ABSTRACT
«Sehr selten» is an appropriate description of autograph letters by Johann Christian (1735–1782), the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. Only about forty are known, a small number compared, for example, with his half-brother Carl Philipp Emanuel, whose published letters, mostly to his publishers, fill sizeable volumes. (1) Most of Johann Christian's are written to his teacher and mentor Padre Martini, with one or two exceptions largely date from between 1757 and 1762, and are housed today in the Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale Bologna. Several others, written as letters of introduction to his brothers in Germany and acquaintances in Italy on behalf of the Davies sisters, exist in contemporary copies in the Racket collection in the Dorset County Record Office (2) and one or two are in private hands.
