Signed copy of Mein Kampf goes for...

[RedRalph]

£21,000

Am I the only one who thought this would featch around a hundred times that amount?


From BBC

A rare signed copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf has sold for £21,000 at an auction in Shropshire.

A Russian telephone bidder at the Mullock's auction at Ludlow Racecourse bought the book, which was given by Hitler to a fellow prison inmate.

The work, which translates as My Struggle, became the bible of National Socialism in Hitler's Third Reich.

It was sold on Thursday alongside a signed self-portrait of the Nazi leader, which fetched £12,300.

Pencil sketch

Hitler gave the Mein Kampf book to an inmate, an early member of the Nazi Party, at Landsberg Prison following his failed attempt to overthrow the German government.

The German inscription reads: "Herr Johann Georg Maurer. In memory of our time together in prison in Landsberg. Cordially dedicated by Adolf Hitler. Christmas 1925."

Richard Westwood-Brookes, historical documents expert at Mullock's, said it was one of the rarest signed copies of Mein Kampf on the market in recent years.

He said: "Mein Kampf in its very early editions is quite rare anyway, and then signed copies signed by Hitler are of the greatest rarity.

"This particular copy was signed by him and inscribed by him to one of the other people who was in prison with him."

The self-portrait, a pencil sketch of the Nazi leader dated 1926, fetched £12,300 including buyer's premium and was bought by a private collector in the UK.

 

[Dragonlord]

Yes, that relatively low price surprises me as well. Must not have been widely publicized, I guess.
Certainly a heck of a rarity, never mind the contents of the book.

I'm uncertain whether Germans would even have been allowed to bid on the book, though, since it's banned in Germany. Maybe that lowered the price a bit.

 

[Truronian]

Should really be in a museum.

 

[Camikaze]

A private buyer would probably be kinda vilified if they paid a lot for this, even if it is a valuable historical artefact. I'm surprised a museum didn't buy it.

 

[sydhe]

Yes, that relatively low price surprises me as well. Must not have been widely publicized, I guess.
Certainly a heck of a rarity, never mind the contents of the book.

I'm uncertain whether Germans would even have been allowed to bid on the book, though, since it's banned in Germany. Maybe that lowered the price a bit.

Is it that much of a rarity? Did the struggling author do autograph sessions? How many signed copies exist?

 

[Azale]

Wait...a Russian bought it?

 

[Godwynn]

Wait...a Russian bought it?

Perhaps a Volga German?

 

[Reno]

Wait...a Russian bought it?

I suppose ethnicity doesn't matter if you are a collector though...

 

[Dragonlord]

Is it that much of a rarity? Did the struggling author do autograph sessions? How many signed copies exist?

Don't know about signed copies - but how many would he have done for fellow inmates in Landsberg prison, right after writing the darned thing?

 

[Uncle Anton]

"Everything is worth what it's purchaser will pay for it..."

I'm not really surprised at all by the purchasing price. Someone may well spend more than 21,000 pounds for a signed copy of Mein Kampf. Some may pay less; I think the question of value, especially in this instance is highly subjective.

Point in case, I personally wouldn't pay anything, and not just because it's a poorly written book. Quality of the work aside, considering it from a point of view regarding it's value as a historical artifact...?

Even if it was signed, I don't personally believe it to be a historical artifact of any real value (ie I wouldn't consider the world's collective knowledge of history in any way diminished if that particular copy of the book disappeared from existence). Obviously there are people who hold a different view, and for them, that artifact does hold value. But since it's a subjective thing, I can't really say I'm surprised at the amount it's gone for one way or another.

 

[Imrahil91]

Most expensive book sold at auction
An original four-volume subscriber set of J.J. Audubon's The Birds of America was auctioned for $8,802,500 (£5,567,573) by Christie's, New York, USA, on 10 March 2000.

-------------

Most expensive cow sold at auction
The highest price paid for a cow is US$1.3 million (£914,000) for a Friesian at an 1985 auction in East Montpelier, Vermont, USA.

When the most expensive book was sold for over 250 times the price and a cow was sold for almost 20 times the price, I also think that Russian did an extremly good investment.

 

[sydhe]

Don't know about signed copies - but how many would he have done for fellow inmates in Landsberg prison, right after writing the darned thing?

Good point. Probably none for the guards, I imagine.

 

[Dumanios]

I didn't think someone would buy the thing.

 

[RedRalph]

Good point. Probably none for the guards, I imagine.

On the contrary, he was supposedly treated like a celebrity by the guards.

 

[say1988]

I would not have been surprised if it failed to sell or if it was purchased for an extremely high price.

While Hitler, the Third Reich, and WWII are very popular, Hitler and things connected to him so reviled I that I could see it going either way. I suspect a lot of collectors wouldn't want to be seen purchasing that book.