Pierre's Auction Contents Revealed

Pierre Berge's library auction has incited a buzz around it since its announcement last year (unsuprising given his reputation as a cultural curator, coupled with the revelation that his collection is said to comprise 1,600 titles) and now a selection of the most special lots for the first auction have been unveiled.

Jean Cocteau's Le Requiem, dated 1962 and containing a personal dedication to Bergé appears on the list and is estimated to take between €2,000 and €3,000; it is joined by an autographed first edition of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovaryfrom 1857 and his original manuscript for Sentimental Education, which is expected to fetch €600,000; as well as a first-edition of St. Augustine's Confessions, printed in the 1470s.

The first batch is going on display at Sotheby's in New York from September 10 to 13, reports WWD, following showcases in Hong Kong and London in October and November. And the good news if you can't make it this time? Six more auctions are slated to take place in 2016 and 2017.