8vo. Fair copy account, 223 pages in manuscript including title page, with 20 ephemeral papers and documents tipped-in at rear of volume, and 11 plant specimens mounted to separate cardstock leafs, captioned, and preserved in two folding envelopes also tipped-in (five were harvested in 1869 in Germany). Journal is written in German. Documents are in Italian or German, depending on place of origin. Burgundy cloth boards representative of the period, with four raised bands, marbled endpapers. Some wear to boards, fading at spine, otherwise in very good condition, a pleasing work in a fine hand. Wenzel Heger (1806-1895) was an architect residing in Josefstadt, a district within Vienna, active in his trade in the 1840s, and employed by the Austrian Department of Architecture by the 1860s. As one might expect from an esteemed architect, this manuscript is penned in a meticulous hand, a pleasing format with wide margins, the account unfolding chronologically and replete with detail. Heger and his wife indulge in an autumn sojourn, departing from their home in Vienna in August 1856 for Trieste, and from there to visit Venice, Padua, Verona, the Lago Di Garda, Peschiera, Brescia, Bergamo, Milan, Lago Maggiore, Como, Mals, and returning via the connecting alpine pass in Nauders, which lead to Austria, passing through the ancient fortress at Finstermünz (Altfinstermünz) which operated as a customs office until 1854. As well as describing nineteenth century Italian custom and the numerous sites visited, as he travels, Heger notes significant historical events, beginning with his first stay, in Venice, noting circumstances of the city having been plundered in 1797 by retreating Austrian and then French forces, and the Republic of Venice subsequently becoming a part of a unified Italy. He goes further back historically to discuss the visit of Tycho Brahe in 1575 who was soliciting Venetian artisans to work on the Danish king's palace. Early on in their travels, the couple crossed the border by rail into Croatia, then Slovenia to witness the natural and historic beauty of that South Slavic country. We find mention of Krapina and Warasdin (Varazdin), the iconic and majestic Terglau (Triglav) Mountain, Laibach and the ancient Roman castrum known as Colonie Aemona (Emona), Loitsch, Idra (Idrija), one of the many settlements called Paka, and Ogulin. The Baltic tour is described over 14 pages. The tour of mid-nineteenth century Austrian-ruled Italy is further memorialized with ephemeral and manuscript documents such as restaurant menus, hotel receipts including two illustrated billheads for the Grand Albergo alla Luna in Venice and the Gerardo Berina hotel's Trattoria restaurant which no longer stands, ferryboat, omnibus and gondola tickets, theater tickets and three theatre broadsides (one in Italian and one in German). Donizetti's "Elixir d'Amore" and Giacomo Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots" at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice are featured. Finally, some botanical samples were collected by Heger and/or his wife at Lake Garda, Verona, Tirano, Padua, Monza, and much to the Austrian's delight, an edelweiss flower was harvested at an elevation of 7068 feet on Monte Pasubio (captioned Gnaphalium Leontopodium). Manuscript
