Johann Wolfgang von Goethe signature

German poet, dramatist and scientist, 1749–1832

Inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s signature

A rendering in a modern handwriting font, made for this page. It is not the real signature; see where to view the original below. Where to see the original ↓Style: Mr De Haviland, slant 10°

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Who Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was

Johann Wolfgang Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1749 and spent most of his life in Weimar, where he died in 1832. Poet, novelist, playwright, minister of state and amateur scientist, he wrote The Sorrows of Young Werther and Faust and studied plants, colour and anatomy.

He was raised to the nobility in 1782, which added the “von” to his name. His later signatures show it, compressed into a single letter.

The story of the signature

For most of his adult life Goethe dictated. Letters, essays and even large parts of his literary work were taken down by secretaries such as Geist, John and Kräuter, and Goethe then read the result and signed it. Many surviving letters are therefore in someone else’s hand except for the last line.

That last line is where his signature lives. A short letter of 1821 to the chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, written out by his secretary John, ends with the closing “ergebenst” and the signature “JWvGoethe” in Goethe’s own hand: initials and the “v” of “von” run together into the surname. Many other letters, such as one of 1801 to the writer Ludwig Tieck, are signed simply “Goethe”.

His papers form the core of the Goethe and Schiller Archive in Weimar, the oldest literary archive in Germany. Many letters also passed through the autograph trade, which is why so many examples can be seen in auction records today.

What makes it distinctive

Initials run together

“JWvGoethe” joins J, W and the v of von directly to the surname, without spaces or full stops.

A different hand above

On dictated letters the body text is in a secretary’s hand, so the signature stands out in its own style.

Closing formula

A word such as “ergebenst” (most devotedly) often sits just above the name, also in his hand.

Plain “Goethe”

Many letters are signed with the surname alone, which is all a correspondent needed.

How to give your signature a similar feel

In the Type tab of the signature generator, type your initials joined to your surname, with no spaces, for example “JMSmith”. Mr De Haviland or Herr Von Muellerhoff with a Slant of about 10° suits it.
If your name has a particle such as von, van, de or da, try reducing it to a lowercase letter as Goethe did.
Keep the joined initials slightly smaller than the surname, so the eye goes to the name.
For a formal letter, write a short closing word above the signature in the Draw tab. It frames the name the way his closings did.

Where to see the original

These links lead to archives, libraries, museums and Wikimedia Commons.

Questions about Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s signature

How did Goethe sign his name?

Often as “JWvGoethe”, with his initials and the v of von joined to the surname, and on many letters simply as “Goethe”.

Did Goethe write his own letters?

He dictated most of them to secretaries and then signed them. The closing words and signature are usually the only parts in his own hand.

Why is there a “von” in his name?

He was ennobled in 1782 and from then on was entitled to use “von Goethe”.