Buying books for Christmas? Five First Editions at upcoming auctions on thesaleroom.com
02 December 2019 Christmas is a great time for buying books as presents for friends and family. But what better than buying an original copy of the first edition of a famous novel?
A first edition of ‘Alice's Adventures in Wonderland’ – estimated at £600-1200 at David Lay.
Here is our selection of five first editions offered at upcoming auctions on thesaleroom.com being sold in December.
1. Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (the pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) was originally published in 1865. It later became commonly known as Alice in Wonderland and has remained one of the most popular children’s books ever written.
A first edition of ‘Alice's Adventures in Wonderland’ – estimated at £600-1200 at David Lay.
A good copy of the first edition published by Macmillan and finely bound morocco gilt by Bayntun Riviere is estimated at £600-1200 at David Lay on December 5-6.
View this copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on thesaleroom.com
2. Charles Dickens’ ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’
The Old Curiosity Shop was Charles Dickens’ fourth novel. Like other works by the great Victorian writer, it was originally published in instalments, in this case in the periodical Master Humphrey’s Clock over the period of April 1840-February 1841.
Such was its popularly, it was published in book-form later in 1841 by Chapman and Hall making use of the periodical’s unsold sheets. Known as the ‘first separate edition’, this single volume therefore featured page numbering irregularities as well as illustrations by George Cattermole and Hablot K Browne.
A copy of this edition will be offered at Richard Winterton’s auction on December 11 where it is estimated at £100-150.
View this copy of Charles Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop on thesaleroom.com.
3. Walter Scott’s ‘Ivanhoe’
This first edition of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe is offered at Lacy Scott & Knight on December 14.
The historical novel represented a departure from the author’s previous works in that it was set in medieval England rather than in Scotland in the comparatively more recent past.
Subtitled ‘A Romance’, the book ‘by the author of Waverley’ was printed in three volumes for Archibald Constable & Co, Edinburgh, in 1820.
This copy can be identified as part of the first issue set due to the pagination error at p159 of volume 1.
It is estimated at £500-700.
View this copy of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe on thesaleroom.com.
4. Ian Fleming’s ‘Live and Let Die’
A first edition of Ian Fleming’s ‘Live and Let Die’ – estimated at $6000-8000 at Bonhams New York.
A first edition of the second James Bond book by Ian Fleming is offered at Bonhams New York on December 5.
Like its predecessor Casino Royale, Live and Let Die was written at Fleming's Goldeneye estate in Jamaica.
This 1954 copy of Live and Let Die, published by Jonathan Cape, has the first issue text and binding, as well as the first state of original dust jacket.
The title of the book is derived from a quote by Bond on page 41: “In my job ... when I come up against a man like this one, I have another motto. It's 'live and let die’.”
It is estimated at $6000-8000.
View this copy of Ian Fleming’s Live and Let Die on thesaleroom.com.
5. John Le Carre’s ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’
A first edition hard-back copy of John Le Carre’s ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ – estimated at £8-12 at Chaucer Auctions.
Keeping on the spy theme, a first edition hard-back copy of John Le Carre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is offered at Chaucer Auctions on December 4.
It is being sold on behalf of the care centre Michael Sobell Hospice.
With a couple of tears on the dust jacket, it is offered with an estimate of just £8-12.
View this copy of John Le Carre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy on thesaleroom.com
