It is no secret that Hans Christian Andersen was a man of many talents. His imagination was constantly in motion and he expressed himself in many different ways from fairytales, stories, and novels to collages, drawings and fabulous papercuts. The present manuscript is immensely important as it is unlike most of Hans Christian Andersen's other fairytales and only exists in this singular manuscript version. The manuscript has never been used as the basis for a critical edition of Hans Christian Andersen's fairytales, and thus differs in a number of places from the printed, known version. “De Vises Steen” is amongst Hans Christian Andersen's longest fairytales and at the same time one of his most intellectual and philosophical fairytales, which on several points has a striking similarity with the philosophy of the Danish famous scientist Hans Christian Ørsted (1777–1851), printed in his great work “Aanden i Naturen” (The Spirit in Nature), 1849–50. Very much in the spirit of the age, Andersen deals with the magical reconciliation between art and science, between faith and knowledge. In his own distinctive fashion, he opens up a unique world of symbols and images that explain man's profound urge to understand life and the meaning of existence.

The manuscript turned up unexpectedly in 1999 from descendants of the Danish Swane family who back in time (September 1859) was given the manuscript in gratitude for the hospitality after Andersen's stay at the “Hjermin parsonage”. (On his travels in Jutland in the summer of 1859 Andersen visited Jørgen Swane and his family from August 28 to September 2). “De Vises Steen” is probably the last fairytale manuscript by Hans Christian Andersen in private ownership.