A collection of works by W.B. Yeats worth up to £40,000 sterling is due to be auctioned by Christie's in London next month.
The group of almost 50 lots being sold on November 17th was assembled by an anonymous collector and features letters from the poet as well as signed first editions of Yeats's work.
The most valuable item included in this sale is a book called Nine Poems Chosen from the Works of . . ., one of only 25 copies privately printed by the American lawyer and art collector John Quinn and his friends in April 1914 for presentation at a dinner given at the time by Quinn for Yeats. This example features a frontispiece portrait of the poet by Arnold Genthe and the bookplate of the actor John Gielgud, who died earlier this year, as well as the inscription "Mrs Jefferson from W.B. Yeats in gratitude for two evenings of beautiful sights and sounds."
It is expected to fetch £3,000-£5,000.
Another lot associated with John Quinn is a copy of a 1901 article entitled Is the Order of R.R. & A.C. to remain a Magical Order? in its original wrapper and fitted black morocco case.
The Order of Rubidae Rosae & Aureae Crucis was seemingly a section of the Order of the Golden Dawn, the mystical society to which Yeats belonged for many years. This copy of the article features the bookplate of John Quinn who wrote of the work that Yeats "has never acknowledged the authorship of this article. It was written as a member of a magical society in London and when there was a split in the society, this copy was bought by Mr Quinn and Miss Florence Farr, the actress-author, against Mr Yeats' rather strenuous opposition."
The pre-sale price on the lot is £2,500-£4,000, the same figure as another work being offered on the same occasion, Yeats's Nine Poems, privately printed by his friend Clement Shorter in London in October 1918.
Other items being sold by Christie's include two first-edition copies of the poet's early work, The Wanderings of Oisin and other Poems dating from 1889 and expected to fetch £800-£1,200 each, his first play The Countess Cathleen of 1892 (£250-£400) and a copy of the privately printed 1925 A Vision, signed by the author and carrying a frontispiece portrait of Yeats by artist Edmund Dulac (up to £600).