Leaf from one of Beethoven's Conversation Books, ca. December 4–6, 1826

7 views

3 downloads

Documents

Reproduction from the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin--Preussischer Kulturbesitz

Date

Resource Type

Form of original

Campus

Subjects

Date created

Handle

Identifier

Language

Notes

Exhibited: The Beethovens on the Rhine (2020). Exhibition text: Although Beethoven learned basic reading, writing and arithmetic at school, he apparently never learned to multiply. If he had to multiply a number several times, he usually wrote the number out multiple times in a long column and added them together as a sum. This entry in a conversation book from December 1826 shows Beethoven’s nephew Karl explaining to his 55-year-old uncle how to do multiplication sums. Karl writes: “Multiplication is a simplified form of addition, wherefore examples are performed in the same manner. Each product is set under its proper place. If it consists of two digits, the left one is added to the product of the next. Here is a small illustration: 2348 multiplied by 2.”

Rights Note

This work may not be in the public domain and may be protected by copyright laws of the country of the copyright holder. The digital images attached to this record may be used for teaching or research purposes under the provisions of the fair-use statute of the copyright law of the United States. For further information see the Beethoven Center's website at https://www.sjsu.edu/beethoven/collection/library-materials/index.php

Relationships

In Collection:

Thumbnail	File information	Actions
	ConversationBook.jp2 Public Date Uploaded: 2025-04-29	Download