Lot 109 at the April 29 auction held by Vergos Auctions featured autographed manuscripts of five poems by the Nobel Prize-winning poet Giorgos Seferis, dating from October 1941 to November 1942. The material was placed in a bifolio bearing the title “Kalligrafimata” / 41-42, referring to the posthumous collection “Book of Exercises II” published in 1976 and edited by G. P. Savvidis.
The auction house’s initial estimate for the “Kalligrafimata” collection – which is distinct for the fact that the verses are handwritten in calligraphy form to create an illustration related to the subject of each poem – ranged from €4,000 to €6,000. With bids rising first in increments of €500 and later €1,000 – something rare in the manuscript market, which is typically more restrained – competition for the poems was fierce.
‘Its value lies not in exhibition, but in the discreet, almost solitary ‘dialogue’ its holder develops with it’
The auctioneer’s hammer ultimately fell at €16,000, and the collection went to an institution that has chosen to remain anonymous. But the record sale was not simply the high point of the evening. It was also a sign that the rare manuscripts market – long a relatively cloistered world of librarians, academics and a small circle of passionate collectors – is beginning to emerge as a distinct category in its own right.
