This exceptional, historically significant August 1926 postal cover and complete handwritten letter offers a rare, deeply personal window into the private life of Dr. Carl Koller, the legendary Austrian-American ophthalmologist who revolutionized modern surgery by discovering cocaine as the first local anesthetic in 1884. Written on the elegant, collectible stationery of Vienna's landmark Hotel Hammerand (Florianigasse 8), the letter is penned in clear cursive script by Dr. Koller ("Carl") to his wife, Laura, who was summering at their beach house in the historic enclave of Siasconset on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. The fascinating, highly readable content captures the anxieties of early 20th-century transatlantic travel, detailing Koller's stress over strict baggage limits on "choked full" European rail cars bound for the port of Bremen, his sleeplessness in Vienna due to the "continual tooting" of early automobiles, and a pleasant evening spent drinking wine in the historic tavern district of Grinzing. Concluding with his eager anticipation to return home to 86th Street in New York City, this item is an extraordinary crossover piece ideal for collectors of historic medical ephemera, Viennese hotel postal history, and elite Nantucket-bound transatlantic mail routes.. ... Letter Reads as follows - Hotel Hammerand Wien, Sunday August 15th 1926 — 11 1/2 30 a.m., Dear Laura: — Have written you on the 12th. Clara lives in a Sanitarium (not to have any medical care, but to set Marianne a little more free) — Fritz & Marianne are in their place, and I am in a 3rd rate hotel, into which I have moved to escape the continual tooting that the few automobiles set up. — Unfortunately my plans to get some sleep that way have so far not been realized. — I have to spend the time up to Sunday 22nd for which date I have set my departure. My time is chiefly taken up with worries for the return journey to Bremen, which is not an entirely smooth trip, and handicapped by 3 pieces of hand baggage, with limitations as to the land-baggage on the railroads, on railroad cars that are choked full — so that I am more sympathetic towards your attitude with regard to travelling without a courier. — Last night we spent a pleasant evening out in Grinzing with the "Grüner Kranzes" — Clara, Marianne, Fritz, myself, Gustel, Susi, the latter a little French exchange girl for Martin, who is in France with her family. — Johanna also absent in England. — I expect to bulk up on the sea trip and shall be glad when I strike 86th St. again. — Love Carl... .... Code JSB 341
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