Ludwig van Beethoven, Skizzenblatt zu den Klaviertrios op. 70, Autograph

Ink blots as proof

Single leaves and even whole gatherings were removed over the course of time from the Pastoral Sketchbook (so called as a large proportion of the contents comprise sketches for the Pastoral Symphony), as was the case with many sketchbooks Beethoven used. The sketchbook is now located in the British Library. Of the original 96 leaves only 59 now remain; the others were sold or given away in the nineteenth century. Most of the leaves removed from the sketchbook have been identified. The same paper was used for all of the original leaves in this sketchbook. Characteristic ink blots also help with identification. When Beethoven stopped working, he sometimes closed the sketchbook, even if the ink was not quite dry. Thus ink blots can often be found on opposite pages. The leaf shown here is from the last third of the sketchbook and has ink blots on the front (image 1): not the large smudge in the middle, which strikes one immediately, but a small blot three staves below it, very inconspicuous above a bar line. The print of this blot can be found on another leaf of a larger miscellany, which is known to have been removed from the Pastoral Sketchbook. "Landsberg 10" is now located in the Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin. On "our" leaf Beethoven did not make any sketches for the Pastoral Symphony but for the Piano Trios op. 70. (J.R.)