Hamburg, 21 November 2012, (kk) – 5 €, that was the price a book lover from Germany paid on a flee market for a little booklet with the writing "Brücke" on it. It turns out more than a bargain, because in the Rare Books auction the small exhibition catalog for the second travelling exhibition of the world-famous artist group was sold for € 27.000*. Accordingly, the return is at an enormous 540000 %.

       The TOP 5

€ 92.400* Starting Price: €77.000
Nr. 47: Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied-Neuwied
Reise in das Innere Nord-America …
Koblenz 1839-41

€ 84.000* Starting Price: €79.000
Nr. 18: Plutarch
Virae illustrium virorum.
Venedig 1478

€ 31.200* Starting Price: €1.800
Nr. 81: E. T.A. Hoffmann
Prinzessin Brambilla. Breslau 1821. Dedication copy

€ 27.000* Starting Price: €14.000
Nr. 111: Künstlergruppe Brücke
Catalog for the second travelling exhibition
Berlin 1912

€ 19.200* Starting Price: €10.000
Nr. 17: Poetae christiani veteres Prudentii poetae opera.
Venedig 1501-1504

The two-day auction grossed more than € 1,5 million*, in the evening auction alone more than 72 % of the lots were sold. Additionally, the unusual flea market finding was just one out of many lots that made for remarkable increases.

E.T.A. Hoffmann's "Prinzessin Brambilla. Ein Capriccio nach Jakob Callot" soared from a starting price of € 1.800 to the fantastic result of € 31.200*. The important humorous narration with a signed autographed dedication by Hoffman went to a bidder from Switzerland in the auction room, who stood his grounds against an English art dealer sitting right behind him as well as four other bidders in the room, a number of phones and a bundle of written bids of up to € 10.000.

Twice the starting price of € 10.000 was due for the first edition of a remarkable collection of early Christian poets, the so-called Prudentii poetae opera. A French phone bidder relegated competitors in the auction room from Germany and Italy as well as a number of written bids to places second and beyond. In the end, he honored the famous work, the first with the famous Anchor-Dolphin printer's device, some € 19.200*.

Also flying to unknown heights was Jules Verne's "Bekannte und unbekannte Welten" (lot 82), which a book dealer from Germany let climb from € 2.000 to a result of € 9.000*, eventually making for a near five-fold of the starting price. The adventurous journeys are endowed with a large number of woodcut illustrations, with a total of 85 works they are a rare series of the much-treasured splendid edition.

Everything but sad must be true for the seller of Franz Karl Dellavilla's "Ein trauriges Stücklein" (A sad piece, lot 98), as the only edition of the children's book with eight woodcuts in colors realized a result of € 8.640*, that is twenty-five times the starting price of € 340. It was won by a German bidder in the auction room who beat more than a dozen opponents.

The list of desired objects was led by the "Reise in das Innere Nord-America in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834" by Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied-Neuwied, which remains in Germany for a result of € 92.400*, as well as by Plutarch's "Vitae illoustrium virorum". The Florentine print with armorial miniatures from the famous printshop of Nicolaus Jenson, a student of Johannes Gutenberg, was acquired by a private collector from Hesse for € 84.000*.

Least but not last is the auction of Maritime and Northern German Art, which is traditionally held in Hamburg right before the auction of Rare Books. Here is a selection of some interesting results:

Remaining lots can be purchased in the post auction sale until 21 December, 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, Düsseldorf and Modena (Italy) 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.