ID 1362841
Lot 159 | [WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)]
Estimate value
£ 1 000 – 1 500
Children In Prison and Other Cruelties of Prison Life. London: Murdoch & Co., 26 Paternoster Square, [1898]
Extremely rare first edition in book form of Wilde’s celebrated letter to the Daily Chronicle concerning the cruelty of placing children in prison. The letter, written in prison and shortly after his release, is a manifesto against carceral stupidity, excoriating the prison system, particularly the Prison Board, particularly for its cruelty towards children: 'People nowadays do not understand what cruelty is. They regard it as a sort of terrible medieval passion, and connect it with the race of men like Eccelin da Romano, and others, to whom the deliberate infliction of pain gave a real madness of pleasure. But men of the stamp of Eccelin are merely abnormal types of perverted individualism. Ordinary cruelty is simply stupidity. It comes from the entire want of imagination. It is the result in our days of stereotyped systems, of hard-and-fast rules, of centralisation, of officialism, and of irresponsible authority [...] It is the Prison Board, with the system that it carries out, that is the primary source of the cruelty that is exercised on a child in prison'. Rare in such good condition. Mason [26].
Small octavo (172 x 116mm). (A few very light spots to title and last page.) Stapled in publisher's printed wrappers (light age toning); preserved in green cloth solander case with ties, itself in black morocco folding case by Peartree. Provenance: Barry Humphries (1934-2023).
| Artist: | Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900) |
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| Auction house category: | Books, Books and manuscripts |
| Artist: | Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900) |
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| Auction house category: | Books, Books and manuscripts |
| Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
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| Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
| Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
| Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
![[WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)] - photo 1 [WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)] - photo 1](/assets/image/picture_4412531/cb979/ccb021858f804448bf094048134c30de1739401200jpg__fix_555_460.jpeg)
![[WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)] - photo 2 [WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)] - photo 2](/assets/image/picture_4412532/7ccb3/869c835f752e76ab956716710f9733e91739401200jpg__fix_555_460.jpeg)


![[WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)]](/assets/image/picture_4084566/f107e/lahwoc3u4qf9a2monehopf8hrdgtqqfscop5zvi2iyvpfee2ozgaz9zixwfubjc1719907174jpg__fix_162_205.jpeg)






![[WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)] - photo 1 [WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)] - photo 1](/cache/lot/1362841/ccb021858f804448bf094048134c30de_1739401200-80x80_center_50.jpg)
