"At St. Valentine, the love for books triumphed!" These are the words of Chiara Nicolini, Head of the Department of Books, Manuscripts and Autographs at Pandolfini, after the extraordinary success of the auction of 14 February.
Very high the percentage of lots sold: it has almost reached 90%, with bids that have often doubled and tripled the starting prices.
Big boom in the sales of medieval manuscripts: estimated at between 5 and 6,000 euro each, they all reached considerably higher figures after long and hard-fought biddings. The Regola delle Monache (lot 1) changed hands for 15,000 euros; the Fiorita italica (lot 2) and the Confessionale (lot 3) have entered new collections for 13,750 euros each; the Copialettere by Giacomo da Livorno (lot 4), from a starting price of 1,000 / 1,200 euros, sold for 15,000 euros.
The top lot of the auction, the splendid Renaissance Atlas of Ortelius (lot 65), valued at 20,000 / 25,000 euros, after a fierce battle on the phones, reached the sum of 37,500 euros.
Excellent results also for the first edition of Diderot’s Encyclopédie (lot 94), which sold for 20.625 euros, and for the Chef-D'Oeuvre Inconnu (lot 140) illustrated by Picasso, which sold for 15,000 euros.
Without forgetting the success of the autographs, what had a great impact was the careful selection and evaluation of works from the 15th to the 20th century and, as usual, their very accurate presentation.