A rare first edition copy of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” that belonged to reclusive copper heiress Huguette Clark sold for $305,000 at auction this week along with several other rarities, including two first edition Charles Dickens books. That was more than twice Christie’s estimate of $100,000 to $150,000, and it marked a world auction record for Whitman. “The market for fine and rare books has always been a relatively steady one, given the passionate nature of private collectors for rare items and first editions,” said Tom Lecky, head of Christie’s books and manuscripts in New York.
He also said the rarity of the Whitman book, and the fact that it remained hidden from the public for so long, is “like catnip for collectors, so we were very pleased to see the record price yesterday.”
The first edition (one of a print run of only 795 copies that Whitman printed in 1850) is a green cloth hardcover with gilt-lettering on the front and back covers, marbled endpapers, and gilt edges. It includes a few clippings of early reviews of Leaves of Grass in Putnam’s Monthly, The Brooklyn Times, and the United States Review, as well as the famous letter dated July 21, 1855 from Ralph Waldo Emerson in which he famously wrote to Whitman.
The previous record for a Walt Whitman book was $230,500, also for a copy of “Leaves of Grass.” That one was sold by Sotheby’s in October 2011.
