A handwritten poem by Anne Frank sold for €140,000 (about $148,000) at the Bubb Kuyper auction house in Haarlem on 23 November 2016, nearly three times its estimate. It is the best-known sale of her handwriting in recent decades, and as of October 2026 we found no newer auction result for her work. This page covers the sale, who sold it and why, and how it compares with other Anne Frank items that have sold.
| Rank | Item | Price | Date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Letters with Margot and pen pals | $165,000 | 1988 | Swann Galleries |
| 2 | “Dear Cri-Cri” poem | €140,000 (about $148,000) | Nov 2016 | Bubb Kuyper, Haarlem |
| 3 | 1925 Grimm’s fairy tales with both sisters’ names | About $50,000 | May 2016 | New York |
| 4 | Friendship album | $35,200 | 1989 | Unnamed |
| 5 | First edition of The Diary of a Young Girl | $11,700 | May 2016 | Swann Galleries |
1. Letters between Anne Frank, her sister and pen pals: $165,000 (1988)
A series of letters between Anne, her older sister Margot and American pen pals, with photographs, sold at Swann Galleries in 1988 for $165,000. The sale was cited by the Dutch auction house when it sold the poem in 2016, and it remains the highest price we found for Anne Frank material.
How we valued it: the price quoted by the 2016 auction house and by one overview of Anne Frank sales. We treat it as approximate because we did not see the original 1988 result.
2. The “Dear Cri-Cri” poem: €140,000 (about $148,000), November 2016
Bubb Kuyper in Haarlem sold a handwritten Dutch verse, dated 28 March 1942, on 23 November 2016. The poem is addressed to Christiane van Maarsen, known as Cri-Cri, and signed “In memory, from Anne Frank”. The price was nearly three times the top of the €30,000 to €50,000 estimate, and it was sold to an anonymous online bidder after a short auction, with about 20 collectors in the room and others on the phone.
The seller was Jacqueline van Maarsen, a childhood friend of Anne, who received the poem from her sister Christiane in the 1970s. She said she would give about a third of the proceeds, a little over $50,000, to a memorial wall in Amsterdam that will list more than 102,000 Dutch Jews by name. The auction house said only four or five documents signed by Anne had come to auction in 40 years.
The verse itself is a short, eight-line piece about finishing work properly. The auction house described it as the kind of verse written in friendship books, and said the second half might have been composed by Anne herself.
How we valued it: hammer price of €140,000, excluding the auction house’s commission, converted to about $148,000 at the time of the sale.
3. 1925 edition of Grimm’s fairy tales with Anne and Margot’s names: about $50,000 (2016)
According to the Dutch auction house, a 1925 edition of Grimm’s fairy tales with both sisters’ names written on the title page fetched $50,000 in New York in May 2016, twice its estimate.
How we valued it: price quoted by the auction house in 2016, which we did not see on the original lot page.
4. Friendship album: $35,200 (1989)
One overview of Anne Frank sales lists a friendship album sold in 1989 for $35,200 to an unnamed buyer. We found only one source, so treat the figure as approximate.
How we valued it: a single secondary source, which we treat as an estimate.
5. First edition of The Diary of a Young Girl: $11,700 (2016)
Swann Galleries in New York sold a first-edition copy in May 2016 for $11,700, against an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000. The book was published in the Netherlands in 1947 and in English in 1952, and has been translated into more than 60 languages.
How we valued it: final price with premium as reported by one source.
The text of the poem
The poem is in Dutch and is addressed to “Dear Cri-Cri”. In English it urges the reader that if work was not done properly and time was wasted, she should take up the task again and try harder, and that the best answer to reproach is to correct the mistake. It is signed “In memory, from Anne Frank”.
Has anything newer sold?
We found no auction of Anne Frank’s handwriting in 2025 or 2026. The 2016 poem therefore remains the most recent notable sale we could confirm.
What drove the price?
- Rarity. The auction house said only four or five documents signed by Anne reached auction in 40 years.
- Provenance. The poem came directly from a friend of the family circle, through her sister, with a clear line of ownership.
- Timing. It dates from March 1942, shortly before the Frank family went into hiding, which makes it a rare record from before the diary.
- Competitive bidding. About 20 collectors in the room plus phone and online bidders pushed it past the estimate.
FAQ
How much did the Anne Frank poem sell for?
€140,000, which was about $148,000 at the time, at Bubb Kuyper in Haarlem on 23 November 2016. The price excludes the auction house’s commission.
Who sold the poem?
Jacqueline van Maarsen, a childhood friend of Anne Frank, who had received it from her sister Christiane in the 1970s.
Who bought the poem?
An anonymous online bidder.
What did the poem say?
It is an eight-line Dutch verse about doing work well and correcting mistakes, addressed to Cri-Cri and dated 28 March 1942.
What is the most expensive Anne Frank item sold at auction?
The most expensive we found is a set of letters that sold for $165,000 in 1988. The poem sold for about $148,000 in 2016.
Where is the original diary?
The original diary is on display at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
How we put this list together
We listed Anne Frank items by reported auction price, using auction house statements and published results compiled in an internal valuation model. Prices are approximate, and some older results rest on a single source.
Last updated: October 2026.
