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The first edition of Het Achterhuis

The Anne Frank House regularly receives questions concerning details of the first Dutch edition of Anne Frank’s diary, Het Achterhuis. Sometimes a copy turns up in a thrift store, sometimes one is auctioned off. Here is a list of the most frequently asked questions.



1. When was the first edition of Het Achterhuis published?

The first edition of Het Achterhuis was published on 25 June 1947 by Contact Publishers. On that day, Otto Frank wrote in his diary: "I Boek."

Full title: Het Achterhuis : dagboekbrieven van 12 juni 1942 -1 augustus 1944 / Anne Frank ; met woord vooraf door Annie Romein-Verschoor. - Amsterdam : Uitgeverij Contact, 1947. – [2], X, 253 p., geïll. - (Proloog reeks). Format: 11x19 cm. Contains: portrait of Anne Frank, two photos of the hiding place, a map of the Annex and two facsimiles of the (handwritten) diary.

2. How many copies were printed? And how many copies of the second and third editions?

The first edition had a print run of 3,036 copies. The second edition was published in December 1947 with a print run of 6,830 copies; the third edition was published in February 1948 with a print run of 10,500 copies. The first edition does not include a printing statement. From the second to the fifth editions, the printing statement appears on page IV; in the sixth edition, it appears on the title page.

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3. Who designed the dust jacket?

Helmut Salden (1910-1996) designed the dust jacket. Salden is particularly known for his designs for book covers and dust jackets. He was also a skilled typographer. His designs received many awards; more than a hundred of his books are among the Best Designed Books in the Netherlands.

Also see:

  • Katja Vranken e.a., Helmut Salden: letterontwerper en boekverzorger (Rotterdam: Uitgeverij 010, 2003).

The rare and sought-after first dust jacket was printed on wood-containing, cheap paper with the name Anne Frank printed in yellow and the title and subtitle: Het Achterhuis. Dagboekbrieven van 14 Juni 1942 - 1 Augustus 1944. This subtitle differs from that on the title page, which reads: Dagboekbrieven van 12 juni 1942 -1 augustus 1944. This remained unchanged until the sixth edition.

The inside flaps of the dust jackets of the 2nd to 6th editions contain excerpts from reviews of Het Achterhuis by Anna Blaman, Jeanne van Schaik-Willing and others.

4. Where was the first edition printed?

The first edition of Het Achterhuis was printed by Ellerman Harms N.V. in Amsterdam. A notable feature is that – presumably due to the paper shortage immediately after the war – copies of the German book Die Vergeltung geschreven door Herbert Barth, written by Herbert Barth and published by Gauverlag Bayerische Ostmark (Bayreuth) in 1941, were used for the binding. This has been confirmed in four copies of the first edition of Het Achterhuis, which had damaged spines. It is not known whether this applies to all copies of the first edition.

A fourth edition of Die Vergeltung was published in 1943. The fifth edition, printed by De Arbeiderspers in Amsterdam, may never have been released on the market, and the paper from the copies that had already been printed may have been used for other purposes. How these copies ended up at Ellerman Harms is not yet known. Both companies worked for the German Ministry of Propaganda during the occupation.

Also see:

  • Shula Klinger, Retribution and restoration, in: Jewish Independent, 10 November 2017. About a remarkable discovery made by an American book restorer while restoring a first edition of Het Achterhuis.
  • Perkamentus, De kleuren van Het Achterhuis, 17  March 2016. About the dust jackets of the first three editions of Het Achterhuis.
  • Paula H.A.M. Abels, Anne Frank in de Goudse Sint-Janskerk, 23 April 2021. About the history and production of the first three editions of Het Achterhuis.

5. How do you recognise a first edition? And the second and third editions?

The first six editions et Achterhuis can be distinguished by the colour of the author's name printed on the dust jacket. The first edition is yellow, the second edition is blue, the third edition is orange, the fourth edition is red, the fifth edition is mint green and the sixth edition is green-blue. Another distinguishing feature is the colour of the belly band, which is often missing. In the first edition, the belly band is yellow, in the second edition blue, and in the third edition orange. Subsequent editions did not have a belly band.

The first to fourth editions were printed on grey paper and bound in a simple cardboard cover with the author's name, title and publisher printed on a rectangular orange-coloured area. The fifth and sixth editions have a blue linen cover with the title Het Achterhuis in gilded letters.

The first edition is further distinguished by the statement Proloog-reeks on the half-title, i.e. the first page carrying nothing but the title of the book. Parallel to literary journal Proloog, Contact publishers had set up a series in which works by young authors could be published. Between 1945 and 1947, seven volumes appeared in the de Proloog series, including the first edition of Het Achterhuis. The statement Proloog-reeks is missing in the second and subsequent editions.

6. How rare is a first edition?

Copies regularly turn up, and many collectors want to add one to their collection. The condition of these copies varies greatly. After the war, the quality of the paper left much to be desired. The spine is often damaged, and in most cases the dust jacket and belly band are missing. A copy with a dust jacket and belly band in good condition is very rare.

7. What does a first edition fetch?

Auction prices vary widely, from €3,100 for a reasonable copy without dust jacket (Kunstveiling.nl, March 2025) to €16,500 for a copy with dust jacket, in very good condition, without the belly bench (Vendu auction house, Rotterdam, May 2025). Even damaged copies sell for a few hundred euros. The prices for second and third editions are significantly lower, although prices are still rising. But the same applies to the second and third editions: scarce with dust jacket and even scarcer with belly band. Value appreciation can also occur in the case of handed-down copies containing dedications and signatures by Otto Frank and/or others directly involved in the hiding in the Annex and/or accompanying correspondence from, for example, Otto Frank. For example, a copy that belonged to a friend of Margot Frank, accompanied by a note from Otto Frank, fetched 7,200 euros at auction.

See also