According to the museum, the letters are from Bauer's correspondence with Albert Bonniers publishing house and provide new insights into a talked-about but poorly documented chapter in his early career. The letters reveal that in 1906, the then 24-year-old artist was commissioned to illustrate Lagerlöf's reader, shortly before his breakthrough with Bland tomtar och troll. Lagerlöf rejected several motifs, including a 'boring' cat and some drafts she deemed 'horrible', and doubted his ability to draw people.
In the finished book, only two illustrations that Bauer drew were included. Bauer fought for better pay, arguing for a doubling of the fee because he had turned down other assignments, and eventually got his compensation raised to 600 kronor. The specific content of the three newly purchased letters beyond these general insights remains unclear.
The museum previously managed about 1,000 letters linked to the Bauer family, but the current total after this purchase has not been disclosed.