Bloomsbury Auctions is generally regarded as the home of first editions, a leading national newspaper has written: ‘Followers of literary fashion and risk-loving investors will do well to look at the Modern First Editions section of Bloomsbury Auctions.’ The sale of Modern First Editions, Literature & History, Economics & Law on 13th March will excite the most exacting of collectors.

The First Editions section embraces a plethora of authors from Amis, Berryman, Chatwin, Dahl and Faulkener to Graves, Greene, Hemingway, Joyce, Stevenson and Tolkien. Beatles fans will have their hearts racing for lots 8 and 9 both published by Genesis in 1984 and 1987-92 respectively. The former is a signed first edition of Fifty Years Adrift edited by George Harrison and written by Derek Taylor, a British journalist and long serving press agent for The Beatles (estimate £800-1000). The latter, Songs by George Harrison is number 121 of 250 special review copies, signed by Harrison and the artist Keith West and is estimated to fetch £1500-2000. A first edition of Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad (lot 26) is estimated £500-600 while lot 35 The Book of Thoth inscribed in Greek by Aleister Crowley (dubbed ‘the wickedest man in the world’), is expected to reach £1500-2000. This section also has nine lots of Conan Doyle first editions, many estimated between £120-1800 (lots 44-52). Amongst the five TS Eliot items are two copies of the first English edition in book form of The Waste Land (lots 54 and 55) each estimated £3000-4000.

Coinciding with the centenary of the birth of Ian Fleming, Bloomsbury is offering 14 titles (lots 63-76) and it is worth remembering that Bloomsbury holds several world record prices for titles by this author. Three books, Moonracker (lot 63) estimated £6000-8000, From Russia with Love (lot 67 which is estimated £1500-2000) and Goldfinger (lot 70 which is expected to fetch £1500-2000) are all inscribed to James Gomer Berry (1st Viscount Kemsley), the newspaper publisher and owner of The Sunday Times where Fleming worked. True aficionados of 007 will be delighted by the extremely scarce first edition with the original first state boards of The Man with the Golden Gun (lot 75). The publisher Jonathan Cape considered the design on theupper cover to be inadequate so it was subsequently reissued in plain boards (estimate £2500-3000).

The natural place to sell the adventures of Harry Potter by JK Rowling does appear to be Bloomsbury Auctions, as here too, world record prices have been achieved for this author. Amongst the five on offer (lots 136-140) two have signed dedications and estimates range from £800-2000.

A major cornerstone author in the English Literature section is Jane Austen and Bloomsbury is selling a first edition in 3 vols of Pride and Prejudice (lot 238) which has an estimate of £10000-15000. Amongst the bibles is the second folio edition of the King James Bible, also known as ‘The Great She Bible’. There is an error in Matthew XXVI, 36 where the word ‘Judas’appears instead of ‘Jesus’. Published in 1613 it has a presale estimate of £6000-8000.

www.bloomsburyauctions.com

Posted: 03|3|08 at 10:45 pm. Filed under: UK News.