Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature Rare Bond Titles Lead Literature at Swann Lot 127: Ian Fleming, Goldfinger, first edition, inscribed to Sir Henry Cotton, MBE, London, 1959. Sold for $25,000. John Larson: “The enduring appeal of inscribed first editions, particularly those with significant associations, was on full display and resulted in a number of high prices, including several records,” said Larson, specialist for our 19th & 20th Century Literature sale on Tuesday, May 14. Bond, James Bond Ian Fleming’s James Bond was the star of the sale with four first editions ranking among the top ten lots: Goldfinger, 1959, led the sale at $25,000, and featured an inscription to Sir Henry Cotton, MBE–three-time winner of The Open Championship–recommending a particular golf scene in the book. A selection of Ian Fleming first editions offered in 19th & 20th Century Literature on May 14. Fleming’s first Bond novel, Casino Royale, 1953, in the first state dust jacket earned $18,750; a presentation copy of Thunderball, 1961, inscribed to Charles Douglas Jackson, a friend of Fleming’s who was posthumously revealed to be a CIA agent, brought $16,250; and the rarest Bond title, The Man with the Golden Gun, 1965, with the gilt gun stamped on the front cover, earned $11,050. Genre Titles Lot 16: Edgar Rice Burroughs, At the Earth’s Core, first edition, presentation copy, signed & inscribed, Chicago, 1922. Sold for $3,750, a record for the title. Auction records were set for several titles by Edgar Rice Burroughs with an inscribed first edition of Tarzan the Invincible, 1931, at $3,500, and a signed first edition, presentation copy of At the Earth’s Core, 1922, at $3,750. Lot 145: Hugo Gernsback, Ralph 124C 41+. A Romance of the Year 2660, first edition, Boston, 1925. Sold for $9,375. Further genre works of note featured a first edition in the unrestored dust jacket of Hugo Gernsback’s foundational science-fiction classic Ralph 124C 41+. A Romance of the Year 2660, 1925, which earned $9,375. Auction Debuts Lot 183: Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera, first American edition, first printing, in original dust jacket, New York, 1911. Sold for $12,500. Firsts at auction included first American editions, in original dust jackets, of Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera, 1911, at $12,500 and Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, 1908, at $3,500. Security Analysis Lot 95: Benjamin Graham & David L. Dodd, Security Analysis, first edition, second printing, inscribed by Graham to a Wall Street trader, New York, 1934. Sold for $20,000. A scarce presentation copy of Security Analysis, 1934, inscribed to a Wall Street trader was won for $20,000. The first edition is likely the first known to bear the signature of its principal author, Benjamin Graham. Nineteenth-Century Nineteenth-century titles included the first American edition of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1885 ($7,500); first editions, first issues of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1892, and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, 1894 ($3,250); and a signed author’s edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, 1876 ($4,500). Lot 105: Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Dial: A Monthly Magazine for Literature, Philosophy and Religion, frist edition of the reconstituted issue, Emerson’s copy with inscriptions, Cincinnati, 1860. Sold for $3,250, a record for the publication. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s copy of the reconstituted issue of the Transcendentalist periodical The Dial: A Magazine for Literature, Philosophy, and Religion, 1860, with notations in Emerson’s hand, brought a record for the work at $3,250. Complete Results. More about selling at Swann. Share Facebook Twitter May 21, 2019Author: Kelsie JankowskiCategory: 19th & 20th Century Literature Tags: 19th & 20th Century Literature Arthur Conan Doyle Benjamin Graham Economics Edgar Rice Burroughs Gaston Leroux Huckleberry Finn Hugo Gernsback Ian Fleming James Bond Kenneth Grahame Mark Twain Ralph Waldo Emerson Security Anaylsis Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Tarzan The Dial The Phantom of the Opera walt whitman Previous Upcoming Highlights: American Art Next Lewis Evans: An Overview of Creating ‘General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America’ Recommended Posts A Look Inside the Catalogue: Autographs Autographs January 15, 2018 First Sale Dedicated to the Accomplishments of Women at Swann Exceeds High Estimate Focus On Women July 20, 2021 John Larson’s Specialist Picks: Five to Watch in the March 2, 2023 Sale 19th & 20th Century Literature February 22, 2023