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Lot 29

THE UGLY DUCKLING.
ANDERSEN, HANS CHRISTIAN.
Autograph Quotation Signed ("Hans Christian Andersen") from the Ugly Duckling,

21 – 29 April 2025, 12:00 EDT
Online, New York

Sold for US$10,880 inc. premium

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THE UGLY DUCKLING.

ANDERSEN, HANS CHRISTIAN. Autograph Quotation Signed ("Hans Christian Andersen") from the Ugly Duckling, 204 x 134 mm, ink on blue paper, n.d. [likely 1860s], chipping to corners, folds and creases.

RARE AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED IN ENGLISH, in full: "It matters not being born in a duck-yard, when/ one is hatched from a swan's egg!/ (The Ugly Duckling)/ Hans Christian Andersen."

From the moment of its first appearance in print in November 1843, "The Ugly Duckling" became Andersen's most popular fairy tale. "The universal story of a persecuted, misunderstood creature who has to endure such terrible hardships before he can realize his own hidden greatness was an instant hit all over Europe" (Andersen, Hans Christian Andersen: A New Life, 2005). The tale further enhanced Andersen's growing reputation abroad, and the autobiographical aspects of the story only added to his growing legend. He included the tale in his reading repertoire as he began to travel through Europe, and then England, and it became his "calling card, gaining him admittance to the top echelons and royal courts all over Europe" (A New Life). Ironically, Andersen and the genius of his fairy tales were more quickly and easily appreciated by European and English audiences than at home in Denmark.

Autograph quotations from "The Ugly Duckling" are of great rarity, particularly rendered in English.

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