Unread Blixen Letters, The Danish Vitruvius, Historical Greenland Collection and Piquant Leather Book Boxes
At our book auction on 15 December, you can bid on unread letters by Karen Blixen, architectural treasures collected by the Danish "Vitruvius", diary accounts from a ship's boy on expedition with the "Dagny" and art collector John Hunov's book collection.
Karen Blixen's Great Love
A highlight at the auction is a series of letters to and from Karen Blixen, written by, among others, the British aristocrat Denys Finch Hatton, who was Karen Blixen's great love. In a long letter to her mother, Blixen recounts the first meeting between the two, while she was still married to Bror Blixen:
"He (Finch Hatton, ed.) is an uncommonly amiable and knowledgeable person, and that sort of Englishman has an infinitely pleasing presence (...)."
Karen Blixen, Nairobi, 1918
When the marriage with Bror fell apart in 1925, Finch Hatton became the leading man in Blixen's love life. In a letter to Blixen, sent from one of his many safari trips, he mentions for the first time the gramophone, which today is located at the Karen Blixen Museum in the green living room at Rungstedlund:
“I'm bringing you a gramophone that sounds exactly like a piano. It's the first I've heard that sounds this way. I have a couple of good records that I hope you will like.”
Denys Finch Hatton, Mombasa, 1926
The letters originate from the dramaturgist and translator Viggo Kjær Petersen, who became friends with the elderly and at the time greatly weakened Blixen. The collection contains letters to and from Finch Hatton and letters from Blixen to Kjær Petersen. They are not published and therefore provide a unique insight into Blixen's thoughts and emotional life.
The Danish Vitruvius
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The masterpiece "The Danish Vitruvius" by the architect Laurids de Thurah (1706-1759) is also set to come under the virtual hammer. The work was commissioned by King Christian VI in 1735, and it is complete with all 281 full page engravings with layouts, elevation and sectional views of the "remarkable buildings in the Kingdom of Denmark and in the German provinces". "The Danish Vitruvius" was published in two volumes in 1746 and 1749 respectively, printed by Ernst Henrich Berling. The work consists of two contemporaneous and well-preserved folio leather bindings with gilt details, crowned monogram and hand-coloured endpaper. |
Tales from a Historic Expedition to Greenland
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We can also offer a collection of double glass positives from an expedition to Greenland as well as a previously unknown diary by the young ship's boy Broer Sandberg, who tells the story of the journey. The material provides a historical and unique insight into the events surrounding the expedition ship "Dagny" and its crew. Sandberg was a ship's boy on the "Dagny", which in June 1920 sailed towards East Greenland from Copenhagen. Just a few days after arriving at the Cape Philip Brooke station on the island of Shannon, however, the "Dagny" sunk. The 15-year-old Sandberg describes, among other things, the dramatic shipwreck, the subsequent winter spent in Greenland in double-digit subzero degrees and the return journey aboard the "Teddy" in July 1921. |
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"I jumped down into the crew cabin and roused the sleepers with the following cry: ‘Save what you can, men, we are going down’. They all flew into their shirts, except Sørensen. He didn't want to believe it, but when he heard the creaking of the hull, he went headfirst out of the bunk."
Broer Sandberg, Shannon Island, August 1920
Hunov's Book Collection
"I need to surround myself with beauty, but much of what I consider beauty others call horrific."
John Hunov: ”Snot og Harsk”, Lundtofte, 2008
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In addition to Hunov’s large and renowned art collection, which we had up for auction in September, we are now offering the art patron’s collection of books. Here you can find a larger selection of art books, about and by Per Kirkeby, for instance, who during the 1960s was a visitor in Hunov's home as both an artist and friend. A selection of works in Hunov's book collection are stored in distinctive and piquant leather book boxes that have been specially designed and interpreted based on the work they were made for. The boxes are unique and made by Apeiron, who artfully and boundary seeking produced them on the borders between horror and beauty. |
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We Look Forward to Seeing You at the Preview in Glostrup!
You can already place your bid online on the book auction. The preview will take place at Paul Bergsøes Vej 20B, 2600 Glostrup, on Monday 12 December and Tuesday 13 December between 10 am to 5 pm. The auction concludes on Thursday 15 December at 6 pm.
For further information, please contact: