This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/20/2021
WILDE, Oscar (1854-1900). The Ballad of Reading Gaol. London: Leonard Smithers, 1898. 4to. Original mustard cloth and white linen spine (soiled). Printed on handmade paper. SIXTH EDITION, ONE OF 1,000 COPIES PRINTED. The sixth printing was the last to identify the author only as “C.3.3.” Oscar Wilde wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol in northern France shortly after his release from HM Prison Reading on 19 May 1897. Its narrative tells the tale of Charles Thomas Woodbridge’s 1896 execution at Reading for the murder of his wife. The name under which it was published refers to the cell in which Wilde was imprisoned in cell block C, landing 3, cell 3.