BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Friday, September 3, 1824

Beethoven remains in Baden, taking the baths and working on the quartet op.127 and walking in the countryside. In the late afternoon, he reads yesterday’s Intelligenzblatt in a coffee house. He makes notes of a house for sale in Baden. He also writes down that metal and glass objects are available for purchase at prices lower than for porcelain at the black lacquer factory store.

Beethoven writes a reminder to himself to get red and blue silk for underwear, and a black straw hat.

Beethoven also appears to go shopping for groceries. The same shopkeeper who gave Beethoven prices for sugar yesterday gives him the prices for 3 pounds each of rice and barley, and 3 sticks of cinnamon, cloves, pepper and corn. Altogether, that comes to 2 florins, 7 kreutzers.

Conversation Book 74, 9r-9v.