Sell or Auction Your Otto Frank Signed Letter for up to $1,500 or More at Nate D. Sanders Auctions
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We recently sold an Otto Frank signed letter. Please see details below:
Otto Frank Letter Signed Regarding Publication of His Daughter Anne Frank’s Diary — With PSA/DNA COA
Otto Frank typed letter signed regarding publication of ”The Diary of Anne Frank”. Otto was Anne’s father and the only surviving member of the Frank family to survive the Holocaust. Composed upon his personal letterhead in Switzerland, Frank writes on 3 November 1979, thanking a Brazilian publisher for payment of 1,000 copies of the book. Letter measures 5.75” x 8.25”, signed by Frank in black ballpoint. Punch holes at left, else near fine. Accompanied by paperwork from the Brazilian publisher, which published a Portuguese translation of ”The Diary of Anne Frank”. With PSA/DNA COA. Sold for $1,500.
Here are some related items we also sold:
True 1st Edition, 1st Printing of “Diary of Anne Frank”
Anne Frank’s “Het Achterhuis” first edition, first printing in Dutch from June 1947. Published by Uitgeverij Contact: Amsterdam. Grey boards with a burnt orange block in center of front cover. With the original introduction by Annie Romein-Verschoor, a potrait of Anne Frank, two photographs and a plan of “het achterhuis” (the hiding place) and two facsimiles of Anne Frank’s handwriting. In very good condition with some professional restoration. No dustjacket. Discoloration of the spine with a light staining. Cover is browning at the otherwise perfect edges. From the private library of “C.H. Hossele”, stated on pastedown. This edition precedes the “The Diary of Anne Frank” by five years. Rare. Sold for $1,902.
Albert Einstein typed letter signed during World War II, with moving content regarding helping Jewish refugees. Dated 10 June 1939 on his personal embossed letterhead from Princeton, Einstein writes to Dr. Maurice Lenz who worked on ”behalf of the refugees during Dedication Week.” Einstein continues, ”…The power of resistance which has enabled the Jewish people to survive for thousands of years has been based to a large extent on traditions of mutual helpfulness. In these years of affliction our readiness to help one another is being put to an especially severe test. May we stand this test as well as did our fathers before us.
We have no other means of self-defense than our solidarity and our knowledge that the cause for which we are suffering is a momentous and sacred cause.
It must be a source of deep gratification to you to be making so important a contribution toward rescuing our persecuted fellow-Jews from their calamitous peril and leading them toward a better future…[signed] A. Einstein”.
Single page letter measures 8.5” x 11”. Folds and light creasing, otherwise near fine condition. Accompanied by Einstein’s embossed mailing envelope, postmarked Princeton on 12 June 1939. Sold for $134,344.
Enigma Machine Used by Germany During World War II — Very Scarce, as Germans Were Ordered to Destroy the Machines to Prevent Capture by the Allies
Enigma machine used by Nazi Germany during World War II, the three cipher rotor design (M3) used from 1934 until the end of the war. Considered nearly “unbreakable”, the only flaw inherent to the enigma machine – beyond human error, which would ultimately be its downfall, was the fact that the machine could scramble the letters into any one of 17,576 combinations except the use of its original letter. However, it would be human error, such as signing off each communication with “Heil Hitler” showcased in “The Imitation Game”, that allowed the Allies to deconstruct many of the cipher’s coded communications. Though widely employed by Germany during the war, enigma machines are now very scarce, as Germans were ordered to destroy them lest they fall into Allied hands. Additionally, Winston Churchill ordered all Enigma machines to be destroyed at the end of the war. Only about 250 used during WWII are now believed to still exist, with machines having matching parts, such as this example, even more rare. Machine is model M3, with the serial numbers of the rotors matching the machine itself (since the rotors were interchangeable, this isn’t always the case), in its original wooden case. Serial number engraved on plate attached to the keyboard reads “A // 00660 / bac / 43 E”, matching the serial number of “660” stamped on the plate underneath the rotors, and also matching the serial number on the rotors reading “A 00660 / 43 E”. The metal wheels also bear the engraving of the Third Reich emblem – a black eagle above the swastika. Upon the interior of the wooden lid are the instructions in German, above the QWERTZUIO mechanical keyboard, which would light up when used. Twenty-six bulbs exist on the lamp board, with one broken, and with the socket locations marked Kabelprufung (cable test) and Lampenprufung (lamp test). Original battery is still present, with expected corrosion. Part of leather strap also present but no longer secured to wooden case. Entire machine and case weighs approximately 28.5 lbs. and measures 11″ x 13.25″ x 6″. Sold for $89,250.
Stunning 101st Airborne Division flag made by one of its soldiers during World War II for use on the battlefield, then given to the 101st’s commanding General Maxwell D. Taylor. The 101st Airborne was, of course, the ”Band of Brothers” Division that led the D-Day invasion, parachuting into France the night before the beach assault in order to secure exit routes for the Infantry; they would continue to fight throughout June 1944 during the Battle of Normandy, losing 4,600 men in one month.
101st Airborne Division flags are very scarce, with this field expedient example rarer still, although it was likely never used on the battlefield given its condition. Flag is made of bright red and blue wool, measuring 4’1” x 3′, hemmed to create the hoist, where two leather tabs at each end are sewn so that the flag could be attached to the flagpole. At the center is the 101st’s combat service identification badge, the famous ”Screaming Eagle”. The badge, made of bamberg, is sewn on each side, typical for battlefield flags. A dozen or so small holes populate the flag, most in the left red portion, otherwise the flag is in near fine condition, with exceptionally vivid colors on both the wool and the badge.
Flag is from the collection of Ludwell B. Pruett, who worked in the Flag Mission of the Quartermaster General’s Clothing & Textile Material Division from 1958-61, and was responsible for all flags originating from the U.S. Army Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot. Flag is accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from Lt. Col. Edward N. Foxworth, dated 8 January 1958, to Ludwell Pruett on military-watermarked stationery, giving its history. Lot also includes a letter of authenticity from Ludwell Pruett’s daughter and son-in-law, to whom the flag was given. A very scarce and desirable flag from one of the most famed military divisions in United States history. Sold for $18,750.
for Scarce 101st Airborne Division Flag From WWII. Click to enlarge.
Scarce 1944 document signed by Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews at the close of WWII. After the publication of a 1944 report detailing the mass deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz, Wallenberg, a Swedish citizen fluent in Hungarian, was chosen by the United States to lead a relief mission in Hungary. He was to issue fake ”protective” passports claiming Jewish persons were actually Swedish citizens awaiting repatriation, with the full protection of such citizenship. In early 1945 Wallenberg was taken for espionage and never heard from or seen alive again; before his capture it’s believed that he saved 15,000 people in the last months of the war.
Document from the Royal Swedish Embassy in Budapest is dated 15 September 1944 and confirms that two siblings have been awarded Swedish citizenship and respectfully asks that they be ”exempted from the yellow star”. Signed boldly by Wallenberg, with the Embassy’s stamp. Folds, light wear with some foxing and toning, overall in very good condition. Accompanied by University Archives COA. Lot also includes a Questionnaire issued by the Royal Swedish Embassy, in Hungarian, with interesting questions for refugees who have been granted the Protective Pass. Questionnaire states that the answers are for internal purposes only and will be kept confidential. Document consists of 16 questions including one’s religion, ”In case of departure, who should join you”, whether the applicant is a labor servant, etc. A piece of warning on the document instructs, ”All Protective Pass owners must not ask questions.” Folds, chipping along top and paper clip impression, overall very good condition. With full translation, and with COA from University Archives. Sold for $13,750.
Scarce 1944 document signed by Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews at the close of WWII. After the publication of a 1944 report detailing the mass deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz, Wallenberg, a Swedish citizen fluent in Hungarian, was chosen by the United States to lead a relief mission in Hungary. He was to issue fake “protective” passports claiming Jewish persons were actually Swedish citizens awaiting repatriation, with the full protection of such citizenship. In early 1945 Wallenberg was taken for espionage and never heard from or seen alive again; before his capture it’s believed that he saved 15,000 people in the last months of the war. Document on “Royal Swedish Embassy / Budapest”. Sold for $13,310.
Rare V-E Day proclamation signed ”Harry Truman” as President, given by Truman to his White House staff at the 1945 White House Christmas party. Dated 8 May 1945, printed document formally announces the Victory of Europe and surrender of Nazi Germany. Text reads in part, ”The Allied Armies, through sacrifice and devotion and with God’s help, have wrung from Germany a final and unconditional surrender. The Western World has been freed of the evil forces which for five years and longer have imprisoned the bodies and broken the lives of millions upon millions of free-born men. They have violated their churches, destroyed their homes, corrupted their children, and murdered their loved ones. Our Armies of Liberation have restored freedom to these suffering peoples, whose spirit and will their oppressors could never enslave…” Single-page Proclamation is beautifully decorated in red, blue and gilt. Measures 14.75” x 21.75”. Shallow crease to upper right and light buckling, but overall in near fine condition. Proclamation is cited in the Seeley reference book as having been issued as a Christmas gift to White House staff in 1945, and one example remains in the collection of the Truman Library. Sold for $9,375.
Scarce WWII Holocaust Railroad Ticket to Auschwitz From Lyon
Scarce train ticket to the most infamous World War II holocaust concentration camp, Auschwitz. Dated dated 30 August 1944, ticket is from Lyon, France and was probably used by an S.S. Officer on his way to the camp or as part of a Nazi trick; rail tickets to the Death Camps were often sold to Jews during the Holocaust with the pretense they were going to ”Work Camps” in the East. The ticket is made from thin cardboard, typical of rail tickets of the era, and bears the date stamped in green and the ticket number in red. Printing on front side only. Item measures 1.25” x 2.25” with expected toning, else near fine condition. Sold for $1,969.
Postcard from a Jewish charity in Nazi-occupied Poland requesting aid for 15 families. Postmarked Warsaw, 24 June 1941, card is also stamped with Konigsberg Nazi postal censor and Jewish Council Warsaw marks. Postcard’s pictorial side is printed with an urgent request in German for relief and provisions for fifteen local Warsaw families. Help is sought from the Warsaw-expat Jewish community in Shanghai by way of HICEM, an emigration organization that assisted 90,000 Jews in escaping Europe during the Holocaust. Requisition translates to: ”Dear Sirs, From your writing 3.IV.41 Nr. 18378 we gather that you have the ability to send packages with food and provisions. We would like to ask you now kindly to send whenever possible food packages to our employees, as they are living in very materially poor circumstances. We have listed the names and addresses below…We hope that you’ll be able to accommodate our plea and are looking forward to your answer as expected by law. [Handwritten signature of a representative]”. Postcard is addressed in type to ”’HICEM’ / 120 Nanking Road, P.O. Box 1425, Shanghai, China”. Opposite, sender’s address is rubber stamped in purple as, ”Judische Soziale Selbstghilfe, Helfskomitee Warschau, Abteilung: Verwandtenhilfe, Warschau, Grzybowski-Platz 10/1”, translating to: ”Jewish Social Self-Help / Help Committee of Warsaw / Department of Help For Relatives”. Body of letter also lists 15 individuals for whom help is needed. Text has a few corrections in ink by an unknown hand. Postcard measures approximately 5” x 3”. Toning, else near fine. Sold for $787.
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