New York auction house Doyle is to auction an archive of letters and photos from Otto Frank, father of World War II diary writer Anne.

The collection comes from Joseph Schildkraut, the actor who played Otto in a 1959 film about the Franks as well as on stage.
The documents include some dating from 1941 in which Frank tried to enlist friends to help the family escape Nazi-occupied Holland. It also includes some 50 letters written by Frank, Schildkraut and Schildkraut’s wife, Leonora, as well as photographs, a transcript of a 1939 letter from Otto to Anne, and a monogrammed handkerchief.
The auction will take place on November 5 and the estimated value is up to $30,000.
‘Any items relating to the Franks’ experience are extremely scarce on the market and the Schildkraut archive presents a major research opportunity for a collector or institution’, the auction house said.

More on this