Rare Plautdietsch Dictionary Nets $2.3 Million at Sotheby's Auction

NEW YORK, NY

Bidding was frenzied at a recent antiquarian book auction in New York City this week. Of particular interest to collectors was a rare out-of-print copy of Dr. Jack Thiessen’s ‘Mennonite Low German Dictionary.’

“Bidding started at 35 cents and skyrocketed from there,” said Sotheby’s auctioneer Alana Whitcomb. “There are so few Plautdietsch dictionaries out there that Mennonites are willing to sell the farm to get one…literally.”

Dr. Thiessen’s dictionary broke an auction record previously held by a signed first edition of Geoffrey Chaucer’s

“Without a good Plautdietsch dictionary like Dr. Thiessen’s, Mennonites are just making up words and spellings as they go,” explained Whitcomb. “There are sixteen known variations of the word alone. It’s difficult for Plautdietsch writer