The second auction day in Königstein offered a wide range of items. Here is a brief review of some of the many highlights:
‘Natural intelligence can replace almost any degree of education, but no education can replace natural intelligence.’ One of Arthur Schopenhauer’s most famous quotes. Our customers demonstrated their education and intellect by eagerly bidding on the philosopher’s magnum opus. The first edition of ‘Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung’ (The World as Will and Representation) from 1819 fetched a hammer price of € 20,000 on the telephone (estimate € 10,000, lot 694). The other three titles penned by Schopenhauer also sold for good prices.
A larger selection of books on horsemanship in the Horses, Hunting and Forestry section of the ‘Valuable Books’ catalogue once again attracted an international audience to their computers and telephones. The small collection comprised 33 lots, 29 of which were sold during the auction. Besides classics by Cavendish, Seutter, and Löhneysen, there were numerous rarities on offer, such as Fiorentini and Löhneysen’s ‘Zwey gute und sehr nutzliche Bücher von Stangen und Mundstücken’ (Two good and very useful books on rods and mouthpieces) from 1609 (estimate € 1,000/hammer price € 4,000, lot 805) or C. Reuschel’s ‘Hippopronia’ from 1599 (lot 823, estimate € 1,200/hammer price € 3,500).
The auction of books on geography and travel began in the afternoon, starting with travel books from around the world. The most outstanding lot in this section is a very early edition of a Chinese catechism from the 17th century, which was used for the Christianisation of China until the 1930s. It is a xylographic print on fine Chinese paper in block book binding. The author, João Soeiro (1566-1607), worked as a missionary in Nanchang (Jiangxi Province) from 1595 onwards. After fierce bidding on the telephone, the hammer finally fell at € 30,000. (Lot 1114, estimate € 8,000).
