Incognito: An Annotated Edition of the Archival Documentation for Saxon Electoral Prince Friedrich Christian’s two-year Tour Abroad in 1738-40

The educational grand-tour-cum-cure undertaken by the handicapped crown prince of Saxony in 1738-40 is documented by an unparalleled array of archival evidence in Dresden and beyond. This includes four detailed journals, in French, German and Italian, one handwritten by the prince himself and the others by members of his staff, plus boundless correspondence, both official and personal, as well as the account book (privy purse) for his two-year odyssey abroad. Further evidence is found in eyewitness accounts penned by others, whether diplomats or tourists or the clergy, and in published reports. Hence, the transcriptions presented here in eight chapters, including the four handwritten diaries and the account book in Dresden, are annotated with relevant excerpts from archival material in foreign archives or with references to the many known or unknown works of art, relics, and antiquities cited in the journals, not to mention the countless people and places named. The footnotes also offer insights into practical matters, such as the logistics of moving people, correspondence or things from place to place under often challenging circumstances, household management and staffing; matters of protocol, given the prince was travelling incognito; and the patterns and rituals of gift-giving, Catholic devotion and courtly entertainment. Moreover, the transcriptions demonstrate four different approaches to reporting for posterity.