A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first UK edition</a> of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=oscar%20wilde&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oscar Wilde</a>'s De Profundis, accompanied by Wilde's silver cigarette holder.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2: 1 book, and 1 cigarette holder.</li><li>Oscar Wilde (Irish).</li><li>United Kingdom: Methuen, 1905.</li><li>Accompanied by a silver cigarette holder with the makers mark Frederick Wald.</li><li>The cigarette holder was taken from Wilde's cache of items following his death at the Hotel D'Alsace in Paris.</li><li>Housed in a custom made box.</li></ul> A first edition, first printing of De Profundis by Oscar Wilde, published posthumously in 1905 by Methuen. Accompanied by a silver cigarette holder, embossed with foliate scrolls and a vacant shield cartouche, hallmarked Birmingham 1894, with the maker's mark that of Frederick Wald. The holder beautiful amber ending which pulls in and out. The renowned Irish playwright and poet, died on November 30, 1900, at the Hotel d’Alsace in Paris (now L'Hôtel). After serving two years of hard labor for "gross indecency" due to his homosexuality, Wilde fled to France, impoverished and shunned by society. Living under the name Sebastian Melmoth, he took up residence at the modest hotel. His health declined rapidly due to meningitis, complications from an earlier ear infection. Wilde reportedly quipped on his deathbed, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go." He passed away destitute but surrounded by a few loyal friends. Wilde was initially buried in a pauper's grave at Bagneux Cemetery, but his remains were later moved to Père Lachaise Cemetery, where his tomb, adorned with a modernist angel, now draws admirers from around the world. His wit and tragedy remain enduring symbols of artistic genius and societal hypocrisy.

De Profundis First Edition Book, Accompanied by Oscar Wilde's Cigarette Holder

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Oscar%20Wilde&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oscar Wilde</a>'s The Importance of Being Earnest.<ul><li>Oscar Wilde (Irish).</li><li>The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People.</li><li>London: Leonard Smithers &amp; Co., 1899.</li><li>Small quarto.</li><li>Number 311 of 1000 copies.</li><li>Bound in the publisher's lilac cloth, gilt design by Charles Shannon, mostly unopened.</li></ul> One of 1000 copies of Wilde's most celebrated play. First performed on 14th February 1895, The Importance of Being Earnest marked the zenith of Wilde's career, and followed on from the success of Lady Windermere's Fan, An Ideal Husband, and A Woman of No Importance. However, as his professional star rose, so did the escalation of his feud with Lord Queensberry, father of his lover Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie). Only four days after the opening of the play Lord Queensberry left his card at Wilde's club, scrawled with the words 'For Oscar Wilde posing somdomite' [sic]. Wilde, despite the advice of his friends but egged on by his lover, sued Queensberry for libel, and the rest his history. On 25th May, in the ensuing trial brought by the Crown, Wilde was convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years in prison with hard labor.

The Importance of Being Earnest First Edition

First-edition illustrated copy of Oscar Wilde's The Sphinx.<ul><li>Oscar Wilde (English).</li><li>Illustrated by Charles Rickets (English).</li><li>London: Elkin Mathews &amp; John Lane at The Sign of The Bodley Head, 1894.</li><li>Limited edition of 200 copies.</li><li>Bound in original art nouveau gilt decorated vellum.</li><li>Housed in a half red morocco clamshell slipcase with raised bands and gilt decorated spine.</li></ul>

The Sphinx

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=A+Woman+of+No+Importance&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Woman of No Importance</a> by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Oscar+Wilde&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oscar Wilde</a>.<ul><li>Oscar Wilde (Irish).</li><li>London: John Lane, 1894.</li><li>Quarto.</li><li>One of 50 large paper copies, printed on hand-made paper.</li><li>Publisher’s straw colored buckram with gilt decorations by Charles Ricketts, gilt lettering to spine, housed in custom purple cloth chemise and matching quarter morocco slipcase.</li></ul> One of only 50 large paper copies. This play contains some of Wilde's most famous epigrams. First performed in April 1893, prior to being published in book form, A Woman of No Importance addresses many social issues with Wilde’s wit and dark humor. The run of the play was cut short as a result of Wilde’s arrest and prosecution. The scandal dampened enthusiasm for Wilde’s work until after his death in 1900, when interest in his work began to revive.

A Woman of No Importance First Edition

First edition of Wilde's witty and urbane satire of the English upper class.<ul><li>Oscar Wilde (English).</li><li>London:&nbsp;John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head in Vigo Street,&nbsp;1894.</li><li>154, [1] pp.</li><li>4to.</li><li>Printed by T. and A. Constable, Edinburgh.</li><li>One of 50 Large Paper copies.&nbsp;</li><li>Original buckram gilt binding in a custom purple half-morocco slipcase and chemise.</li></ul> Written and produced in 1893, near the height of Wilde's career, between Salome (1891) and his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Ernest (1895).

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