dumbfoundry

Rare second edition of 'Hamlet' to be auctioned:

A rare edition of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" could fetch well over $1 million when it is auctioned at Christie's in New York.

The nearly 400-year-old book is one of 19 copies of the 1611 printing of known to exist, and is the only one remaining in private hands. It was owned by Mary Hyde, Viscountess Eccles, a reknowned New Jersey book collector and English literature scholar best known for her extensive Samuel Johnson collection, now at the Houghton Library at Harvard University.

While other rare finds from Lady Eccles' collection are also being auctioned Wednesday, early editions of "King Lear," "Richard II" and "Macbeth" among them, the "Hamlet," because of its condition and rarity, is expected to attract the most attention. Christie's has estimated its worth between $1.5 and $2 million.

[You could buy an actual hamlet with that kind of money.]

Lady Eccles, who was among the first women admitted to the bibliophile Grolier Club in New York, was 91 when she died in August. Her Samuel Johnson collection and other books in her collection were pledged to institutions, including Harvard; the remainder is being auctioned Wednesday, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting her many philanthropic interests.

Meanwhile, Dylan's love letter to Caitlin fetches £12,400:

THE earliest surviving love letter written by Dylan Thomas to his future wife fetched more than £12,000 at auction last night.

It was among a collection of his work that sold for more than £60,000 in total.

The poet's letter to Caitlin Macnamara was sold for $22,800 (£12,400), including buyer's premium - nearly four times its estimated value.

So remember, between auctions and blackmail potential, it pays to hang on to embarrassing love letters.

This entry was posted by eeksypeeksy on Wednesday, April 14, 2004 at 9:29 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.