It was the star lot in the fourth part of the mammoth sale of the library of the late French fashion mogul Pierre Berge.


The co-founder of the Yves Saint Laurent fashion empire put together one of the world’s greatest private collections of rare and antiquarian books.

They are being sold off in a series of high-profile auctions which began last year and are set to continue in 2019.

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Friday’s sale, which included a treasury of classic works from the Renaissance, hit a final tally of more than €8.1 million (US$9.1 million), double the estimate.

“I am very happy. The market has completely endorsed Pierre Berge’s taste,” said antiquarian books expert Benoit Forgeot, who helped organise the sale.

Pierre Berge's library was one of the world's richest private book collections. Photo: Agence France-Presse

“Berge was interested in a thousand things. Obviously literature was his main passion – but also mythology, botany, gardens and politics,” Forgeot said.

Berge, who set up the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house with the eponymous designer, his long-time lover, was a supporter of left-wing causes and gay rights.

He died in September 2017 after making sure that his and Saint Laurent’s fortune would go to their philanthropic foundation.


The vast art collection the couple put together was sold off in what was dubbed “the sale of the century” in 2009 for €340 million euros (US$409 million at the time).