The Tamesis
On February 18, London’s Bonhams auction house will hold an auction of books, photographs and ephemera related to the life and work of Irish writer Oscar Wilde. The items come from the collection of former antique dealer and bibliophile Jeremy Mason, who has been collecting Oscar Wilde memorabilia for the past 60 years.
Wilde was an esthete and dandy who was almost as famous for his wit as for his writing, which included poetry, plays and a novel. The picture of dorian graypublished in 1890. In the early 1890s he became famous as a playwright, with works including Salome (published 1893, performed 1896) and importance of seriousness (Performed 1895, published 1899).
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However, Wilde’s success was short-lived: in 1895, he was convicted of “gross indecency” for having a homosexual relationship and sentenced to two years of hard labor. After his release, he moved to France, where he died in 1900 at the age of 46.
Highlights of the Bonhams sale will include an 1891 The picture of dorian gray Signed by the author, estimated at $16,000-24,000; 1898 signed copy of Oscar Wilde’s last poem, Reading Gaol Balladestimated at $13,000-$20,000; a letter to the children of Beatrice Faudel-Phillips, in which Wilde describes himself as a wallflower who no longer dances, estimated at $5,400-$8,100; and a circa 1893 Lord Alfred Douglas The photograph, whose relationship with Wilde led to Wilde’s imprisonment, is estimated at $1,300-2,700.
In a Bonhams press release, Mason wrote: “Taken together, the collection is intended to reflect all aspects of Wilde’s life, from his childhood (the winning book at Portola School, Lot 3), through his literary success and rise to fame, his fall from grace, and his imprisonment and exile… I hope other collectors will find something that interests them, not just in the highlights but also in the pamphlets and letters – the ephemera that give life to the collection.”
