Hans Christian Andersen poem collectors pushed the final price to DKK 55,000 (€7,360) on Monday after a previously announced estimate of DKK 30,000 (€4,015) for a 19th-century autograph album containing an original poem by the Danish author, according to Danish broadcaster DR and auction house Bruun Rasmussen.
Why the Andersen manuscript drew attention
The handwritten poem was preserved in a stambog, a type of friendship or guest book that was especially popular in the 19th century. The album had belonged to Franziska Wiborg, later known as Majorinde von Rosen, and also includes an original contribution by poet Adam Oehlenschläger as well as other entries from artists who visited her childhood home in Copenhagen.
Bruun Rasmussen had described the lot as unusual because newly surfaced Andersen texts are rare. In a press note published before the sale, the auction house said the manuscript offers a glimpse into Copenhagen’s cultural life during the Danish Golden Age and into the social world around one of Denmark’s most internationally recognised writers.
A higher final bid than the initial valuation
The Hans Christian Andersen poem was offered through Bruun Rasmussen’s online auction on 13 April. The lot had been valued at DKK 30,000, but the final hammer price reached DKK 55,000, according to DR. That result suggests demand remained strong for literary manuscripts tied not only to Andersen’s name, but also to original documents that can be placed within a precise social and historical setting.
For Denmark’s cultural market, the sale is another example of how archival literary material can attract buyers well beyond standard book collecting, especially when provenance is clear and the object connects a major canonical author to a broader artistic milieu.
What the 1849 poem reveals about the album
The lines in the album are dated December 1849. DR reported the text as:
“Hvad Barnet drømte som Rosenknop / Den unge Rose os ruller op / Den staaer saa aandigt, saa hjerteligt, / Den selv et vores Herres Skjønheds Digt.”
The poem was not sold as a standalone sheet, but as part of the album linked to Franziska Wiborg’s circle. That context matters: the object is valuable not only because of Andersen’s autograph, but because it documents a network of literary and cultural figures in Copenhagen in the mid-19th century.
Why literary auctions still matter in Denmark
For international readers, Hans Christian Andersen is often associated above all with fairy tales such as The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling and The Snow Queen. But manuscripts, letters and signed documents remain crucial for scholars, collectors and cultural institutions because they illuminate how his work circulated in Danish society during his lifetime.
This latest sale is modest compared with headline-grabbing art auctions, yet it is significant in cultural terms. It shows that Andersen-related material still commands attention in Denmark, where the writer remains both a national literary figure and a global cultural reference point. It also underlines the continued market value of handwritten documents that connect private memory, literary history and Copenhagen’s 19th-century cultural life.
