 1-12 are stubs with fragments of words on them where leaves have been torn out (location unknown). A loose leaf formerly inserted in the book is now MS. Kafka 47, fol. 15.
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 11 (p. 28).

Small notebook containing German-Hebrew vocabularies. Vocabulary IV, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 33
MLR ref: A.(iii) XLII
KKA ref: KBod AIII, 12
Extent: 24 leaves (fols. 23v-1r rev.); pale blue paper wrappers
Note: Mainly in pencil.

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (verso of front wrapper) drawing by Kafka
  • (fol. 1r) a few sentences in German
  • (fol. 24 rev.) a list of books, in German
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 12 (p. 28).

B.6   Das Schloss, [1922]

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 34-9


Scope and Content:

Six 4º notebooks, containing the manuscript of Das Schloss, 1922.


[Das Schloss, Schlossheft I]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 34
MLR ref: A.(i) XIV
KKA ref: KBod AI, 18
Extent: i + 38 leaves; brown cloth wrappers
Note: Beg. 'Der Wirt ...', containing leaves and sections from various notebooks gathered in these wrappers by Kafka. Fols. 15-23, 28 originally part of MS. Kafka 10; fols. 29-32 originally part of MS. Kafka 12/2.
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 18 (p. 23) and (fol. 14v rev.) II (A) – item 10 (pp. 96-9); Schloss (A) – item I (pp. 31-7). Printed: Schloss, 7-108, and (fols. 1-2v) Schloss (A), 115-17; (fol. 14v rev.) Nachgelassene II, 363-4. Fol. 2r reproduced, Centre de Cultura Comtemporània de Barcelona, The City of K. Franz Kafka and Prague (2002), p. 113.

[Das Schloss, Schlossheft II]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 35
MLR ref: A.(i) XV
KKA ref: KBod AI, 19, and (separate leaf) KPriv BI, 2
Extent: i + 61 leaves; shiny black cloth wrappers
Note: Beg. 'Das ist möglich ...', including (fols. 7a-7b) two stubs, the rest of fol. 7a in a private collection (photocopy in MS. Kafka 48, fol. 94).
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 19 (pp. 23-4); Schloss (A) – item III (pp. 38-42) and (separate leaf – photocopy, MS. Kafka 48, fol. 94) – item IV (p. 42). Printed: Schloss, 108-83, and (Variants) Schloss (A).

[Das Schloss, Schlossheft III]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 36
MLR ref: A.(i) XVI
KKA ref: KBod AI, 20
Extent: i + 61 leaves; shiny black cloth wrappers, lower flyleaf and wrapper detached
Note: Beg. 'Die Drohungen ...'.
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 20 (p. 24); Schloss (A) – item V (pp. 42-4). Printed: Schloss, 183-288, and (Variants) Schloss (A).

[Das Schloss, Schlossheft IV]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 37
MLR ref: A.(i) XVII
KKA ref: KBod AI, 21
Extent: i + 61 leaves; shiny black cloth wrappers
Note: Beg. 'Ich weiss nicht ...'.
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 21 (p. 24); Schloss (A) – item VI (pp. 45-8). Printed: Schloss, 288-369, and (Variants) Schloss (A).

[Das Schloss, Schlossheft V]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 38
MLR ref: A.(i) XVIII
KKA ref: KBod AI, 22
Extent: i + 61 leaves; shiny black cloth wrappers
Note: Beg. 'und wir einigten ...'.
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 22 (p. 24); Schloss (A) – item VII (pp. 48-51). Printed: Schloss, 369-451, and (Variants) Schloss (A).

[Das Schloss, Schlossheft VI]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 39
MLR ref: A.(i) XIX
KKA ref: KBod AI, 23
Extent: i + 51 leaves, 38-41 blank; shiny black cloth wrappers
Note: Beg. 'er weit über ...', with 'a' (fol. 44v-42br rev.) text not part of Das Schloss, and 'b' (fol. 42a) note by Max Brod.
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 23 (p. 24), and (fols. 44v-42bv rev.) II (A) – item 19 (pp. 119-21), and (fol. 37) II (A) – item 20 (pp. 121-2); Schloss (A) – item VIII (pp. 51-4). Printed: Schloss, 451-95, and (Variants) Schloss (A), and (fols. 44v-42br rev.) Nachgelassene II, 505-12 and (fol. 37) 513.

B.7   Short stories, 1922-4

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 40-1


[Ehepaar-Heft], Oct.-Dec. 1922
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 40
MLR ref: A.(ii) XXVIII
KKA ref: KBod AII, 2
Extent: i + 29 leaves, 12-24r blank; black stiffened paper wrappers, with paper wrapper over part of them
Note: The text of 'Das Ehepaar is MS. Kafka 46, fols. 5-9 (rectos), leaves formerly in this notebook.

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fol. 11v) 'Ein Kommentar'
  • (fols. 27r rev. and 28r rev.) [Von den Gleichnissen]
  • (fol. 28v) two draft titles 'Erkenntnis eines Bauernfängers' and 'Unumgänglichkeit eines Gassenfensters' (no other text)
Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 2 (p. 25), and II (A) – item 21 (pp. 122-8). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 514-33.

Notebook, beg. 'Im Dunkel der Gasse', 1923-4
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 41
MLR ref: A.(ii) XXIX
KKA ref: KBod AII, 3
Extent: 16 leaves, 13-16 blank: blue/grey paper wrappers (detached)
Note: Two detached leaves formerly inserted in this notebook have been returned to their notebooks – MSS. Kafka 24, fol. 2, and 26, fol. 34. Two other, loosely inserted leaves are now MS. Kafka 47, fols. 16-17.

Scope and Content:

Miscellaneous writings including (fol. 11v) [Heimkehr]

Note: Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *3 (pp. 25-6), and II (A) – item 25 (pp. 134-42). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 547-74.

C   Loose leaves, including fragments from Tagebücher, novels, and short stories, 1914-24

Shelfmarks: MS. Kafka 42-8

Note: Loose leaves (and a few sewn sections) are from unidentified (usually no longer existing) notebooks, unless otherwise stated.

Loose leaves from 4° notebooks, 1914-c. 1921, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 42
MLR ref: A. (i) II, B. (ii) L, LI, LIII and LIV
KKA ref: KBod BI, 1-10, C, 1 and 2
Extent: 61 leaves
Note: KKA folio numbers begin anew with each small group (e.g. fols. 34-9 below are KKA fols. 1-6), and are given at the end of each KKA reference, below, except for single leaves.

(fols. 1-30) 'Der Verschollene' (see also MSS. Kafka 15-17)

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 1-2) two leaves (fols. '50' and '51') from MS. Kafka 2, former pagination 56-9. See under MS. Kafka 2. Other reference KKA KBod AI, 2, fols. 50-1. Reproduced: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Quarthefte 2.
  • (fols. 3-12) ten leaves, beg. 'Kinn ...'. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 1 (p. 28), and Verschollene (A) – item VI (pp. 40-2). Printed: Verschollene, 321-3, 355-71. Fols. 12r and 12v reproduced, Verschollene (A), 79-80.Other reference: KKA KBod BI, 1, fols. 1-10.
  • (fols. 13-17) three leaves and a typescript leaf. Fol. 13 beg. 'Eines Morgens ...'; fols. 16-17 (formerly used as a wrapper for fols. 13-15) beg. 'das Schiff? ...'. Other references: (fols. 13-15) KKA KBod BI, 2 and (fols. 16-17) KBod C, 1, fol. 1. Fols. 13-15 described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 2 (pp. 28-9), and Verschollene (A) – item VII (pp. 42-3), and printed: Verschollene, 377-83.Fols. 16-17 described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 1 (p. 32), and Verschollene (A) – item X (pp. 45-7), and printed: Verschollene, 12-13.
  • (fols. 18-29) twelve leaves, beg. 'Karl sah ...' Other reference: KKA KBod BI, 3, fols. 1-12.Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 3 (p. 29), and Verschollene (A) – item IX (pp. 43-5). Printed: Verschollene, 387-419.
  • (fol. 30) half leaf, typescript, beg. 'kam, mir ...'. Other reference: KKA KBod C, 2.Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 2 (p. 32), and Verschollene (A) – item XI (p. 47). Printed: Verschollene, 41.

(fols. 31-9) diary entries (Tagebücher)

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 31-3) diary, three leaves (from a notebook that no longer exists), beg. '21 Aug. 14 ...', former pagination 660-5. Other reference: KKA KBod BI, 5, fols. 1-3.Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 5 (p. 29), and Tagebücher (A) – item X (pp. 43-4). Printed: Tagebücher, 675-83. Fol. 33v reproduced, Tagebücher (A), after p. 107.
  • (fols. 34-9) diary, six leaves (from a notebook that no longer exists), part of [Erinnerungen an die Kaldabahn, 1914] (continued from MS. Kafka 7, fols. 9r-6v rev.); beg. 'nicht die geringste ...'; former pagination 614-25. Other reference: KKA KBod BI, 4, fols. 1-6.Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 4 (p. 29), and Tagebücher (A) – item XI (p. 44). Printed: Tagebücher, 684-94. Fol. 39v reproduced, Tagebücher (A), before p. 108.

(fols. 40-61) short stories

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 40-1) short story, two leaves, part of [Dorfschullehrer, 1914], 'Stadt beobachtet? ... geschehn? Euer' (being fols. 7-8 of the manuscript at the Deutsches Literaturarchiv in Marbach (KKA KMar BI, 2) – for photocopy of fols. 1-6, 9-10, see below, MS. Kafka 48, fols. 77-91). Other references: MLR B.(ii) LIV; KKA KBod BI, 7, fols. 7-8.Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *7 (p. 29), and item 13 (pp. 68-9). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 210 line 2 – 213, line 17.
  • (fols. 42-4) short story, three leaves, part of [Unterstaatsanwalt, 1914], beg. 'überdrüssig geworden ...'. Other references: MLR B.(ii) LI; KKA KBod BI, 6, fols. 1-3.Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *6 (p. 29), and – item 14 (pp. 69-71). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 217-24.
  • (fols. 45-59) short story, fifteen leaves formerly in MS. Kafka 18B, [Blumfeld, 1915], beg. 'Blumfeld ...'. Other references: MLR B.(ii) L ('30 leaves' in error); KKA KBod BI, 8, fols. 1-15.Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *8 (p. 29), and item 16 (pp. 75-7). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 229-66.
  • (fol. 60) short story, one leaf (originally fol. 15 in MS. Kafka 12/2), 'Erstes Leid', c. 1921, headed 'Erstes Leid'. Other references: MLR B. (ii) LIII; KKA KBod BI, 9.Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 9 (p. 29), and Drucke (A) – item H1 (pp. 407-9). Printed: Drucke, 317-21.
  • (fol. 61) short story, one leaf (originally fol. 19 in MS. Kafka 10), beg. 'Ein grosses Fahnentuch …', c. 1921. Other reference: KKA KBod BI, 10.Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 10 (p. 29), and II (A) – item 12 (pp. 101-5). Pinted: Nachgelassene II, 369.

[Aphorismen, 1918]
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 43
MLR ref: B.(iii) LV
KKA ref: KBod BIII, 2
Extent: 103 leaves (beginning on fol. 3, and including fols. 39, 39a; fol. [104] has been restored to its place)
Note: Fols. 1-2 are in a private collection (KKA KPriv BIII, 1). A typescript version is MS. Kafka 47, fols. 29-47. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 1 (p. 31), and II (A) - item 4 (pp. 48-53). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 113-40.

Short stories and fragments, c. 1920
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 44
MLR ref: B.(i) XLIII and XLVII
KKA ref: KBod BII, 1 and 2
Extent: ii + 40 leaves
Note: The contents of two folders (KKA KBod 1 and 2) have now been combined, and re-ordered in one sequence, following the order established in Nachgelassene II (A), 73. Brod's(?) earlier order of part of the manuscript can be reconstructed using the pencilled pagination (his page numbers on the rectos have been circled). Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – items 1 and 2 (p. 30), and (with KBod BII, 3 - MS. Kafka 45) Nachgelassene II (A) – item 9 (pp. 68- 96). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 244-362.

Scope and Content:

Forty 4° leaves, and a thick paper wrapper (now fols. i-ii) inscribed (by Brod?) 'Fragmente aus dem Jahre 1920', including

  • (fols. 2-3) 'Ein regnerischer Tag'
  • (fol. 6) [Eine teilweise Erzählung]
  • (fol. 7r) [Nachts]
  • (fols. 7-10r) [Die Abweisung]
  • (fols. 10-11r) 'Zur Frage der Gesetze'
  • (fols. 11-12r) [Die Truppenaushebung]
  • (fol. 20) [Poseidon]
  • (fol. 24) [Gemeinschaft]
  • (fol. 26r) 'Es ist ein Mandat'
  • (fol. 26v) [Das Stadtwappen] - [part of text only ('Dazu kam … Wappen', printed p. 323; there is no manuscript for 'Anfangs … Kampfsucht', printed pp. 318-19)
  • (fol. 27r) [Der Steuermann]
  • (fol. 27) 'Konsolidierung'
  • (fol. 28) [Die Prüfung]
  • (fol. 28v) [Der Geier]
  • (fol. 33r) [Kleine Fabel]
  • (fol. 39r) 'Die Mühseligkeit'
  • (fol. 40r) [Der Kreisel]

Short stories and fragments, c. 1920
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 45
MLR ref: B.(i) XLVIII
KKA ref: KBod BII, 3
Extent: 18 leaves
Note: Eighteen leaves re-ordered following the sequence established in Nachgelassene I (A), 71-2, including (fols. 3v-6) [Bei den Toten zu Gast]. Brod's(?) earlier order can be reconstructed using the pencilled pagination (his page numbers on the rectos have been circled). KKA counts these leaves as 11 leaves (counting each of the folded 4º leaves as one leaf; their fols. 1-3 now = 1-6; 4 = 7-8; 5 = 9; 6-7 = 10-12; 8-9 = 13-14; 10 = 15-16; 11 = 17-18. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 3 (p. 30), and (with KBod II, 1-2 – MS. Kafka 44) Nachgelassene II (A) – item 9 pp. 68-96). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 223-44.

Loose 4° leaves, short stories, 1920-4
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 46
MLR ref: B.(i) XLIV, XLV, XLVI, XLIX and B. (iii) LVI
KKA ref: KBod BII, 4-7 and BIII,1
Extent: 39 leaves
Note: KKA folio numbers begin anew with each section (eg. fols. 5-9 below are KKA fols. 1-5), and are given at the end of each KKA reference, below, except for single leaves.

(fols. 1-4) four leaves, short story fragments, [1920-2]
Note: Described as a group: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 2 (p. 31). Other references for all four leaves (fols. 1-4): MLR B.(iii) LVI; KKA KBod BIII, 2 (a), 2 (b 1-2).

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fol. 1r) beg. 'Er blickt …', [Feb. 1920]. Described: Nachgelassene II (A) – item 7 (pp. 65-6). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 218-20.Other reference: KKA KBod BIII, 2 (b 1)
  • (fol. 2) beg. 'sich daran …', [Feb. 1920]. Described: Nachgelassene II (A) – item 8 (p. 67). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 221-2.Other reference: KKA KBod BIII, 2 (b 2)
  • (fols. 3-4) beg. 'Ich sah …', [early 1922]. Described: Nachgelassene II (A) – item 11 (p. 99-101). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 365-7.Other reference: KKA KBod BIII, 2 (a)

(fols. 5-9) five leaves (formerly in MS. Kafka 40), Das Ehepaar, [1922],

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fols. 5-9, rectos) 'Das Ehepaar', [1922]
  • (fols. 5-8, versos, and in the margins and blank spaces of rectos) Hebrew exercises, and (fol. 5v) draft of a letter in shorthand, to Franz Werfe. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 4 (p. 30), and II (A) – item 22 (pp. 128-30). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 534-41.Other references: MLR B.(i) XLIV; KKA KBod BII, 4, fols. 1-5.

(fols. 10-25) sixteen leaves, [Der Bau], [1923-4]

Scope and Content:

The first leaf (fol. 10) beg. 'Dann lag ...'; the story beg. 'Ich habe den Bau …'. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 6 (p. 31), and II (A) – item 26 (pp. 142-6). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 575-632.Other references: MLR B. (i) XLVI; KKA KBod BII, 6, fols. 1-16.


(fols. 26-9) four leaves, [Eine kleine Frau], [1924]

Scope and Content:

The first leaf (fol. 26)beg. 'Die Tür ...', the story beg. 'Es ist eine …'; part of a notebook cover stuck to fol. 26r obscuring some of the text. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 5 (pp. 30-1), and II (A) – item 27 (pp. 146-9), and Drucke (A) – item H1 (pp. 418-20). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 633-46, and Drucke, 321-33. Other references: MLR B. (i) XLIX; KKA KBod BII, 5, fols. 1-4.


(fols. 30-9) ten leaves, [Josefine, die Sängerin], [1924]

Scope and Content:

The first leaf (fol. 30) beg. 'abzuschütteln ...', the story beg. 'Unserer Sängerin ...'; with (fol. 39v) pencil drawing by Kafka of a human face, possibly that of Dora Diamant. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 7 (p. 31), and II (A) – item 28 (pp. 150-7). Printed: Nachgelassene II, 650-78. Fols. 30r & v and 31r & v reproduced, Nachgelassene II (A), 152-4.Other references: MLR B. (i) XLV; KKA KBod BII, 7, fols. 1-10.


Loose leaves, c. 1916-22, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 47
MLR ref: C. LVII, LVIII and LIX
KKA ref: KBod AII, 3C, 3 and 4
Extent: 47 leaves
Note: Fols. 1-15 mainly small leaves, either detached from, or formerly loosely inserted in, notebooks, (fols. 16-17) personal papers, and (fols. 18-47) typescripts.

(fols. 1-15) leaves from notebooks

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fol. 1) one leaf, from MS. Kafka 22 ('Oktavheft D'), beg. 'Man hätte ...'. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 21 (p. 87, 'Beilegend: 1 Zettel ...'). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 398, line 26 - 399, line 7. Reproduced: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Oktavhefte 4.
  • (fols. 2-3) two leaves of notes, from MS. Kafka 23 ('Oktavheft E'), fol. 2 beg. 'Das Buch ...', and fol. 3v rev. beg. 'Diplomatie ...'. Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 22 (pp. 89-90, 'Beiliegend: zwei lose Einzelblätter'). Printed: Nachgelassene I (A), 91-2. Reproduced: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Oktavhefte 5.
  • (fols. 4-14) eleven leaves, from MS. Kafka 30 (Hebrew notebook). Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 9 (p. 27, 'Beilegend: ...').
  • (fol. 15) one leaf from MS. Kafka 32 (Hebrew notebook). Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 11 (p. 28, 'Beilegend:... '), draft letter from Kafka, in Hebrew, to Puah Ben-Tovim, 1923.

(fols. 16-17) personal papers, two leaves from MS. Kafka 41
Note: Other references: as for MS. Kafka 41.

Scope and Content:

Includes


Scope and Content:
  • (fol. 16) notes for tax declaration, 1920, mainly in Kafka's hand. Described: Nachgelassene II (A) – item 25 (b), p. 135
  • (fol. 17) notes by Kafka on Max Brod's novel Franzi (Munich, 1922), beg. 'missverstehet es ...' Described and printed: Nachgelassene II (A) – item 25 (c), p. 135.

(fols. 18-47) typescripts

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 18-23) [Der Gruftwächter], c. 1916/17, typescript by Kafka, with annotations by him Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item *3 (p. 32), and item 18 (pp. 80-1). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 290-303. See also MS. Kafka 19, fols. 16-37v.Other references: MLR C. LVII; KKA KBod C, 3, fols. 1-6.
  • (fols. 24-8) 'Isaak Löwy. Vom jüdischen Theater', [1917], typescript of Kafka's text Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 24 (pp. 97-9). Printed: Nachgelassene I, 430-6. Reproduced: Stroemfeld, Oxforder Oktavhefte 6.Other reference: MLR C. LIX; (no KKA reference).
  • (fols. 29-47) [Aphorismen, c. 1918], typescript (of MS. Kafka 43) Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 4 (p. 32).Other references: MLR C. LVIII; KKA KBod C, 4, fols. 1-19.

Loose papers, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 48
KKA ref: KPriv BI, 1 and 2 [fols. 92-4]
Extent: 98 leaves
Note: Not to be copied without the written permission of the owner(s) - whose identities are not known to the Bodleian.

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 1-76) 'Beilagen', various notes (many in the hand of Max Brod) and other items formerly loosely inserted in Kafka manuscripts, each note or group of notes preceded by a card or slip of paper with notes by Sir Malcolm Pasley, arranged in MS. Kafka number order, and including (fol. 3) a Czech postcard, n.d. (without any writing on it), from MS. Kafka 1, and (fols. 74-6) two leaves in Brod's hand, and part of a printed leaf from a periodical, previous locations not recorded.
  • (fols. 77-91) photocopies of fols. 1-6, 9-10, of the manuscript of Der Dorfschullehrer (original in the Deutches Literaturarchiv in Marbach, (fols. 7-8 of the original are MS. Kafka 42, fols. 40-1). Described: Nachgelassene I (A) – item 13 (pp. 68-9), KKA reference KMar BI, 2.
  • (fols. 92-4) photocopies of original leaves from Das Schloss (original in the Deutches Literaturarchiv in Marbach: (fols. 92-3) two copies of a leaf formerly in MS. Kafka 34. Described: Schloss (A) – item II (p. 38).Other reference: KKA reference KPriv BI, 1. (fol. 94) a leaf from MS. Kafka 35 (the beginnings of the lines of text are on the stub, fol. 7a). Described: Schloss (A) – item IV (p. 42). Other reference: KKA KPriv BI, 2.
  • (fols. 95-8) empty wrappers from two small 4º notebooks (contents unidentified and dispersed)

D   Letters, 18[82]-1940

Note: The letters written by Kafka are in course of publication in KKA, Briefe vol. [1- ] (1999- ) where the postcard pictures are reproduced in the 'Kommentar' at the end of each volume. Drafts and fragments of other letters by Kafka are in MSS. Kafka 20, fol. 36v; 29, fol. 16v; 46, fol. 5v; 47, fol. 15; 53, fols. 10-16.

D.1   Letters to Kafka's sister Ottla, 1909-26

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 49-50

Note: The letters and postcards in MSS. Kafka 49-50 are owned jointly by the Bodleian Library and the Deutsches Literaturarchive in Marbach, where their accession number is HS.2011.0037. As this correspondence may be in either institution at any time, it is advisable to check its availability prior to a visit.

Letters and postcards from Franz Kafka to his sister Ottla Kafka and to Ottla and Josef David (her husband) jointly, Sept. 1909-Jan. 1924
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 49
DLA ref: HS.2011.0037.00006-HS.2011.0037.00108
Extent: 174 leaves

Scope and Content:

Including

  • (fol. 17) postcard from Riva on lake Garda with a reference to Goethe
  • (fol. 43) letter in which Kafka mentions his first hemorrhage
  • (fols. 53-4) letter in which Kafka describes his final break with Felice Bauer
  • (fol. 79) postcard with six small drawings by Kafka entitled by him 'Ansichten aus meinem Leben' ('Scenes from my life')

Letters, mainly to Ottla Kafka, with some to her husband Josef David, 1910-26
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 50
DLA ref: HS.2011.0037.00001-HS.2011.0037.00005 and HS.2011.0037.00109-HS.2011.0037.00112
Extent: 76 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 1-7) postcards and letters from Franz Kafka to Josef David, 1915-23, including (fol. 1) postcard [1915], written by Ottla Kafka, with greetings added by Kafka and Irma Stein, and (fol. 1v) pencil drawing by Kafka
  • (fols. 8-50) letters from Julie Kafka, (fols. 8-12) to her daughter Ottla, June 1910-Aug. 1917, including one (fol. 10) to Ottla and Irma [Kafka], 2 July 1917, (fols. 13-21) to Ottla and Franz Kafka jointly, Dec. 1917-Apr. 1918, and (fols. 22-50) to Ottla, July 1918-Aug. 1925
  • (fols. 51-3) letters from Dora Diamant to Ottla Kafka (David), n.d., [1924-1925?]
  • (fols. 54-76) letters from Robert Klopstock to Ottla Kafka (David), n.d., [1924-6].

D.2   Family correspondence, with some letters from friends, 18[82]-1940

Shelfmarks: MS. Kafka 51


Letters and postcards to various members of the Hermann and Kafka families, 18[82]-1940
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 51
Extent: 69 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fol. 1) Julie Kafka to Franz Kafka, 1918
  • (fols. 2-17) Hermann Kafka to Julie Kafka, June-Aug. [1882]
  • (fols. 18-19) Julie Kafka to Hermann Kafka, June [1882]
  • (fols. 20-1) note by Julie Kafka on the family background, n.d. [after 6 June 1931, before 27 Sept. 1934]
  • (fols. 22-39) to Hermann and Julie Kafka, 1920-4, n.d.: (fols. 22-30) from Franz Kafka, 1920-4, including (fols. 28-30) Franz Kafka and Dora Diamant jointly, Apr. 1924; (fols. 31-3) from Dora Diamant, 1924; (fols. 34-9) from Robert Klopstock to Julie Kafka, n.d. [1924]
  • (fols. 40-64) to Karl Hermann or Elli Hermann, or to them jointly, 1911-29, n.d.: (fol. 40) from Franz Kafka, 1911; (fols. 41-8) from Julie and Hermann Kafka, 1923-6, n.d.; (fols. 49-52) Dora Diamant, 1924, and (fols. 53-63) Robert Klopstock, probably all to Elli, [1924-1925?]; and (fol. 64) from the Red Cross, 1940
  • (fols. 65-9) Julie and Hermann Kafka to (fols. 65-7) Felix Hermann, 1926, and to (fols. 68-9) Gerti Hermann, 1929

E   The Schocken gift

Shelfmarks: MSS. Kafka 52-5


[Reisetagebuch] or Notizblock (title printed on engraved wrapper), 1912, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 52
KKA ref: KPriv AIII, 4
Extent: 12 leaves; printed and engraved wrappers
Note: Fol. 9a is a stub with a fragment of a word on it. Described and printed in Tagebücher (A) – item 1 (pp. 67-74).

Various papers, 1907-17, n.d.
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 53
KKA ref: KPriv C [fols. 1-5]
Extent: 17 leaves
Note: Described: Drucke (A) – item T (pp. 350-1), and Variants, pp. 351-3. Printed: Drucke, 284-92.

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fols. 1-5) Elf Söhne, fragile typescript, with a few corrections in Kafka's hand, 1917
  • (fols. 6-7) copy of Kafka's birth certificate, in German, dated 1901, certified 1907, with 1 Krone stamp
  • (fols. 8-9) copy of police certificate of Kafka's good behaviour, in Czech, dated 1906, certified 1907, with 1 Krone stamp
  • (fols. 10-16) photocopies of (fols. 10-13) holograph letter from Kafka to Robert Klopstock, n.d. and (fols. 14-16) a typescript copy of it
  • (fol. 17) postcard ('Beim Studium'), 18 Jan. 1913, with autograph signatures and postage stamp (not sent)

Eine kleine Frau, 1924
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 54
KKA ref: KPriv BIII, 14
Extent: ii + 42 leaves
Note: Fair copy on loose damp-stained sheets, in Kafka's hand. Manuscript leaves described: Drucke (A) – item H2 (pp. 418-20), and Variants, pp. 421-36. Printed: Drucke, 321-33.

Scope and Content:

With (fols. 10-42) typescript copies, n.d., including

  • (fols. 10-17) top copy
  • (fols. 18-42) three carbon copies, where a few letters are missing from the right margins, the second copy labelled (fol. 27) 'Property of Schocken Books ...'.

Photographs of Kafka and others, c. 1884-1918
Shelfmark: MS. Kafka 55
Extent: 9 leaves

Scope and Content:

Includes

  • (fol. 1) group including Kafka's parents and family, [1913]
  • (fol. 2) Kafka as a baby, c. 1884
  • (fol. 3) Kafka as a young child, c. 1886
  • (fol. 4) Kafka, [1906?]
  • (fol. 5) wedding photograph of Joseph and Valli Pollak, with Kafka in the background, the verso covered with family and friends' signatures, in pencil, [Jan. 1913]
  • (fol. 6) Ottla David, [1916]
  • (fol. 7) Kafka and Ottla David [1917]
  • (fol. 8) Ottla David and others (not including Kafka), [1917]
  • (fol. 9) Kafka, Ottla David and others [1917/18]

Index of titles used by Kafka (italic) or others (roman), with references to the Kritische Ausgabe numbers (KBod …) and the Bodleian shelfmarks (MS. Kafka …). Folio numbers relate to both recto and verso sides, unless accompanied by "r" for recto or "v" for verso. There is also an index of the first lines of all the literary entries in the Tagebücher, in the Kommentarband, pp. 297-302, with page and line references to the printed text.

Transformation from XML to HTML by Lawrence Mielniczuk
06 October 2011