The first English edition of “Crime and punishment” found in the book collapse
English has acquired a shop in Lancashire a box of books, among which was the first English-language edition of “Crime and punishment” Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. She put the novel up for auction, where it bought nearly 17 thousand dollars, writes The Guardian.
The woman said that at first “didn’t even look in the box, didn’t have time”. According to her, the books were perfectly ordinary, and she did not expect that among them will be something rare. Finding an old edition of the novel by the Russian writer, the woman turned to auctioneer Chris Albury for advice.
Crime and Punishment. A Russian Realistic Novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1st edition in English, 1886. Sold in our 5 April 2017 auction for a staggering £13,500! #crimeandpunishment #dostoyevsky #novel #English #1stedition #book #books #auction
“I almost from the chair fell off when I sent the books,” said Albury. According to him, he was able to find only ten copies of this edition in libraries worldwide.
In the end, the novel was auctioned. Buyer from London paid for it to 13.4 thousand pounds (16,8 thousand dollars). Thus for a box of books, among which were an ancient Roman, English, gave only 14 lbs (17,5 dollar).
How much for this hen”s teeth 1st English ed of Dostoyevsky classic found in a £14 box of books? #auction @fromdostoyevsky pic.twitter.com/o2XgMUigPn
— Dominic Winter (@DWinterAuctions) 30 Mar 2017.
The novel “Crime and punishment” was first published in 1866. In the 1880’s, the work was translated into ten European languages, including French, German, Swedish and English.