Hitler, it seems, was reluctant to sign copies of his notorious book Mein Kampf – or much else, according to one historian. However, a copy signed on the front flyleaf at the urging of a Nazi sympathiser, Unity Mitford, made a record £17,000 in a June 15 sale held by Silverwoods (15/10% buyer’s premium) of Clitheroe.
A 1935 edition, it was given to a BBC and Oxford Mail journalist Peter Cadogan during a 1936 visit to Munich, and it was at his request that Mitford persuaded the Führer to add his signature.
The previous best, recorded back in 1999, was $22,500 (around £14,000 at the time) for a first that Hitler inscribed as a 1925 Christmas gift to Josef Goebbels.