The collector who sold a rare signed copy of Hitler's Mein Kampfat auction in England yesterday for £21,000 (€24,400) is from Co Derry, it emerged today.
The red cloth-bound book was sold alongside a separate lot from another vendor of a signed self-portrait of the Nazi leader, which fetched €14,400 including buyer’s premium at the Mullock’s auction at Ludlow Racecourse, Shropshire yesterday.
Hitler gave the book to a fellow inmate, an early member of the Nazi Party, at Landsberg Prison following his failed attempt to overthrow the German government.
The German inscription reads: “Herrn Johann Georg Maurer. In memory of our time together in prison in Landsberg. Cordially dedicated by Adolf Hitler. Christmas 1925.”
The vendor of the book was an unnamed collector from Co Derry, a Mullock’s spokesman confirmed today
Richard Westwood-Brookes, historical documents expert at Mullock’s, said it was one of the rarest signed copies of Mein Kampf on the market in recent years.
" Mein Kampfin its very early editions is quite rare anyway, and then signed copies signed by Hitler are of the greatest rarity," he said. "This particular copy was signed by him and inscribed by him to one of the other people who was in prison with him."
The book was bought by a telephone bidder in Russia.
The self-portrait, a pencil sketch dated 1926, was bought by a private collector in the UK.
Additional reporting: PA