This first printing of Beethoven's Wellington's Victory, Opus 91, the "Battle Symphony," was owned by conductor Anton Seidl. Seidl came to prominence as Wagner's principal assistant at the first Beyreuth festival in 1876, and he became a member of the Wagner household. After conducting in Europe, Seidl was invited to conduct German opera at the Metropolitan Opera House. He made his debut on November 23, 1885, conducting Lohengrin. When German opera at the Met was dropped in 1891, he became the conductor of the Philharmonic Society of New York, returning to the Met in 1897. During this time he became a naturalized American citizen, dying suddenly of ptomaine poisoning at the height of his career in 1898.