A book on the legend of Saint-Nicolas, in which his servant appears for the first time, was valued at nearly 3,000 euros on Thursday evening. This was according to the online auction house Catawiki. The expert is Dutch, but their identity has not been revealed. The book was published in 1850.
This 26 page work titled “Saint-Nicolas and his servant” is by Jan Schenkman, a professor from Amsterdam. Only a few copies survive. “Black Peter” makes his first appearance helping his master deliver presents, but he didn’t have the name we know him by today.
“This book is very valuable and had a big influence on the way we celebrate Saint-Nicolas”, says the auction house. They say there has been a lot of interest in it. “The book was valued at three times the estimation”, says Catawiki.
(Source: Belga)
