?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849) The Purloined Letter, published in The Gift.
Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, 1845.
First appearance of Poe's story in print; octavo; a nicely preserved copy in publisher's textured black morocco tooled in gilt on spine and boards (awkward patch to top endcap); contents nicely preserved; backstrip detached; with contemporary ownership inscriptions of Mary S. White of Boston; all edges gilt; 8 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.
C. Auguste Dupin is back! After solving the grisly murders in the Rue Morgue, and getting to the bottom of the Mystery of Marie Roget, he's focused on solving the case of a missing letter used to blackmail Queen. Dupin visits the blackmailer's rooms, where he spots the hidden letter. In a move presaging TV's Columbo, Dupin leaves his snuffbox behind (accidentally on purpose). When he returns to retrieve it, a staged kerfuffle in the street (also courtesy M. Dupin) provides just the cover he needs to crack the case.
