WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900) - photo 1
WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900) - photo 2
WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900) - photo 3

WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)

Lot 153
13.02.2025 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
ID 1362973
Lot 153 | WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)
Estimate value
£ 2 000 – 3 000
WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900)
Lady Windermere's Fan. A Play about a Good Woman. London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane, 1893.
First edition, one of 500 copies: from the library of Wilde’s friend the writer Ada Leverson, and with a further autograph note about her by Wilde’s lover Robert Ross. Lady Windermere's Fan revitalized the comedy of manners genre with its sharp wit and social critique. Its success established Wilde as a leading playwright and continues to resonate with modern audiences. Ada Leverson was a close friend and confidante of Oscar Wilde. Their friendship began in the 1890s and was marked by mutual admiration and support, with Wilde affectionately calling her ‘Sphinx’ due to her enigmatic personality. Leverson's loyalty was evident during Wilde's trials in 1895, when she and her husband offered him refuge in their home. Mason 357.

Quarto (206 x 149mm). (A few small stains, upper margin slightly darkened, lacking opening blank leaf and 16-page publisher's catalogue at end.) Early 20th-century green half morocco by Hatchards, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, top edge gilt, others untrimmed (faded and lightly rubbed, slight staining to boards); with a loosely-inserted printed programme for a [?]1957 production of the play, featuring Barry Humphries as Lord Windermere. Provenance: Ada Leverson (1862-1933; ownership inscription at head of dedication page, with signed autograph note about her by Robert Ross beneath) – Frederick Edwin Smith, Viscount Birkenhead (1872-1930; bookplate) – Richard Kayne (bookplates) – Barry Humphries (1934-2023; bookplate).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
13.02.2025 – 13.02.2025
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
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