Description:

ADOLF HITLER ARCHITECTURAL SKETCH
A extraordinary Adolf Hitler piece, a set of six original pencil architectural drawings accomplished on both sides of a 12.25 x 17.75 in. sheet of drafting paper. It is page 38 (XXXVIII), the last page from Hitler's sketchbook from 1925, given (or taken) by Hitler's confidante and advisor on architectural matters, ALBERT SPEER (1905-1981), the Minister of Armaments and War Production, later convicted of war crimes at Nuremberg. The drawings on the sheet offered here are among the most detailed Hitler sketches we have seen. They depict an enormous domed hall from within, with giant archways and those walking within appearing tiny in comparison. The hall is also shown from outside, with a tall clock tower to its left. At top of the recto side, Hitler has also sketched an interior of his proposed structure, and on the verso he has added yet another proposed structure, likely not associated with the domed hall. We believe Hitler's 'domed hall' drawn here may have been the genesis of his Volkshalle ('People's Hall'), his proposal for a monumental, domed building to be built in a reconstituted Berlin (renamed as 'Germania') in the future Nazi Germany he envisioned. Finally, at the extreme right margin appears a very small burgundy spot identical in color to dried blood, though its content has not been tested. Bears original folds, fine condition, with supporting material. This drawing and others which once accompanied it (some sold by us) were passed down from Speer to his grandson, Berthold Speer. In 2022 Berthold sent this sketch along with approx. 30 other sketches to German militaria auctioneers Hermann Historica for auction where this example was purchased by our consignor (Lot 5098 Auction 94). The main drawing ('domed halls') on the sheet is also depicted in historian Joachim Fest's 'Hitler, eine Biographie', Propylaen 1973, on page 729 an in the 2023 edition, p. 757. It also appears in the English version of Fest's biography 'Hitler', Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1974, between pages 464 and 465. In Billy F. Price's 1984 reference book 'ADOLF HITLER: The Unknown Artist', the drawing appears as plate 523 on page 209. Important provenance is provided as far back as 1930s by Hitler's personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann. Hoffmann photographed the 'domed halls' and the building on the verso and described them as drawings by Hitler. The photographs are archived and remain obtainable at the Bavarian State Library under archive numbers 'hoff-54696' (recto) and 'hoff-54708' (verso). The link to the home-page of the digitalized Hoffmann-archive is: https://www.bsb-muenchen.de/sammlungen/bilder/fotoarchive/fotoarchiv- heinrich-hoffmann/. Both images from Hoffmann are titled by the Bavarian State Library as 'artist: A. Hitler'. The stain (blood?) also appears in those photographs. Short of an original painting by Hitler, of which there are hundreds of spurious examples, this is the best example of 'artwork' in Hitler's hand one could hope to purchase, for a fraction of the price of a painting with provenance of the same quality.

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December 4, 2024 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $999,999 $10,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $50,000
$2,000,000 + $100,000