"A Poet Is Like the Bird Fluttering Above the Meadow"

Hans Christian Andersen's extremely poetic, versified and previously unknown dedication has not been up for auction before. It was written for Henriette Collin, who was engaged and later married to Andersen's close friend, Edvard Collin. The friendship is thoroughly documented as both highly problematic and very intimate. The dedication was consigned directly from the family.

From Hans Christian Andersen to Hans Vilhelm Kaalund

Another historically interesting dedication from Andersen has also found its way to the first book auction of the spring. It was written for the poet colleague Hans Vilhelm Kaalund, whose famous children's fables from 1844 is considered a classic within Danish children’s literature. Hans Christian Andersen, who was very fond of Kaalund, writes: "The poet Kaalund. As a kind reminder of our first meeting on 29 April 1845 from the author of Nye Eventyr (New Fairy Tales)".

"A Tall, Skinny Young Man, Very Kind."

It is public knowledge that Hans Christian Andersen was quite the industrious writer of letters, and a longer handwritten letter from Andersen is now up for auction. The letter was written to the friend, literary scholar and author Xavier Marmier, who in the 1800s helped raise awareness of Nordic poetry in France. Marmier visited Denmark several times and learned Danish so that he could translate Danish works into German and French. Marmier kept a diary in Danish, and after one of the first visits he had from Andersen, Marmier wrote: "Visit by the poet Andersen. A tall, skinny young man, very kind." The letter, written in 1838, provides a deep insight into Andersen's hectic life as an author, where he, among other things, was working on the fairy tale entitled Lykkens Kaloscher (The Galoshes of Fortune). The letter mentions Henriette Wulff, Frederika Bræmer, Johan Ludvig Heiberg and the Swedish artist Esaias Tegnér, among others.

Avant-garde and Art Books

The auction begins with a number of modern art books with original prints by Chagall, Miró, Freddie, Jorn and others. A fine edition of the distinctive avant-garde publication Dames et Généraux from 1964 by Enrico Baj and Benjamin Péret deserves to be highlighted. The book is bound in striped canvas and resembles a mattress. An "hors commerce" print of Jim Dine and Walasse Ting’s One Cent Life with a dedication from Walasse Ting is also up for auction – an impressive book project with a sea of coloured lithographs that unite American Pop and European Expressionism.

A Publisher's French Favourites

In addition to the above works, there is a larger collection of French books, several of which are illustrated. The books originate from the Danish book collector and publisher from the publishing house Høst & Søn, Ellis Francisco Lohse (1889-1973). The auction also includes early books and prints from Greenland, presentation copies from the Danish poet Michael Strunge, copperplate engravings, such as Samuel de Pufendorf’s Histoire du regne de Charles Gustave roy de Svede […] from 1697, as well as a fine copy of Laurids de Thurah's Den danske Vitruvius from 1746-49.

Preview and Auction

The preview for the book auction will, as usual, take place at our location on Baltikavej 10, 2150 Nordhavn, Monday 19 March from 10 am to 5 pm and Tuesday 20 March from 10 am to 5 pm. The hammer will begin to fall online on Tuesday 20 March at 6 pm.

View the all the lots of the auction here