AUCTION: Forum Auctions - 2026-Feb-12

Forum Auctions is hosting an online sale of modern literature that ends on Thursday February 12. Within this sale there are twelve lots featuring works by Agatha Christie. Most of them are single book lots, but several have multiple titles in the lot. All details are below.

Lots 56 - 60: The Rebound Books.

Lots 56 through Lot 60 are all rebound which is often done when the original cloth or hinges were too far gone to be saved. However, rebinding was occasionally done for private library collections to provide a uniform look. This typically occurred in an era when the values of original clothed books were significantly less than they are today. While there is still a market for these books, their values are significantly lower than books in their original state. For those who enjoy the added appeal of a dust wrapper (original or facsimile), rebound books will not be of the right dimensions to accommodate a wrapper. I'll be surprised if these sell for beyond the high estimates.

Lot 56: The Secret of Chimneys, first American edition, New York, Dodd, Mead and Company, 1925. Estimate: £400 - £600.

Condition: minor nick to margin of first few pages, rebound in modern half morocco, spine gilt with raised 5 raised bands, spine fractionally faded, a few scuff marks to edges.

Lot 57: The Big Four, first edition, W. Collins Sons & Co., 1927. Estimate: £400 - £600.

Condition: Rebound in modern half morocco, spine gilt with raised 5 raised bands, spine fractionally faded, a few scuff marks to edges.

Lot 58: The Mystery of the Blue Train, first edition, W. Collins Sons & Co, [1928]. Estimate: £400 - £600.

Condition: Closed tear at p.67, affecting text, occasional light spotting, rebound in modern half morocco, spine gilt with raised 5 raised bands, spine fractionally faded, a few scuff marks to edges.

Lot 59: Partners in Crime, first edition, W. Collins Sons & Co., 1929. Estimate: £400 - £600.

Condition: Spotting, mostly to front, rebound in modern half morocco, spine gilt with raised 5 raised bands, edges lightly toned.

Lot 60: The Mysterious Mr. Quin, first edition, W. Collins Sons & Co., 1930. Estimate: £400 - £600.

Condition: Occaisional spotting, more so at pp.212-225, rebound in modern half morocco, spine gilt with raised 5 raised bands, spine fractionally faded, a few scuff marks to edges.

Original Cloth Books.

Lot 61: Ten Little N___ers, first edition, 1939. Estimate: £200 - £300.

Condition: Various "William Pile Ltd" bookseller’s labels, ink stamps and annotations to front free endpaper and pastedowns, scattered spotting and staining, hinges cracked, contents firm but first few pp. working a little loose, some cracking at gutter, original orange cloth, "William Pile Ltd The Libraries" sticker to upper cover, spine faded and ends chipped and worn, split to upper joint, rather rubbed, bumped and soiled.

CC Comment: Makes me think the vendor bought books in rough condition to rebind, but never got around to doing this one!

Lot 62: Sparkling Cyanide, first edition, 1945 and Nemesis (printing not identified) and others crimes and detective fiction (13). Estimate: £150 - £200.

Condition: Sparkling Cyanide, first edition, ownership name on front free endpaper, cloth spine faded and ends bumped. Nemesis – no specific guidance.

CC Comment: No jacket for Sparkling Cyanide and Nemesis is a very affordable book, so not a lot to compel a Christie collector to bid on this lit.

Lot 63: A Murder in Announced, first edition, The Crime Club, 1950. Estimate: £150 - £200.

Condition: Ink ownership signature on front free endpaper, marginal spotting to one or two pp., original orange cloth lettered in black, edges slightly darkened, spine ends fractionally bumped, dust-jacket, spine ends and corner tips slightly nicked and creased, overall an excellent copy.

CC Comment: I expect this could sell over the upper estimate as this book is hard to find in a jacket this nice. Plus, I expect demand for this title to increase over time as it is arguably one of the best Miss Marple stories.

Lot 64: Mrs. McGinty's Dead, first edition, The Crime Club, 1952. Estimate: £150 - £200.

Condition: Ink ownership signature on front free endpaper, original orange cloth, spine ends lightly bumped and faded, edges slightly toned, dust-jacket, spine fractionally faded, minor creasing and small chips to spine ends, an excellent copy.

Lot 65: They Do It with Mirrors, first edition, The Crime Club, 1952; and four others by Christie. Estimate: £150 - £200.

Condition: They Do It with Mirrors, very light spotting to endpapers, dust-jacket price clipped at upper flap, spine fractionally toned; Hickory Dickory Dock, ink gift inscription on front free endpaper, minor toning to pp.136-137, affecting text, faint browning strips to endpapers, edges toned, dust-jacket, spine faded, lower panel lightly toned, extremities slightly chipped and creased, The Crime Club, 1955; Dead Man's Folly, faint browning strips to endpapers, top edge lightly toned, spotting to edges, dust-jacket price clipped at upper flap, 1956, first editions, original cloth, spine ends slightly bumped, dust-jackets; and 2 others by Christie (5 total).

CC Comment: An excellent 'starter set' for someone wanting to collect Christie first editions if you can secure it for the £250 or less (that's £50 per title plus premium).

Lot 66: A Pocket Full of Rye, first edition, The Crime Club, 1953. Estimate: £150 - £200.

Condition: Scattered spotting, largely to fore-edge, strip of browning to endpapers, original orange cloth, spine head and foot faded, spine ends and corners rubbed and bumped, dust-jacket priced at 10/6 on upper flap, spine slightly faded and with some loss to ends, foxing to lower panel, chipped with a few marginal small tears.

Lot 67: The Pale Horse, first edition, 1961; and 8 others by Christie. Estimate: £200 - £300.

Condition: The Pale Horse, minor glue mark to front free endpaper, small bump on upper cover, light spotting to edges, short closed tear to lower panel foot, extremities lightly creased; The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side, light spotting to dust-jacket lower panel, overall excellent, 1962; A Caribbean Mystery, light crease to spine, faint spotting to edges, dust-jacket lower flap price clipped, spine lightly toned, 1964, first editions, original cloth, dust-jackets; and 6 others by Christie, overall excellent copies (9 total).

CC Comment: Another excellent 'starter set' - those these lots often get bought by dealers, and then sold off individually. For the private collector, if a good price can be achieved then some resales on eBay or similar can offset the full cost.

Collecting Christie Comments.

It has been quite a while since any Christie books of note have surfaced at an auction. While this selection lacks are real rarities, there are a number of appealing later titles for collectors to pursue. For example, the dust wrapper for A Murder is Announced is far better than what is usually seen and is a title that still represents good value today. In general, the books from the late 1940s through 1960 are becoming harder to find in ‘Very Good’ or better collector quality condition so I expect copies that meet this standard to gain in value in the years ahead. As to the rebound copies, they have a limited collector market, so values will be lower than original firsts. However, given the high prices early firsts command, some will find this lower price point appealing. However, collectors should acknowledge that future growth potential of rebound books is likely limited.

Auction Specifics.

Buyer’s Premium: 27%. There is no VAT on bound books. Forum Auctions are also listed on third party online aggregator platforms: the-saleroom.com, invaluable.com, liveauctioneers.com and others. If you use these sites, note there is a 5% surcharge for bidding via these platforms. Shipping costs will be additional and if shipped overseas be aware of potential duties or import fees your home country may apply.

Corrections, Edits, Recommendations.

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