Sell or Auction Your Oscar Wilde Importance of Being Earnest 1898 1st Edition of 1000 for up to Over $5,000 or More at Nate D. Sanders Auctions
FREE ESTIMATE. To buy, auction, sell or consign your Oscar Wilde Importance of Being Earnest 1898 1st edition of 1000 that is for sale, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).
Sell Your Oscar Wilde Importance of Being Earnest 1898 1st Edition of 1000
Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, the early 1890s saw him become one of the most popular playwrights in London. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the circumstances of his criminal conviction for gross indecency for consensual homosexual acts, imprisonment, and early death at age 46.
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James’s Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play’s major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Some contemporary reviews praised the play’s humour and the culmination of Wilde’s artistic career, while others were cautious about its lack of social messages. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde’s most enduringly popular play.
Below is a recent realized price for an Oscar Wilde Importance of Being Earnest 1898 1st edition of 1000 item. We at Nate D. Sanders Auctions can obtain up to this amount or more for you:
Oscar Wilde Importance of Being Earnest 1898 1st Edition of 1000 item. Sold for Over $5,000.
Allan Aynesworth as Algernon (left) and George Alexander as Jack, click to enlarge
Here are some literary items that our auction house, Nate D. Sanders (http://www.NateDSanders.com) has sold:
Oscar Wilde Autograph Letter Signed — “…I have been writing, and I have an idea that some of my letters have gone astray…”
Oscar Wilde autograph letter signed, undated though circa 1890, on letterhead bearing his “16, Tite Street” address. Wilde writes to John Knowles, editor of “The Nineteenth Century: “…I do not know if you have yet sent me a cheque for my last article, as I have been writing, and I have an idea that some of my letters have gone astray. Kindly let me know if it has been sent, and I will make enquiries…Oscar Wilde.” 2pp. on card-style stationery measuring 4.75″ x 6.5″. Heavily toned on first page; in good condition with dark writing. Sold for $3,600.
Rare Oscar Wilde Autograph Letter Signed — “…from his affectionate friend and kingman…”
Oscar Wilde autograph letter signed by renowned playwright and Victorian iconoclast Oscar Wilde. Written to his brother-in-law, perhaps accompanying a gift to him, letter reads in full, “An April day / Otho Lloyd / from his affectionate friend and kingman the writer Oscar Wilde”. Written in bold black ink, taking up an entire page measuring 6.25″ x 8.25″. Even toning, else near fine. An excellent example of Wilde’s holograph, ideal for framing. Sold for $3,336.
Oscar Wilde Signed “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” — Rare
Oscar Wilde autograph on a hardcover “The Ballad of Reading Gaol.” Leonard Smithers: London: 1898. “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” is a poem by Oscar Wilde written while in exile after his release from prison in 1897. Wilde was, of course, incarcerated after being convicted of homosexual offenses in 1895 and sentenced to two years’ hard labor. The finished poem was published in 1898 under the name C.3.3., which stood for cell block C, landing 3, cell 3. Nice, dark “Oscar Wilde” signature in fountain pen on title page, with Wilde’s characteristic paraph. Some foxing throughout and cracked joint, else very good condition. Sold for $2,780.
Consign your Oscar Wilde Importance of Being Earnest 1898 1st edition of 1000 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions. Send a description and images of your Oscar Wilde Importance of Being Earnest 1898 1st edition of 1000 to us at [email protected].
Oscar Wilde Autograph Letter Signed — ”…Be at Vaudeville Theatre…”
Oscar Wilde autograph letter signed, arranging the logistics for a friend to visit the Theatre. Composed upon his personal stationery at 16 Tite Street in Chelsea, dating the letter to the 1880s, Wilde writes in full, ”Dear Arthur, Be at Vaudeville Theatre – 8.30 tomorrow (Saturday) evening – a box, and Miss Temple await you – If you can’t come, telephone. / Ever yrs / Oscar Wilde”. Letter measures 4.5” x 7”. Uniform toning, a few moisture marks, and light creasing, overall very good condition. Sold for $1,650.
Rare first edition, first printing of one of the most desired books in the history of literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ”The Great Gatsby,” published by Charles Scribner’s Sons: New York: 1925, with the nearly impossible to find first printing dustjacket. Every point is present: 1925 is printed on title page; Charles Scribner’s Sons logo appears on the copyright page with no subsequent printing statements; ”chatter” appears on page 60; ”northern” appears on page 119; ”it’s” is printed on line 16 of page 165; ”sick in tired” is found on page 205; ”Union Street station” is mistyped on line 7-8 of page 211. Bound in dark green cloth boards with title and author’s name blind-stamped to front board and gilt lettering to spine. Francis Cugat’s scarce original unrestored first printing dustjacket has the lowercase ”j” in ”jay Gatsby” on the back panel hand-corrected in ink. Sold for $50,000.
Ernest Hemingway Signed First Limited Edition of ”A Farewell to Arms” — Scarce in Original Slipcase
Ernest Hemingway signed limited first edition of his post-WWI classic, ”A Farewell to Arms”, housed in its original limited edition slipcase, with numbers matching. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1929. Published on 27 September 1929 in a limited edition of 510 numbered copies, this being #214, signed boldly ”Ernest Hemingway” in black fountain pen. In matching slipcase with Charles Scribner’s Sons plate, again listing the limited edition as #214. Measures 6.5” x 9.5”. Some chipping to seams of slipcase, overall in very good condition. Chipping to spine label, otherwise book is near fine. Sold for $10,313.
Auction your Oscar Wilde Importance of Being Earnest 1898 1st edition of 1000 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions. Send a description and images of your Oscar Wilde Importance of Being Earnest 1898 1st edition of 1000 to us at [email protected].
Hammett’s “The Thin Man” Inscribed 1st Edition
Scarce signed and inscribed copy of “The Thin Man” by Dashiell Hammett. New York: Alfred A. Knopf: 1934. First edition, first printing with red variant dust jacket with front flap reviews. Boldly inscribed, “For Dan and Peggy / with my best regards / Dashiell Hammett / New York / Sept. 23, 1934.” A rare copy of Hammett’s hardboiled detective novel which became the basis for the successful film series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. Minor fading and soiling to decorative green cloth boards (oxidation of green dye that was used in first edition printings has resulted in light green cloth boards). Moderate wear to unclipped dust jacket. Overall, very good condition. Sold for $9,600.
Louisa May Alcott signed ”Little Women,” published by Roberts Brothers: Boston 1880. Impossible to find, the author’s signature within her masterpiece reads: ”L.M. Alcott” upon the fly-leaf. An Alcott signed instance of ”Little Women” has not been sold at auction in over 4 decades. First published in 1869, Alcott’s spellbinding novel about four sisters coming of age in the Civil War era has since become a classic. This edition is bound in hunter green cloth boards with gilt and black lettering and design. All edges gilt. Measures 7” x 8.5”. Surface loss to exterior corners and edges. Cracking to interior front hinge, with detached front free endpaper. A bookplate affixed to the front pastedown indicates this volume was gifted to the Brookline Public Library in 1917. In addition, the library’s perforated label appears at the bottom of the title page. A news clipping of Alcott’s obituary has been affixed to integral blanks. A label affixed to the rear pastedown reads: ”This book is for use in the library building only” and a barcode label has been partially removed from the rear free endpaper, else very good. With PSA/DNA COA. Sold for $8,908.
FREE ESTIMATE. To buy, auction, sell or consign your Oscar Wilde Importance of Being Earnest 1898 1st edition of 1000 that is for sale, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).