Books and Manuscripts

OSENAT have specialized in sales of Historical Souvenirs, Letters & Manuscripts for nearly 20 years, fired by our passion for History and Literature. These regular auctions have become unmissable events for experts, collectors, specialists, historians and lovers of French culture.

We have always sought to broaden the appeal of Letters & Manuscripts from beyond a restricted circle of specialist collectors by establishing them as fully-fledged Historical Souvenirs – helping to generate interest in this rarefied cultural field among foreign collectors.

Letters & Manuscripts are part of our History, whether written by leading authors of the past or the political figures of today – and both demand the same commercial and media approach.

OSENAT are proud to have offered for sale the French & Foreign Collections of Prince Albert of Monaco and, more recently, of Christopher Forbes. Both sales included important sections devoted to Letters & Manuscripts, and were consigned to our auction-house due to our experience and international – and above all museum-level – clientele.

In 2016 OSENAT auctions prompted 158 pre-emptions from French museums (Louvre, Orsay, Légion d’Honneur) and palaces (Versailles,  Fontainebleau, Compiègne, Malmaison), along with numerous acquisitions by local authorities keen to enrich their cultural holdings.