More than 100 letters and postcards sent by Franz Kafka to his favourite sister Ottla have been jointly purchased by Oxford’s Bodleian library and a rival institution in Germany.
The acquisition amounts to something of a first as they were bought in partnership with a direct competitor, the Deutsches Literaturarchiv (German Literary Archive) in Marbach — an unprecedented collaboration which Bodley’s librarian Sarah Thomas hopes will become a model for the future.
The letters have been on deposit in Oxford for 40 years but only for safe-keeping. About a year ago the owners, Kafka’s descendants, said they were minded to put the letters to Ottla up for sale and it became clear that the Bodleian would not be able to afford the full amount, hence the successful approach to Germany.
Thomas said the Bodleian had relied on many private donors and it had felt, at times, like an American-style barn raising as they approached the scheduled auction date of April 19.
“Living it has been much more of a rollercoaster ride or a soap opera because we kept thinking, ‘well, maybe they won’t be sold’ or ‘maybe we can raise the money to buy them independently’. At times it seemed quite grim.On Friday, we had messages from donors saying ‘whatever you need, I’ll top you up. As a result we’re able to fund our half.”
The Germans, revealingly, reached their 50% helped by public money supplied by both the state and local government.
The purchase price is not being revealed, nor is the exact arrangement between the libraries although the letters will spend time in both institutions.
Their loss would have been a huge disappointment to the Bodleian which has one of the most impressive Kafka collections anywhere — not least his original handwritten manuscript of The Metamorphosis.
The letters to Ottla, his youngest sister to whom he was closest, are especially revealing. “He had a very special relationship with her – less formal, more teasing, more loving,” said Thomas.
The man who made the approach to Marbach and spent much time working the phones fund raising was Richard Ovenden, the associate director and keeper of special collections at Bodleian Libraries. He said the joint purchase was “a cause for celebration for international scholarship” which recognised “that the pursuit of academic collaboration crosses national boundaries.” —