Karl Henning with his daughter
In the Heinrich Schliemann Papers in the Archives of the Gennadius Library, there are four letters preserved from the correspondence between these two learned men: three from Karl Henning and one from Schliemann. We have recently received from Irmgard Helfrich, the great-granddaughter of Henning, a thirty-page essay that includes annotated transcriptions of these letters, and three photos, one of Henning and his daughter, and two of the Schliemann couple. The one of Sophia (or Sophie, as she liked to sign herself) from 1888 is not included in the collection of photos in the Gennadius Library. Some thirty-five years ago Irmgard Helfrisch also discovered some of her great grandfather’s papers in the Berlin State Library.
But who was Karl Henning? Dr. Karl Henning (1843-1887), a German philologist, served as private secretary and tutor in ancient languages for the sagacious Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil (1825-1891). Henning accompanied Dom Pedro on his grand journey in 1876-1877, when the emperor travelled to the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. In 1876 Dom Pedro visited Troy to see Schliemann’s excavations. Schliemann had to interrupt his excavations at Mycenae and rush to Troy to receive his majestic guest. A few days later Schliemann was honored again to receive Dom Pedro at Mycenae. He describes both royal visits in Diary A 15, which is available online on the School’s web page (http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/index.php/archives/schliemann-diary-a-15). Then in June 1877, Dom Pedro visited Schliemann in London and the two men together browsed through photographic albums from Schliemann's excavations at Mycenae (see Sinclair Hood, "Schliemann’s Mycenae Albums" at http://www.aegeussociety.org/images/uploads/publications/schliemann/Schliemann_2012_70-78_Hood.pdf). Finally, a year later, Schliemann dedicated his Mycenae volume (New York, 1878) to “His Majesty Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil with the profound respect of the author.”
Henning’s three letters are long and scholarly, focused on linguistic issues. Schliemann’s single letter is rather short, with a brief reference to his excavations at Orchomenos and congratulating Henning on his second marriage. One wonders why Schliemann, with all his love of travelling, did not take a trip to South America after he made Dom Pedro's acquaintance. No longer a merchant or an unhappy husband, Schliemann the archaeologist (with Sophia next to him) seems finally content to remain within European boundaries.
