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Peter Arnold: The John Alexander collection of English & American literature

Auction Reports

Auction Name The John Alexander collection of English & American literature Total Sales (AUD) 183,240.00
Auction Date March 07, 2026 - March 08, 2026 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (AUD) 107,940.00
Sale Number #30726 High Estimate of Lots Sold (AUD) 141,200.00
Total Lots 197
Sold Lots 122.0 Low Estimate of All Lots (AUD) 167,220.00
% of Lots Sold 61.93% High Estimate of All Lots (AUD) 218,300.00
Unsold Lots 75 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 83.94%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
107 FLEMING, Ian

Casino Royale

[1953] AUD 20,000.00 - 25,000.00 AUD 33,600.00
151 HEMINGWAY, Ernest

Men without women

1927 AUD 1,800.00 - 2,000.00 AUD 9,600.00
187 KEROUAC, Jack

On the road

[1957] AUD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 AUD 9,000.00
181 JOYCE, James

Ulysses

[1936] AUD 4,000.00 - 5,000.00 AUD 5,280.00
163 HEMINGWAY, Ernest

The old man and the sea

1952 AUD 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 AUD 4,800.00
196 KESEY, Ken

One flew over the cuckoo's nest

[1962] AUD 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 AUD 4,560.00
125 GOLDING, William

Lord of the flies

[1955] AUD 600.00 - 800.00 AUD 4,080.00
124 GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel

Love in the time of cholera

1988 AUD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 AUD 3,840.00
147 HELLER, Joseph

Catch-22

1961 AUD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 AUD 3,840.00
170 HIGHSMITH, Patricia

The talented Mr. Ripley

[1955] AUD 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 AUD 3,600.00
180 JOYCE, James

Ulysses

1934 AUD 2,000.00 - 2,500.00 AUD 3,600.00
1 ADAMS, Richard

Watership down

1972 AUD 2,600.00 - 3,000.00 AUD 3,360.00
22 CAIN, James M.

The postman always rings twice

1934 AUD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 AUD 3,360.00
103 FITZGERALD, F. Scott

The great Gatsby

1925 AUD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 AUD 3,360.00
144 HARDY, Thomas

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

1926 AUD 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 AUD 3,360.00
62 CRANE, Stephen

The red badge of courage

1895 AUD 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 AUD 3,120.00
123 GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel

One hundred years of solitude

[1970] AUD 1,000.00 - 1,500.00 AUD 3,120.00
21 BRONTE, Charlotte, Emily & Anne

BRONTE, Charlotte, Emily & Anne. Novels

1907 AUD 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 AUD 2,640.00
168 HIGHSMITH, Patricia

Strangers on a train

[1950] AUD 1,000.00 - 1,500.00 AUD 2,640.00
105 FITZGERALD, F. Scott

Taps at reveille

1935 AUD 2,000.00 - 2,500.00 AUD 2,280.00
156 HEMINGWAY, Ernest

Green hills of Africa

1935 AUD 1,800.00 - 2,000.00 AUD 2,040.00
20 BOWLES, Paul

The sheltering sky

[1949] AUD 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 AUD 1,920.00
110 FLEMING, Ian

From Russia, with love

[1957] AUD 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 AUD 1,920.00
152 HEMINGWAY, Ernest

A farewell to arms

1929 AUD 1,000.00 - 1,200.00 AUD 1,920.00
36 CAPOTE, Truman

In cold blood

[1965] AUD 1,200.00 - 1,500.00 AUD 1,800.00
  • ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections
    Open for Bidding 2-17 April
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.