Lot 128

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Lot 128
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Otto Frank Archive Re: 1st Edition Portuguese Publication of "Diary of Anne Frank"
Otto Frank Archive Re: 1st Edition Portuguese Publication of "Diary of Anne Frank"
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Description:

Otto Frank Archive Re: 1st Edition Portuguese Publication of "Diary of Anne Frank"

A small lot of letters and receipts exchanged between Otto Frank (1889-1980), father of teenaged German Jewish diarist Anne Frank, and the Portuguese publishers of Anne's work. The correspondence was written in Los Angeles, California and Lisbon, Portugal, dating from the period between January 14, 1958 and January 31, 1958.

Punctuation, grammar, and spelling remain unchanged. The lot is comprised of, in order of most importance (Otto Frank's signed letter) to least importance (the receipt):

1. A 1p typed letter in English signed by Otto Frank as "Otto Frank" at center. Written in Los Angeles, California on January 29, 1958, and typed within the message section of an integral airmail letter and envelope. Frank has also made three typographical edits in pen throughout the body of the text. Stapled at upper left to a clerical copy of a Portuguese translation on green onion skin paper. Double hole-punched at left. Expected light folds and a few extra wrinkles, else near fine. 5.5" x 8.5."

Frank sent this letter to the Portuguese publishers at Livros do Brasil, Ltda., writing in part: 

"…I ask you to be so kind to send 10 further books to the debit of my account. I always need a number of books which I send to different libraries in many parts of the world…

As far as I know the play based on the book will be presented in your country also and this will stimulate the sale of the book…"

2. Two retained copies of the same letter in English and Portuguese written by Frank's Portuguese publishers on January 31, 1958 in Lisbon, Portugal. Both sheets are on green onion skin paper, stapled and double hole-punched at left. In part: "We…have pleasure in informing you that we are sending…10 more copies of our edition of the Diario de Anne Frank, which we have much pleasure in offering to you, in consideration to the purpose you destine them." 

3. A retained copy of a letter in English on green onion skin paper addressed to Otto Frank on January 14, 1958 summarizing the break-down of advance royalties from the sale of the first 3,000 copies of the "Diario de Anne Frank." Stapled to a clerical stub and hand-edited draft in Portuguese.

4. A retained copy of an itemized receipt of the profits discussed above, stapled to handwritten notes.

In early January 1958, the Portuguese publishing firm of Livros do Brasil, Ltda. wrote to notify Otto of their first 3,000 limited edition printing of "The Diary of Anne Frank." The book's popularity was such that it had already been published in German and French in 1950, and then in English (for both the US and UK markets) in 1952. The Portuguese publishers had been eager to acquire the publication, and worked closely with Otto Frank during the process. Livros do Brasil, Ltda. collaborated with Frank over the next twenty years, as they sought to publish similar and complementary works about Anne Frank and the Jewish war experiences.

Otto Heinrich Frank was the only member of his 4-person family, comprised of wife Edith (1900-1945), daughter Margot (1926-1945), and Anne (1929-1945), to survive the Holocaust. The Franks, along with four others, hid in a secret annex located in the back upper stories of an Amsterdam business between July 1942 and August 1944. The Franks were discovered, arrested, and sent to Auschwitz in September 1944. Edith died of starvation at Auschwitz in January 1945; her two daughters died of typhus in February or March 1945 at Bergen-Belsen. Otto was released after the Soviets liberated Auschwitz in late January 1945.

Anne's writings had been collected and preserved by Otto's coworker Miep Gies, who had sheltered the families in the annex. Otto had initially transcribed Anne's diaries in order to give them to family members, but was eventually persuaded to seek publication. The final manuscript was a combination of two versions of the diaries Anne wrote, with Otto's edits and redactions. The book was first published in Dutch on June 25, 1947 as "The Secret Annex: Diary Letters from June 14, 1942 to August 1, 1944."

The success of "The Diary of Anne Frank" in multiple languages led to an adapted stage play, which premiered at Cort Theater in New York City on October 5, 1955. The play, while not a strict reproduction of the book, won both the Pulitzer for Theater and the Tony Award. In turn, Hollywood set out to produce a film version, which premiered on March 18, 1959 and would go on to win three Oscars. Was Otto Frank in Los Angeles in January 1958 to consult on the Hollywood film version released a little over a year later?

"The Diary of Anne Frank" received both critical and popular acclaim. As of 2015, the book has been translated into over 60 different languages. Both its literary and historical importance cannot be overlooked. Dutch historian Jan Romein put it this way: "To me, however, this apparently inconsequential diary by a child... stammered out in a child's voice, embodies all the hideousness of fascism, more so than all the evidence at Nuremberg put together."

This letter demonstrates Otto Frank's lifelong commitment to preserving his daughter's spirit. Anne Frank's writings serve at once as a celebration of her life, and as a warning.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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