VERGOS Auctions organizes the established auction of “Rare Books, Manuscripts, Documents & Engravings” which includes rare first editions of literary and historical works, posters of the Greek National Tourism Organization with signatures of renowned painters, documents and letters signed by Th. Kolokotronis, A. Mavrokordatos and I. Kapodistrias and a number of other objects distinguished for their cultural and historical importance. The auction will take place on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 April at 5:30 pm at the Zappeion Hall in the presence of the public.

Interested parties may participate in the auction by physical presence at the Zappeion Hall, online, as well as through written and/or telephone bids. For more information please visit the website www.vergosauctions.com. 

Among the 664 items that make up the extensive catalogue, the following stand out:

• An interesting set of 86 letters written by Nikos Kazantzakis from various parts of the world (Egypt, Russia, France, Czechoslovakia, England, etc.) to his companion and friend Elli Lambrides, during the period 1927-1951. It contains important information about their personal relationship, the intellectual and political issues of the time and the close collaboration they maintained in translating his books, the international circulation of his works and the preparation of his Nobel Prize candidacy.
• A manuscript of particular interest both in terms of content and presentation, which belongs to the category of the well-known pilgrimages of the Holy Land and dates between 1745-1769. It is accompanied by popular artistic drawings depicting the buildings and pilgrimage sites. The author and editor is Chatzi Avxendis Christodoulou from Servia, Kozani.
• A set of 68 rare engravings from the finest botany book published to date. The English Professor of Botany at Oxford John Sibthorp (1758-1796) made two trips to Greece, Cyprus and Asia Minor, in order to record and classify all the undiscovered plants of the Greek area. The fruit of his journey was the ten-volume Flora græca, consisting of pictorial illustrations and scientific classification of 966 plants of the Greek flora. The first edition, in only 25 copies at a very high cost, was completed in 34 years (London 1806-1840). This was followed by a second edition of 40 copies in 1845, from which this section is derived.
• A young notebook of the hagiographer and writer Fotis Kontoglou from the period of his military service with autograph notes and short texts, full-page pencil drawings, lyrics of traditional songs, poems and excerpts from the works of foreign writers.