From Conscience to Claus
4 December Live auction results
Spread over 300 lots, on Thursday afternoon, 4 December, we offered one of the finest Flemish private libraries, the fruit of more than 50 years of collecting at the highest level.
After a somewhat hesitant start in the distant but no less interesting 19th century, it was only a matter of time before Gezelle’s masterpieces caught fire and never really disappeared.
From Gezelle to Van de Woestijne, Streuvels, Timmermans… the masterpieces and magnificent editions followed each other in rapid succession and often achieved dizzying results:
The copy of “Quis ennarabit?” (lot 1260) fetched €2,000, while a deluxe edition of “Gulden Schaduw” with handwritten notes (lot 1313) by Van de Woestijne rose to €5,000. The same result was achieved by one of the 12 numbered deluxe copies of “Lenteleven” (lot 1272) by Streuvels with a double dedication, and one of the 10 deluxe copies of Timmermans’ “Boerenpsalm” (lot 1400).
Elsschot also achieved some very impressive results, particularly for a deluxe edition of “Verzen van vroeger” (Verses from the Past), with a dedication to Greshoff (lot 1373), which sold online for no less than 3,200 euros. Van Ostaijen was not to be outdone, of course, and his near-perfect luxury copy of “Bezette Stad” (Occupied City), with its extremely rare belly band (lot 1412), sold for an impressive 6,000 euros.
The unique Gilliams collection met with mixed success, but the luxurious “Elias” (lot 1445) still fetched €1,800, while the stunning luxury copy of “Winter in Antwerp”, in Tchékéroul binding (lot 1467), tempted a Dutch collector to pay a well-deserved €1,900.
Claus was able to conclude this high mass in a fitting manner with €3,500 for the manuscript of “Heer Everzwijn” (lot 1493) and €2,800 for the beautiful luxury edition of “Het verdriet van België” (lot 1500).
This auction confirmed that collectors and public institutions from both home and abroad appreciate the exceptional quality of this offering and were thus able to supplement their collections with exceptional pieces.
Amor librorum nos unit!