Okay, so I was asked by a representative at Invaluable, an auction site that (to my delight) auctions rare books (and amazing books, too) to peruse their website and put together my dream library.
This is going to go horribly wrong.
If you're still sitting reading this post in a couple of hours, I'm really sorry. This is going to be a long list.
1) Lot 58. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1st Edition)
Estimated Price: $400-$600Description: (1886) 1st American Edition, later printing [Sixteenth Thousand] Authorized Edition, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons. [8], [1] 2-138pp, [4], [1] 2-4, [6], bound in yellow paper wrappers, Price Twenty-five Cents.
What I said: Come on, can you really blame me? It's a first edition! I've read the book before and absolutely loved it, it captured me in a way most dark, psychological books can't. That's why I really want to get my hands on a first edition, like this lot.
2) Lot 15. The Christmas Books by Charles Dickens
Description: Uniformly bound by Chas. E. Lauriat Co., Boston, in 3/4 leather and marbled paper, raised bands on gilt decorated spines, top edges gilt, marbled endpapers, bindings and hinges tight. All published by Chapman and Hall in London. *The Battle of Life (1886) *The Cricket on the Hearth (1890) *The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain (1887) *The Chimes : A Goblin Story (1886) *A Christmas Carol (1891). "The Original Edition has been out of print for many years and this Edition is a reprint from the stereotype plates of that Edition" mentioned in each volume.
What I said: They're so beautiful! I'm loving the gilt. Plus, I mean, the only one of the books in this lot that I've read is 'A Christmas Carol', so why not have a look at the other ones? I love this lot!
3) Lot 309: STOKER, BRAM. Dracula. (1st Edition)
Estimated price: $1,800 - $2,500
Description: STOKER, BRAM. Dracula. 8vo, original tan pictorial cloth, front cover stamped and lettered in dark blue, gilt and green, scattered light fingersoiling, modest rubbing to extremities with tiny split at spine head, bottom corners barely exposed, spine tanned slightly; ownership signature on front flyleaf, deckle edges with occasional small chips as usual; custom cloth felt-lined drop-back case (LMS booklabel). New York: Doubleday & McClure Co., 1899
What I said: Wow, a first edition of Dracula? And it's almost completely undamaged. Gimme, gimme, gimme! I need this in my perfect library. It would be treasured, probably never to be touched again but just appreciated and loved. By far the most expensive lot I've chosen, but I love it! Adoring this lot.
4) Lot 375: (BINDINGS - KELLIEGRAM.) Carroll, Lewis [Dodgson, Charles Lutwidge]. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Estimated price: $1,000 - $1, 500
Description: (BINDINGS - KELLIEGRAM.) Carroll, Lewis [Dodgson, Charles Lutwidge]. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. 42 illustrations by John Tenniel. 8vo, full navy morocco gilt-extra by Kelliegram bound for Charles E. Lauriat of Boston, colored pictorial onlays featuring various characters from the book, spine tooled in gilt in compartments, all edges and turn-ins gilt; original covers bound-in at end; cloth folding case (worn). Fifth thousand. Evocative, handsome binding. London: Macmillan and Co., 1867
What I said: I think I'm going to cry. The onlays and the gilt. Oh my gosh it's beautiful. I love Alice in Wonderland anyway, but the covers are just gorgeous. A book like Alice in Wonderland deserves covers like that. How beautiful is this lot, people?
5) Lot 40A: EASTON PRESS - Collector's & Famous Editions - Literature - 5 Volumes
Estimated price: $100 - $250
Description: *The Razor's Edge by A. Somerset Maugham (2009). *Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1978). *Emma by Jane Austen, ills by Fritz Kredel (1983). *Babbitt by Sinclar Lewis (1991). *Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (1991).
What I said: I need some more classics to complete my ideal library, right? This pretty collection is in good condition and has all the classics- Jane Eyre, Emma, the Arrowsmith, Babbit and The Razor's Edge. Who wouldn't want this lot?
So that's it- those are the five lots I chose to be part of my ideal library! Thank you again to Invaluable for giving me this lovely opportunity!
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