This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/26/2022
WILDE, Oscar (1954–1900). The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Royal Arcade, London: Leonard Smithers, 1898. 8vo. Original publisher’s white and maroon cloth, gilt ornament on upper cover after Charles Ricketts, gilt–lettered spine, uncut (spine gently toned, some spotting to cloth, hinges a bit tender but contents tight); folding box. Provenance: Arthur Chester Rhodes (bookplate), a notable book collector of Oscar Wilde. LIMITED EDITION, number 16 of 99 copies SIGNED BY WILDE on limitation. The book was published anonymously on 13 February 1898 using the identification “C.3.3.”, Wilde’s number at Reading prison where he was incarcerated for two years hard labor after being convicted of homosexual offenses in 1895. Wilde was fearful of the negative associations with his name, but word leaked about the true identity of this work and the book immediately became a commercial success and one of Wilde’s most recognized works. The first edition sold out within a week and the second edition selling out the following week. This third edition of 99 copies was published within two months of the first on March 4th and it wasn’t until the seventh printing that Wilde revealed his name on the title–page. In his correspondence with Smithers, Wilde refers to this edition as the “author’s edition”. Mason 374.