This article was last updated on December 19, 2024
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First edition of Anne Frank’s Secret Annex rescued from the paper container
A thrift company from Burgum, Friesland, has sold a first edition of The Secret Annex of Anne Frank for 3,550 euros. The book was rescued from the waste paper bin in the nick of time.
“A colleague who we are training for another branch found it in the waste paper container and wanted to buy it himself,” says branch manager Andries Jan Hovinga of Omrin Estafette. “She thought it was a historical book that should not be lost.”
“Because I’m not allowed to just give it away, we did some Googling in the office and then we found out that it was a first edition. Then it started to get a bit of an itch.”
Into the vault
Het Achterhuis was published in June 1947 in an edition of 3036 copies. A second edition followed in December that year, which was more than twice as large, followed three months later by another of 10,500 copies. Over the years, the book has been sold tens of millions of times in more than 70 languages.
A first edition of the war diary is therefore worth a lot. In 2021, a copy was auctioned in Leiden for 10,000 euros. What was special about this was that the copy still had a dust jacket that was often missing, including when found in Burgum.
Hovinga placed the found copy on Marktplaats with a starting bid of 250 euros. That amount quickly increased. “In the evening my manager called to say that 2,000 euros had already been bid.”
This prompted Hovinga to be a little more careful with the book. “It was still in my office, where it is often a pleasant chaos,” he laughs. “I neatly put it in the safe the next morning.”
Ultimately, there were three candidates left who were allowed to make a final offer. The winner offered 3,550 euros, the highest amount. The book was sent in the mail today, well insured.
No yellowed merchandise
Hovinga does not blame his colleague who threw it away that the book was almost thrown away.
“We receive a lot of yellowed and moldy books. Our policy is that we do not put them in the store. They must look neat, be of good quality and not have any writing in them. We sometimes fish out old books, but these was not noticed.”
“So there is no one to blame and we can joke about it. We are especially happy that we rescued this from the paper container.”
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