In June 1827 Jacob Hotschevar became guardian of Beethoven's nephew Karl (succeeding Stephan von Breuning, who had died). In this function he carefully followed the sale of Beethoven's musical estate in November 1827. In the list of what was to be sold, which was put together in advance, he wrote down the price paid and the buyer. To enable a comparison there was also a column in which the estimated price was listed. The buyers were predominantly Viennese publishers who were hoping to find unpublished manuscripts. However, as the estimation had also been made by these publishers, it is not surprising that the actual prices paid were significantly lower.
