This Autographed Sherlock Holmes Manuscript Could Fetch $1.2 Million at Auction
Bibliophiles, rejoice! Sotheby’s Book Week will this year be led by an extraordinary collection of modern literature.
The auction house is offering up the library of Dr. Rodney P. Swantko, a surgeon who quietly amassed a selection of some of the most notable books released in the 19th and 20th centuries. That includes titles by the likes of Charles Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edgar Allan Poe, and Arthur Conan Doyle.
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“While any collection will bear the personal imprint of its collector, the library of Rodney Swantko is curated with an exceptional level of detail and dedication, celebrating the rich tapestry of 20th century literature,” Richard Austin, Sotheby’s global head of books and manuscripts, said in a statement. “Known in literary circles as a meticulous collector, the full scope of Swantko’s library is now fully revealed for the first time, showcasing the totality of his collecting vision and the taste and curiosity that drove his passion for decades.”
Leading the auction is an autographed manuscript of the Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of Four, which is set to become the most valuable Doyle item ever to come to auction. With an estimate of $800,000 to $1.2 million, the book is signed twice by Doyle, and it shows some of his edits as he worked to Americanize the text for a U.S. audience. Alongside the novel, Sotheby’s is offering letters between Doyle and J.M. Stoddart, the editor of the magazine for which Doyle had agreed to write the story.
Elsewhere, Swantko’s collection contains a number of notable first-edition presentation copies from some of the biggest literary names in history. Poe’s first collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), is expected to fetch $400,000 to $600,000. One of just 12 copies known to exist, and one of only two in a private collection, the book was published when Poe was just 18 years old. And a signed copy of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol from 1843 could see bids in the $200,000 to $300,000 range.
Moving into the 20th century, Swantko was the owner of a first printing of The Great Gatsby signed by Fitzgerald “with affection” to his wife’s sister and her husband, which could go under the hammer for up to $250,000. And a rare first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ($120,000 to $180,000) features a poetic dedication from L. Frank Baum to a close family friend.
Any literature lover would be lucky to add such titles to their own library.
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