"Min kjære Eduards elskværdige Jette fra Forfatteren - En Digter ligner Fuglen der flagrer over Vang, Han bringer hvad han eier - sit Hjertes bedste Sang. O tænk med Eduard paa mig, naar Jorden mig har gjemt, Maaskee, i Eders Hjerter jeg ikke bliver glemt. Drøm glad i Kjærligheden, paa Livets raske Elv, Den sang jeg tidt som Digter, men fandt den aldrig selv."

The dedication is touching and important not only because it indirectly relates to Hans Christian Andersen's well-known crush on Edvard Collin, but also because it more broadly touches upon Andersen's romantic anguish as a poet, which he here mirrors in Edvard and Henriette's joy of love.

Among the Collin family’s three sons and two daughters, the second-oldest son Edvard was closest with Hans Christian Andersen, and the friendship between the two is well documented in the history of literature, including more than 500 letters between the two. Edvard and Andersen were extremely different in nature, and the friendship was deeply problematic, but lasted all their lives. There is a particular episode in 1831 that is relevant in this regard. In a letter Andersen sincerely asks Edvard if they can drop the formality of addressing each other with the Danish “De” in favour of the more intimate “du”. Edvard’s rejection of this proposal stands as a milestone in the relationship. The friendship survived, but Andersen never recovered from the slight.

In the poem, Andersen talks about himself as “a fluttering bird,” and the dedication probably originates from the time of his Grand Tour in 1833 (from the autumn of 1832 to April 1833). Due to his unrequited love and literary tribulations, Hans Christian Andersen sought and received in 1833 a two-year travel scholarship that enabled him to carry out a classic Grand Tour lasting from April 1833 to August 1834. The trip took him to Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Edvard and Henriette (Thyberg) were engaged in 1832 and married in 1836. Andersen was not invited to their wedding.

Provenance: The Collin Family.