The auction of two letters written by Henryk Sienkiewicz is set to end on Wednesday. As was the case with Adam Mickiewicz’s letters, which were sold earlier this month, the authenticated manuscripts are being offered by an art gallery in Leipzig, Germany. The auction was spotted by a reader of Niezalezna.pl.
Less than three weeks ago, we reported on the sale of an Adam Mickiewicz letter by the same German gallery. The two-page manuscript was sold on the European auction platform Catawiki for more than €13,000. Dating from between 1840 and 1853, the letter contained references to Wincenty Pol and Bogusz Stęczyński and was put up for sale by Leipzig-based Anabel Walter Gallery. Bidding opened at just €1, with a buyer from Poland ultimately outbidding a British collector by €500.
At the time, Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage took no action, arguing that it had no legal grounds “to undertake measures aimed at suspending or blocking the auction.”
Sienkiewicz letters now up for auction
Now another of Poland’s literary giants is at the centre of an auction. The same Leipzig-based Anabel Walter Gallery is offering two authenticated, signed letters written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in May 1911.
“Mounted on the original album card; in Polish; comprising four pages and one page (five pages in total); dimensions: 17.8 × 11 cm,”
the auction description states.
Among more than 50 bids submitted so far, the highest offer comes from a bidder in Poland. At the time of publication, the leading bid stood at €1,651. According to the auction platform, the letters are estimated to be worth up to €4,000.
The auction is scheduled to end on Wednesday at 8:08 p.m. local time.
The auction is available HERE.