“‘Signed, first editions’ is the theme of this season’s auction,” said James Gannon, director of rare books at Heritage. “Nearly all come from private collections not seen at auction in decades.”
James C Seacrest, a publisher and philanthropist from Lincoln, Nebraska, assembled the largest collection featured in the sale. Estimated to bring more than $440,000, all proceeds from the Seacrest Collection will be donated to charity, according to a family representative.
The Seacrest Collection features this 1925 copy of The Great Gatsby above, inscribed by Fitzgerald in 1939 for Tatnall Brown, a banker and former Dean of Haverford College. The inscription reads For Tatnall Brown / from one, who / is flattered at / being remembered / F Scott Fitzgerald / Hollywood, 1939. “It reflects Fitzgerald’s deep and well-documented concern about his legacy as a novelist,” Gannon said.
A Great Gatsby first edition inscribed to a Harold Goldman made $155,000 (then £99,280) at Bonhams New York in June 2015 (see ATG No 2202). A year earlier, another first sold for a record-breaking $310,000 (then £186,155) at Sotheby’s New York (ATG No 2137).
