All three first editions originally published for J. R. R. Tolkien’s
legendary Lord of the Rings Trilogy sold for $9,200 in Dallas on April
13. This included hardcover editions of The Fellowship of the Ring
(1954), The Two Towers (1955), and The Return of the King
(1955) in a single set. The occasion was the Heritage-Slater 2005 April
Historical Manuscripts & Autographs Auction. They also auctioned a rare and
important handwritten letter from the pen of the great Romantic poet John Keats
(1795-1821) for $126,500.

“This letter was written to Keats’
paramour, Fanny Brawne, roughly a year before his death from tuberculosis,” said
Tom Slater, Director of HSA. “It is believed to be the last such love letter
held in private hands.”

“John Keats was one of the great young
voices of the Romantic Age,” said Slater. “Unlike his contemporaries, which
included Percy Bysshe Shelley and George Gordon, Lord Byron, Keats was born
without the advantages of rank and station. His parents, who died when Keats was
a boy, were working class, and he was plagued with financial troubles throughout
his short life. Nevertheless, he had a significant impact on poetry and
literature that continues to be felt to this day.”

Other highlights of
this auction include first editions of In autographs, there was a superb, large,
signed photo of President Theodore Roosevelt from 1911 that realized $6,325. A
sketch of the plane, The Sprit of St. Louis, by famed pilot of that plane,
Charles Lindbergh, realized $2,280.

For comic fans, the highlight may
have been Max Gaines personal collection of Presidential autographs. Gaines, the
man credited with inventing the modern comic book in 1933, contains the
signatures, as well as many documents pertaining to, of every President up to
Warren G. Harding. This beautiful bound volume sold for $40,250.

For
complete details, visit www.heritageamericana.com.
All prices listed include a buyer’s fee.