Results from Sept 10 Bloomsbury auction.

Graham Greene

Some results of interest from the Sept 10 bibliophile auction at Bloomsbury:

• Black Plumes (1940) by Margery Allingham, 1st ed., £260 (approx US$404).

• From Russia with Love (1957) by Ian Fleming, 1st ed., £200 (approx US$311).

• The Fallen Idol, Our Man in Havana, Stamboul Train, The Third Man, and 12 other 1st eds. by Graham Greene, £420 (approx US$652).

• Brighton Rock (1938) by Graham Greene,  1st ed., £300 (approx US$466).

• Unnatural Causes (1967) by P. D. James, 1st ed., £220 (approx US$342).

• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and The Looking-Glass War by John le Carre, 1st eds., £280 (approx $435).

Conan Doyle, Hammett items go at auction.

Yesterday's fine books and manuscripts auction at Bonham's offered the following mystery-related  items:

• 30 letters from Arthur Conan Doyle that pertain to the George Edalji case; related materials have revealed the fabrication of evidence and an attempt to blacken the author's reputation. The letters were valued at $30,000–60,000 and were sold for $20,453.

• Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894), along with an inscribed Conan Doyle visiting card and a letter from publisher George Newnes to the winner of a Sherlock Holmes competition, $1648

• The Works, Crowborough ed. (1930), signed by Conan Doyle, $8790

• Set of first-edition Dashiell Hammett novels, $6592

Top ms-related auction prices for 2014.

Americana Exchange has posted the top 500 auctions for 2014, which include the following:

Ad for The Big Sleep, 1946

• Signed ms of Arthur Conan Doyle's  "The Adventure of Black Peter," Christie's, $317,000.

• Original drawing for the Strand by Sidney Paget for Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of Silver Blaze," Christie's, $112,500.

• Screenplay by William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett of The Big Sleep (dir. Howard Hawks), Bonhams, $81,250.

(Thanks to PhiloBiblos)

Auction results, Poe Mummy story; Conan Doyle.

The Christie's auction on June 22 yielded some interesting results:

William Faulkner.
Library of Congress,
Prints & Photos Div.

• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Illust. Sidney Paget. 1st ed. London: George Newnes, 1892. $1500.

• Edgar Allan Poe, "Some Words with a Mummy," "Valley of Unrest," and "The City in the Sea," April 1845. $313.

• William Faulkner, Soldiers' Pay. 1st ed. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1926. $11,875. Faulkner's first novel, with a World War I subject.

• Delightful 1969 illustration by Charles Addams of Wednesday Addams metamorphosing into a werewolf while reading The Werewolf of Paris. $4000.

• "Get into Books" illustration from 1983 by Sandra Boynton. $4000.

• "Sing Out for Books" illustration from 1965 by Hilary Knight (known as the illustrator of the Eloise series by Kay Thompson). $875.

(Hat tip to PhiloBiblos)

Chesterton, Greene, et al: Bloomsbury auction results.

E. C. Bentley, from
The Bookman 37 (1913)

There was a mixed bag of results for the Jan 12th Bloomsbury bibliophile auction, although it seems that works by Graham Greene continue to do respectably at auction. The mystery-related items included the following:

• Strand magazine vols 1–16, 1891–98, which contain the Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (illust. Sidney Paget): £100 (approx. US$153).

• E. C. Bentley, Trent's Last Case (1913), with G. K. Chesterton's The Wisdom of Father Brown (1914) and some Agatha Christie works, £110 (approx. US$168).

• Raymond Chandler, 1st English ed. of The Big Sleep (1939), £260 (approx. US$400).

• G. K. Chesterton, 1st ed. of The Man Who Was Thursday (1908), £60 (approx. US$92).

• Graham Greene, 1st ed. of The Third Man and The Fallen Idol (1950), £240 (approx. US$368).
(Hat tip to PhiloBiblos)

Green for Greene: Book fetches $24K.

As PhiloBiblos noted, a first edition of Graham Greene's Rumour at Nightfall (1931) garnered £17,000 (about US$24,500) at Bloomsbury's Dec 14 auction. Greene viewed the Conrad-influenced Rumour, in which a journalist hunts for an outlaw in Spain, as a very bad novel and refused to reprint it after its 1932 US edition. (Factoid of the day: According to a NYT review of Greene's The Name of Action [1931], Greene was related to Robert Louis Stevenson.)

Modest mystery sales in Sept 15 Bloomsbury auction.

At the Sept 15 Bloomsbury auction the mystery-related offerings received relatively modest sums:

Vera Caspary, by Jane Rady
From The Secrets of Grown-ups

• Vera Caspary, Laura (1st ed., 1944), £70 (approx US$108)

• Agatha Christie, The Big Four (1st ed., 1927) with proof of Third Girl (1966), £60 (approx US$93)

• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1st ed., 1902), £460; His Last Bow (1st ed., 1917), £90 (approx US$139)

• Ian Fleming, Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1st ed., 1966), £100 (approx US$155)

• Graham Greene, signed Stamboul Train (2nd issue, 1932) and two other works, £50 (approx US$77)

• Lot of mysteries including Michael Dibdin, Cabal (1992); signed Ruth Rendell, The Keys to the Street (1996); signed P. D. James, Devices and Desires (1989), £280 (approx US$433)
(Hat tip to PhiloBiblos)

Freddy the Pig brings pork at auction.

At the Dec 8 Bloomsbury auction, a 26-volume set of Walter R. Brooks's Freddy the Pig series went for $2000. A separate set of pulp novels, however, failed to sell.

Another auction on Dec 9 featured various Edward Gorey-related items.

Ian Fleming continues to sell well at auction.

The recent healthy prices for the works of Ian Fleming continued at the Sotheby's July 15th English literature auction when a copy of Diamonds Are Forever (1956) went for £1,875 (approximately $2,870).

Other items of interest:
• Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953): £4,000 (approximately $6,123)

• Deck plan of first-class accommodations on the RMS Titanic: £13,750 (approximately $21,050)

The celebrated, signed Beeton's Christmas Annual copy of A Study in Scarlet (1887) by Arthur Conan Doyle—estimated between £250,000 and £400,000 (approximately $383,000 to $612,000)—failed to sell.

(Hat tip to PhiloBiblos)

Dracula takes a big bite of cash: Over $63K.

At Bloomsbury's Books and Manuscripts auction on May 27th, a first edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula inscribed to the wife of William Schwenck Gilbert (as in Gilbert and Sullivan) went for approximately $63,637. In addition, a first-edition presentation copy of H. G. Wells's The Time Machine went for approximately $1,226, a 1902 edition of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles was sold for approximately $217, and—perhaps appropriately—a pirated edition of Oscar Wilde's Lord Arthur Savile's Crime reaped a mere $29.

About the image: Frank Langella as Dracula assures us he "love[s] New York. Especially in the evening." I Love New York ad campaign, ca. 1978.

Online audio, 2009 RBMS conference.

Among the 2009 conference sessions of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, Association of College and Research Libraries available online in audio are "Collecting, Auctions, and the Book Trade" and "Publishing and the Popular Consumption of Print Materials."

(Hat tip to PhiloBiblos)

Latest auction results.

At Christie's November 23rd auction, a letter from Arthur Conan Doyle regarding the Oscar Slater case (one occasion where Conan Doyle acted as a real-life detective) fetched £1500 (approx. US$2500); and a first edition of Ian Fleming's From Russia with Love (1957) with three other Fleming first editions went for £1250 (approx. US$2081).

(Hat tip to PhiloBiblos)

No gamble for Ian Fleming in Bloomsbury auction.

There were a few items of mystery-related interest from Bloomsbury's September 3rd and September 10th auctions:

• Leslie Charteris, The Saint and Mr. Teal, 1st US ed., 1933; The Saint vs. Scotland Yard, first US ed., 1932; unspecified Saint novel, £40 (approx. US$65)
  

• Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile, 1st ed., 1937, plus two unspecified Christie novels, £180 (approx. US$293)
  

• Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, 3rd English ed., illust. James Grieg, 1895, £400 (approx. US$651)
  

• Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, 1st ed., 1953, £1700 (approx. US$2767)
  

And just because I'm a major fan of the illustrations of N. C. Wyeth:

• N. C. Wyeth, In the Manner of "Ship Ahoy," n.d., oil on canvas, £80 (approx US$130)
  

James tops Greene in Bloomsbury auction.

Art from 1996 ed. of Greene's Stamboul Train

Mystery offerings were few in Bloomsbury's August 20th bibliophile auction, but here are some pertinent results:

• H. C. Bailey, Mr. Fortune Speaking (1930) plus other works by the author, £20 (approx. US$33)
  

• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (2nd ed., 1893; along with Strand Magazine version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, 1901–02; and The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, colonial ed., 1894), £180 (approx. US$297)
  

• Agatha Christie, The Secret of Chimneys (1st ed., 1925), £260 (approx. US$429)
  

• Graham Greene, Stamboul Train (1st ed., 1932; along with Heart of the Matter, 1st ed., 1948; and The End of the Affair, 1st ed., 1951), £150 (approx. US$248)
  

• P. D. James, A Mind to Murder (1st ed., 1963), £320 (approx. US$528)
  

Leslie Charteris's Meet the Tiger and Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles went unsold.

A mixed bag of results at Bloomsbury's July 16th bibliophile auction.

At Bloomsbury's July 16th bibliophile auction, the following items were sold:

• First edition of Agatha Christie's Cat among the Pigeons (1959), signed by David Suchet: £220 (approx US$362)
  

• First edition of Freeman Wills Crofts's The 12.30 from Croyden (1934): £50 (approx US$82)
  

• First edition of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902): £650 (approx US$1071)
  

• First U.S. edition of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Maracot Deep and Other Stories (1929): £180 (approx US$297)
  

• Signed first edition of Ian Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963): £3300 (approx US$5437)
  

• Signed copy of Sue Grafton's Kinsey and Me: A Collection of Short Stories (1991): £160 (approx US$264)
  

• W. E. Johns's "The Case of the Phone Box Murder," Boys Own (1954) plus two other issues: £130 (approx US$214)
  

• John le Carre's "The Writer and the Horse" plus assorted ephemera: £850 (approx US$1400)
  

• Signed copy of Julian Symons's A Short History of the Detection Club (n.d.): £80 (approx US$132)
  

Chesterton, Christie, Fleming results from Sotheby's July 14th auction.

At Sotheby's July 14th auction of English literature, history, children's books, and illustrations, the following items were sold:

• Seven first editions of G. K. Chesterton works, including The Man Who Knew Too Much and Other Stories (1925) and The Secret of Father Brown (1927): £3500 (approx. US$5760)
  

• Signed first edition (with personal letter) of Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1921): £10,000 (approx. US$16,457)
  

• Signed first edition of Ian Fleming's Goldfinger: £36,050 (approx. US$59,327)
  

(Hat tip to PhiloBiblos)

Mostly modest prices at Bloomsbury's June 30th bibliophile auction.

Among the items sold during Bloomsbury's June 30th No-Reserve Bibliophile Sale:

• Jane Annie, a comic opera penned by J. M. Barrie (of Peter Pan fame) and Arthur Conan Doyle: $75

• Hand-corrected typescripts by James M. Cain, which include an outline of The Slim Girl (later published as Galatea, 1953), 28 pages of The Lady Is a Pirate (later published as Mignon, 1962), and an outline for The Pie Rat (another version of Mignon): $600

• Group of first-edition spy novels, which includes works by Jack Higgins and James Graham (who are both Harry Patterson) and Jeffery Hudson (aka Michael Crichton): $1200

• Proof copy of Hammond Innes's first novel The Doppelganger (1936): $75
  

• Signed copies of Richard Matheson's The Twilight Zone Scripts (1998) and Collected Stories (1989): $375

• Group of mysteries, which includes Lady Cynthia Asquith's The Black Cap (1928), Edward Acheson's Murder to Hounds (1939), Carter Dickson [John Dickson Carr]'s Death in Five Boxes (1938), Ellery Queen's The Dragon's Teeth (1939), Eric Shepherd's Murder in a Nunnery (1940), and R. A. J. Walling's The Corpse with the Red-Headed Friend (1939) and Marooned with Murder (1937): $200
  

• Group of screenplays, which includes Robert Towne's Chinatown (1973): $450
  

Greene makes some green, and other book auction results.

At Bloomsbury's June 23rd auction of books and manuscripts, a signed first edition of Graham Greene's This Gun for Hire (1936; reissued as A Gun for Sale) sold for $1500; and a hodgepodge lot of first-edition mysteries went for $600. They included Nigel Morland's A Rope for the Hanging (1939), Joanna Cannan's No Walls of Jasper (1931), Manning Coles's A Toast to Tomorrow (1941), and Elisabeth Sanxay Holding's The Girl Who Had to Die (1940). One note on Cannan: She was the sister of World War I poet May Wedderburn Cannan; mother of children's authors Josephine, Diana, and Christine Pullein-Thompson; and a friend of Georgette Heyer.

Bloomsbury April 23rd book auction results.

Some highlights from Bloomsbury's April 23rd literature auction:

• First English edition of James Fenimore Cooper's The Spy (1822; novel about a spy for George Washington during the Revolutionary War; Cooper's second novel): valued at £400–600, sold for £1300 (approximately $1900)
  

• First edition of M.R. James's Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), £550 (approximately $809)
  

• First serialized edition of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (1935), valued at £60-80, sold for £360 (approximately $530)
  

• Signed copy of the autobiographical She Goes to War (1942) by Edith Pargeter (aka Ellis Peters), £280 (approximately $412)
  

• Signed first edition of John le Carre's Call for the Dead (1961), £3000 (approximately $4414)
  

• Signed first edition of James Crumley's The Wrong Case (1975), £160 (approximately $235)
  

• First edition of Colin Dexter's The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1977), £420 (approximately $618)
  

• First edition of Lindsey Davis's The Silver Pigs (1989), £170 (approximately $250)
  

Sadly, the copies of Leslie Charteris's The Saint vs. Scotland Yard and The Saint and Mr. Teal that I mentioned in this post went unsold (as did copies of Chandler's Farewell My Lovely and The Long Goodbye).

Conan Doyle continues to do nicely at auction.

At Bloomsbury's February 25th auction, a copy of Mickey Spillane's I, the Jury went for $400 (well under its $800 estimate), and a first edition of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird reaped $5000. The Conan Doyle materials did well:

• First edition, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902; 15 plates by Sidney Paget): $1000

• 4 sheets of manuscript of Dwellers on the Borders, a Conan Doyle essay, along with 2 letters on spiritualism: $2000

Full auction results here.