'The Glass Key' Unlocks Bidding at New York Literature Auction

NEW YORK CITY

:Among other modern examples were a scarce, signed limited first French edition of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince, with color illustrations, New York, 1943, $3,680; and an unusually bright copy of Dr Seuss's The Cat in the Hat, first edition, New York, 1957, $3,450. Of note among the Nineteenth Century works were an illustrated copy of Jonathan Swift's A New Edition of Gulliver's Travels, Philadelphia, 1814, $1,020; a signed limited large-paper edition of one of Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus books, New York, 1895, $1,840; and a complete 12-volume set of Andrew Lang's Fairy Books in original cloth, London 1889-1910, $4,800.

It is no mystery that works by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie uncovered competitive bidding at Swann Galleries' April 14 auction of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century literature, which also featured first editions of literary classics and children's titles.

A first English edition of Dashiell Hammett's novel The Glass Key opened the door to bidders in its first appearance at auction. The 1931 tome, one of only three copies known to exist with the original dust jacket, brought a resounding $69,000.

Christine von der Linn, literature specialist, said, "While the Nineteenth Century literature in the sale was solid, the record breakers came out of three major private collections of Twentieth Century books. Without a doubt, the star of the auction was The Glass Key in the very rare dust jacket."

Other highlights by Hammett were Red Harvest, first edition, New York, 1929, which sold for a record $27,600; The Dain Curse, first edition, New York, 1929, $7,475; the first American edition of The Glass Key, New York, 1931, a record $6,210; and his last novel, The Thin Man, first edition, first issue, New York, 1934, $5,980.

Raymond Chandler also made a good showing, with a first edition of his first book, The Big Sleep, New York, 1939 bringing $11,500, an advance review copy of the same title selling for $4,140; and an unrestored first edition of his increasingly scarce Farewell, My Lovely, New York, 1940, realized $5,520.

Several desirable Agatha Christie works in their colorful original dust jackets included The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, first edition, first issue, London, 1926, $6,900; a first English edition of The Mystery of the Blue Train, London, 1928, a record $9,200; The Mysterious Mr Quin, first English edition, London, 1930, $5,980; and a signed copy of Hercule Poirot's Christmas, first English edition, London, 1939, $5,520.

Record breaking prices were also achieved for three of Eric Ambler's groundbreaking spy novels. An inscribed and signed first edition of one of his rarest works, Cause for Alarm, with the exceedingly rare dust jacket, London, 1938, brought $5,520; another signed and inscribed title, Epitaph for a Spy, London, 1938, with a small menu printed for a luncheon in honor of the book's publication that was also signed, sold for $6,440; and a first English edition of The Mask of Dimitrios, Ambler's best known work, in a bright dust jacket, London, 1939, $7,475.

The sale also offered classics of modern literature. First editions of James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, with dust jacket, New York, 1916, brought $14,950; William Faulkner's first book, Soldiers' Pay, New York, 1926, $9,775; Ernest Hemingway's Men without Women, New York, 1927, $8,625; and an inscribed and signed copy of Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find, 1955, $5,520.

The piece-de-resistance among the children's literature was a bright copy of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, first printing, in the true first issue dust jacket before the Caldecott medal sticker was added, New York, 1963, $9,775.

Among other modern examples were a scarce, signed limited first French edition of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince, with color illustrations, New York, 1943, $3,680; and an unusually bright copy of Dr Seuss's The Cat in the Hat, first edition, New York, 1957, $3,450. Of note among the Nineteenth Century works were an illustrated copy of Jonathan Swift's A New Edition of Gulliver's Travels, Philadelphia, 1814, $1,020; a signed limited large-paper edition of one of Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus books, New York, 1895, $1,840; and a complete 12-volume set of Andrew Lang's Fairy Books in original cloth, London 1889-1910, $4,800.

Finally, the Nineteenth Century literature included James Fenimore Cooper's The Pathfinder; or, the Inland Sea, first edition in original boards, London, 1840, $1,840; Nathaniel Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales, a first edition of his first collection of short stories, Boston, 1837, $3,680; and Henry David Thoreau's The Writings ... Manuscript Edition, 20 volumes, one of 600, Boston, 1906, with an original manuscript leaf discussing a model farm, which tripled its estimate at $17,250.

All prices include a buyer's premium.