A manuscript page from the author of "Pippi Longstocking"
Manuscript fragment signed.
4to (165 x 210 mm). In pencil. With a signed photograph card (148 x 110 mm). Stored in a protective box.
€ 2,500.00
A fragment in shorthand from the author of "Pippi Longstocking", with a later dedicatory inscription in German, "so sehen meine Manuskripte aus" ("this is what my manuscripts look like"), signed in blue ballpoint and accompanied by a signed photograph card expressing thanks for a fan-letter.
Except for a single word, "världsvis" (worldly-wise), the manuscript page is written in Lindgren's characteristically illegible shorthand and contains 12 lines. According to Martin Schøyen, the last owner, "the present MS page is believed to be from one of her Pippi Longstocking books, which were: 'Pippi Långstrump' (1945), 'Pippi Långstrump går ombord' (1946), and 'Pippi Långstrump i Söderhavet' (1948)". The author included it as a sample of her writing to her admirer, most likely the draft of a work long published.
The card shows Lindgren around 1980 and has a printed message in German, apologising for not sending a handwritten reply, but assuring her correspondent that she reads all letters and they bring her great joy. It is addressed to Käthe Jans-Geier, who is recorded in archives as living in Inden-Altdorf and also having written to the authors Ernst Jünger, Friedrich Torberg, Horst Bienek, and the Nobel-prize-winning chemist Adolf Butenandt between 1978 and 1983, probably the same time as her correspondence with Lindgren.
Astrid Lindgren achieved worldwide renown for her children's books, the most famous of which was the Pippi Longstocking series. She published her final Pippi book, "Pippi Långstrump har julgransplundring" ("Pippi Longstocking's After-Christmas Party"), in 1979, and 1981 saw her successful children's fantasy tale "Ronja rövardotter" ("Ronja, the Robber's Daughter"). As of 2019, her books were estimated to have sold over 165 million copies in 107 languages. The collection of Astrid Lindgren's manuscripts in the Royal Library in Stockholm was declared a World Heritage monument by UNESCO in 2005.
A charming example of one of the 20th century's greatest children's authors correspondence with a German admirer.
1) Käthe Jans-Geier, Inden-Altdorf (Düren), Rhineland, Germany. 2) A. Schmolt, Krefeld. 3) Per-Otto Løvstad, Oslo (2001-2007). 4) J. W. Cappelen, Norway, sale 48 (14 May 2008), lot 214. 5) The Schøyen Collection, MS 5409.
Manuscript page evenly browned, light creases from folding, generally crisp and intact. Card with very slight wear to edges and corners but overall in very good condition.
