A signed copy of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Ernest is to cross the block at PBA Galleries in San Francisco.
The lot is valued at $20,000-30,000 ahead of the August 20 sale.
 Oscar Wilde was an acclaimed playwright and author |
Wilde signed 100 copies of the 1899 large-paper editions of his play. First performed in 1895, it ran for an unbroken 86 performances before his arrest and imprisonment for gross indecency.
It was only republished on his release in 1899.
Another signed copy from the same edition made out to the prison head who made his life inside bearable sold for $55,000 at Bonhams London last year.
The sale will also include a selection of pieces from Wayne Martin's collection of Jack London - including a rare variant binding of The Call of the Wild.
It's expected to make $6,000-9,000.
Another selection of pieces from the collection went up for auction at PBA Galleries in June, with another variant binding of the book selling for $10,500.
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