Hamburg, 23 May, 2011, (kk) – With an overall proceeds of € 1,7 million, the two day auction of Rare Books at Ketterer Kunst in Hamburg made for remarkable results and excelled last year’s result by around € 200.000. The evening auction alone had an excellent sales quota of 116 percent***.

       The TOP 5

€ 425.000* Starting price: €200.000
No. 6: De Gros-Carondelet-Book of Hours
Flanders around 1480 and Burgundy around 1485/1500

€ 120.000* Starting price: €100.000
No. 39: Jan Huygen van Linschoten
Itinerario.
Amsterdam 1595-96

€ 64.800* Starting price: €40.000
No. 28: J.W. Weinmann
Phytanthoza-Iconographia.
Regensburg 1737-45

€ 34.800* Starting price: €15.000
No. 12: Rainerius de Pisis
Pantheologia, sive Summa universae theologiae.
Nürnberg 1473

€ 25.200* Starting price: €21.000
No. 38: P. Ziegler Das ist America.
Erfindung und Offenbahrung der Newen Welt. Frankfurt 1617

As expected, the list of desired objects was led by the high-quality De Gros-Carondelet Book of Hours (lot 6), which more than doubled its starting price of € 200.000 with a result of € 425.000*. The one-of-a-kind vellum manuscript with original miniatures of, for instance, the green devil steeling the inkpot comes from the inner circle of the Burgundian court. In context of a presumably politically motivated change of ownership, it was worked over by a French book painter. Yet, this contemporary document went neither to Belgium nor to France. In the end competitors from Germany, Monaco and the U.S.A. were relegated to places second and beyond.

However, the race for Jan Huygen von Linschoten's fine copy of a Dutch travelogue in old coloring and first edition (lot 39) was fought by several bidders from the United States. For a result of € 120.000* the in the truest sense of the word pathbreaking book will travel to the west coast of the U.S.A..

America will also be the new home of P. Ziegler's only edition of a German compendium of parts I-X of the Große Reisen by de Bry. The extremely rare copy of "Das ist Amerika. Erfindung und Offenbahrung der Newen Welt" (lot 38) with four maps of America is "one of the most important cartographic milestones in the history of North America" (Ph. Burden). Called up at € 21.000, it made for a result of € 25.200*.

The rush on the first and well-preserved copy of the Phytanthoza-Iconographia (lot 28) by J. W. Weinmann was great. The splendid baroque work of plants was honored a total price of € 64.800* by a German private collector, thus he did not only beat competitors from his home country, but also from England and America.

The first edition of the "Pantheologia" (lot 12) by Rainerius de Pisis went to a private Japanese collection. Called up at € 15.000, the buyer let the price soar to some € 34.800* and won the race against bidders from Germany and Italy.

Next to the section of children's books, it was particularly the autographs that made for great excitement in the auction room. An "Autographisches Albumblatt" (Los 91) written by Friedrich Hölderlin in Tübingen in 1839 during his life’s last period can be mentioned exemplarily. Particularly Hölderlin‘s fellow countrymen showed great interest in the poet's rare document. An art trader stood his ground with his phone bid and more than doubled the starting price of € 10.000 to a result of € 22.800*.

The auction of Maritime and Northern German Art, which traditionally takes places immediately before the auction of of Rare Books, is also worthwhile mentioning. Here a selection of the most important result:

Unsold objects can be purchased in the post auction sale until 19 June, 2012.

Since it was founded in 1954, Ketterer Kunst has been firmly established in the front ranks of auction houses dealing in art and rare books, with its headquarters in Munich and a branch in Hamburg. Gallery rooms in Berlin as well as representatives in Heidelberg and Düsseldorf have contributed substantially to the company's success. In addition, exhibitions, special theme and charity auctions as well as online auctions are regular events at Ketterer Kunst.

* The result is the hammer price + 20 percent buyer's premium.
** The result is the hammer price + 22 percent buyer's premium.
*** Relation between total starting prices and total hammer prices