Rare Books Auction in Hamburg

Germany defeats the USA

Hamburg, 28 November, 2011, (kk) – In the bidding race for George Catlin's "North American Indian Portfolio" (lot 40), which could almost double its starting price of € 45.000 with a result of € 87.600*, several bidders from the USA were left empty handed. The unique contemporary document of highest rarity will remain in Germany after the heated bidding skirmish.

With an overall result of more than € 1,6 million, the two day auction of Rare Books at Ketterer Kunst in Hamburg made for excellent results and even outperformed the spring auction by more than € 100.000. The evening auction alone achieved the remarkable sales quota of 86 percent lots sold. The entire auction realized 98 percent of the volume of estimated prices.

"Works in the section of Expressionism were particularly sought after, in the end all but five lots were sold. This is also largely owed to the fact that more and more fine art buyers are developing an interest in rare books", said Robert Ketterer, owner of Ketterer Kunst

One example are the 15 issues of "Menschen" with 92 original prints by Conrad Felixmüller, Otto Dix and others. A German dealer stood his grounds against a private fellow countrymen and made for a result of € 11.040*, almost a sixteen-fold of the starting price of € 700.

A lot of interest could also be noticed when the weekly magazine for art and culture "Der Sturm" (lot 114) was called up. A London book dealer allowed almost twice the calling price and let the most important avant-garde magazine of Expressionism soar up to heights of € 52.800*.

The only known copy of "Legenda aurea..." (lot 16) by Jacobus de Voragine goes to a French private collector. Called up at € 18.000, he let the work in two volumes climb to a remarkable result of € 45.600*.

While Maria Sibylla Merian's "Over de voortteeling en wonderbaerlyke veranderingen der Surinaamsche insecten" (lot 35) went to a German dealer for € 38.400*, a German private collector made "Biblia germanica inferior" (lot 8) sure for himself for a price of € 37.200*.

Other top results as well as great increases were realized by the following:

The Special Catalog of Children's Books with two collections of roundabout a thousand books also provided great excitement in the auction room. The offering comprised German spelling books, picture books and activity books from the 19th century to the mid 20th century as well as Dutch and English so-called Movable Books, meaning children's books with movable parts as well as pop-up books.

With an overall sales quota of 75 percent lots sold, one example worthwhile mentioning is the charming French transformation book "Le Sérail a l'encan" (lot 1196) in a playful Rococo style from the collection Landwehr, which started at € 600 and soared to a result of € 4.560*. It went to an English dealer present in the auction room.

Yet another remarkable increase was realized by the picture story "Das Männchen" (lot 1332) by C. Meissen which came from a private collector from Hamburg. A German antiquarian in the room had the longest breath and eventually put a stop to his opponent's bidding frenzy at € 2.400* or a fourteen-fold of the starting price.

The auction of Maritime and Northern German Art, which is traditionally held in Hamburg before the Rare Books auction, should not be left unmentioned. This is a selection of the most important results:

Unsold lots can be purchased in the post-auction sale until 15 December.

          *  The result is the hammer price + 20 percent buyer’s premium.

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Monogrammist E.W.
Starting bid: 980 EUR

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