Albert Speer

[David Patrick]

Hello gents

I have a hardback book, mint condition, signed by Albert Speer, the 'Spandau Diaries'. Does anybody know how much this is worth? any views are welcome. Thanks in anticipation.

David

[max history]

Very common and not worth a great deal.
Max.

[David Patrick]

Max, thanks for replying. Never mind eh

David

[andrewb]

David,
I have that book but not a signed copy. I would happy to buy it from you if its for sale. PM me if so.

Regards,
AB.

[David Patrick]

Thanks for your interest. It was my grandfather who sparked my interest in Speer. My grandad was an architect and used to do some consultancy work in Europe, Germany particular in the 1960s and 70s. He got to know Speer through contacts and became friends through their shared interest in architecture. You can imagine his surprise when Speer gave him a letter from AH accompanied by a gold wristwatch as a gift and explained that this watch had been presented to Speer by AH on the occasionof his 30th birthday. Speer explained to my grandad that he was disilussioned with AH so would rather not hang on to it and was glad to let him have it. The watch is very fine quality and engraved on the back in gothic script with AH's signature.

My grandfather has only recently passed the items on to me. I sure will treasure it just as my grandad did.

David

[BrianK]

I'm glad the repley from max didn't stop you from a further - very interesting - explantion.

[andrewb]

Thanks for your interest. It was my grandfather who sparked my interest in Speer. My grandad was an architect and used to do some consultancy work in Europe, Germany particular in the 1960s and 70s. He got to know Speer through contacts and became friends through their shared interest in architecture. You can imagine his surprise when Speer gave him a letter from AH accompanied by a gold wristwatch as a gift and explained that this watch had been presented to Speer by AH on the occasionof his 30th birthday. Speer explained to my grandad that he was disilussioned with AH so would rather not hang on to it and was glad to let him have it. The watch is very fine quality and engraved on the back in gothic script with AH's signature.

My grandfather has only recently passed the items on to me. I sure will treasure it just as my grandad did.

David

David,
Under those circumstances the book is priceless. You should treasure it for as long as possible. I recently found my mothers Kennkarte amongst some of her papers two years after she passed away. Very common and cheap to buy but priceless to me. Its stories like yours that I love to hear.

Regards,
AB.

[max history]

Hello gents

I have a hardback book, mint condition, signed by Albert Speer, the 'Spandau Diaries'. Does anybody know how much this is worth? any views are welcome. Thanks in anticipation.

David

Very common and not worth a great deal.
Max.

I'm glad the repley from max didn't stop you from a further - very interesting - explantion.

Brian,
I'm not sure what you mean.....it was a straightforward answer to a straightforward question.
After his release from prison in 1966, Albert Speer attended numerous book-signing sessions where he signed literally thousands of copies of his various books. In addition, he was asked by many people to autograph various photos, books, magazines, loose sheets, etc. This makes Speer one of the most common Third Reich autographs found and vastly reduces the value of any example of his autograph. However, pre-1945 examples are rarer and consequently more valuable. Unfortunately, even pre-’45 examples of Speer’s signature do not rate as one of the more collectable personalities from the Third Reich era and, unless one is on a letter with exceptional content, his autograph does not achieve real value.
Max.

[max history]

David,
Under those circumstances the book is priceless. You should treasure it for as long as possible.
Regards,
AB.

I understand where you are coming from, but David has not said clearly where the book came from. If it was independently obtained then the word "priceless" is a bit strong. Although a nice association piece, his letter and watch do not make the book any more valuable. If however, the book had a personal dedication to David's grandfather from Speer, it obviously adds to the private family value. Failing that, it apparently remains just another book signed by Albert Speer.
Max.

[max history]

Duplicate post. (How does one delete a duplicate post?)

[uknews]

Interesting stuff. David, is there any way we could see pictures of the AH letter and watch posted, i am sure many of us would love to see these nice items?
Thanks, Mark.

[andrewb]

I understand where you are coming from, but David has not said clearly where the book came from. If it was independently obtained then the word "priceless" is a bit strong. Although a nice association piece, his letter and watch do not make the book any more valuable. If however, the book had a personal dedication to David's grandfather from Speer, it obviously adds to the private family value. Failing that, it apparently remains just another book signed by Albert Speer.
Max.

On reading David's post again I agree with you Max. So the question must be asked to David what conection, if any, has the book with the watch and AH letter? If none, then "priceless" is of course totally wrong.

Regards,
AB.

[Tora_Tora_Tora!]

Please can you post the page with the Speer signature??It would be nice!Thanks!
fab

[David Patrick]

Thanks to all for your comments. The book is dedicated to my grandad from Herr Speer and he has written a nice dedication in which he speaks of his and Hitler's shared appreciation for architecture which was also shared my my grandad. The pages of the book contain what look like 'corrections' or annotations made by Speer himself i.e. lines crossed out and changes made, exclamation marks etc. The watch is just a simple, plain gold cased watch with a leather strap. The obverse of the watch has an eagle and AH's signature engraved. The letter from AH to Speer contains warm sentiments on his birthday and thanks and praises him for doing so much to bring glory to the cause of National Socialism and glory to Germany and the Germanic peoples. It concludes by proposing meetings to look over drawings and has a rough sketch of what looks like a streetscape/plan underneath.

Sorry I can't post photos at the moment- but when I can I will be sure to.

Thank you again for all your interest.

[max history]

They sound like items that should remain in the family, so the value is irrelevant, other than for insurance purposes.
Max.