The 1904 large format grandes marges edition of the Michelin guide sold for a hammer price of €47,000 (£39,830) at the Hôtel des Ventes de Clermont-Ferrand, with an opened view to show the large margins for annotation alongside the standard-sized guide for comparison.
Always keen to update it, when the Michelin brothers released their fifth edition in 1904 they printed the text on extra-large sheets measuring 11 x 8½in (28 x 22cm), allowing large margins for comments, and sent copies to 300 of the most prestigious establishments mentioned in it.
These customers were invited to send in comments and advise on the accuracy of the published information but to avoid any ill-intentioned corrections, they were also asked to accompany their comments with their name and address.
The large-format grandes marges editions are deemed very rare.
Dedicated auctions
The 1904 large format grandes marges edition of the Michelin guide sold for a hammer price of €47,000 (£39,830) at the Hôtel des Ventes de Clermont-Ferrand.
The Ivoire Clermont-Ferrand in central France holds dedicated Michelin-related auctions and in 2021 it sold an unannotated example for a premium-inclusive €41,712, setting an auction record for a Michelin guide.
On July 23 in the same firm’s latest Michelin auction, held at the Casino de Royat, that record was surpassed when another 1904 grandes marges edition, again without annotations but also retaining the original map, realised €59,408 including premium or €47,000 (£39,830) hammer against a guide of €30,000-50,000.
The buyer was a private collector who secured their prize against five underbidders in the room, online and on the phone.
The sale also chalked up a new auction high for an example of the first 1900 edition which made €28,000 (£23,730) or €35,392 including premium, surpassing the €33,496 realised by a 1900 guide two years ago.
£1 = €1.18
