Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach was born on May 24 1759, nine years after the death of his famous grandfather Johann Sebastian Bach. His father was Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, the oldest surviving son of J.S. Bach and his second wife, Anna Magdalena. He was the last surviving musical member of the Bach family and J.S. Bach's only grandson. His daughters Carolina and Juliane died without issue.

The manuscript upon which this edition was taken is held by the British Library (MS32316) and recorded in their catalogue as

Since the manuscript is, almost certainly, a copy of the original or a later copy, and it is not listed in Groves, the provenance should be treated with caution. The title page reads

with an annotation "composed by W. Bach. (grandson of J.S. Bach.)" and signed "C Zoeller". There is a further, more recent, addition at the bottom of the title page: "Purch'd of C Zoeller 22 Mar & 26 Apr 1884". There is no extra information on the parts other than the instrument names. Carli (Karl) Zoeller was born in Berlin in 1840 and died in London in 1889. He was a violinist and composer. In 1878 he was appointed bandmaster to the 7th (Queen''s Own) Hussars. On what basis he believed that this Partita was by Wilhelm Bach is unknown.