AUCTION REVIEW: Forum Auctions - July 2026

Several months have passed since any meaningful auction of Agatha Christie books has occurred. While eBay had a number of rare items sold recently which I detailed in a recent article, traditional auctions generally provide a better insight into the valuations and interest for collectible Christies. Fortunately July had two auctions held by Forum Auctions that collectively had 14 Agatha Christie lots. The first, held on July 2, was an online only sale of 'Modern Literature'. The second, held on July 16, was a live auction – 'The 10th Anniversary Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale'. All the Christie lots but one were single book lots. The lot description, stated edition and condition are all as provided by Forum Auctions. All prices include the Buyer’s Premium. Each lot was only accompanied by one photograph of the book with the exception of the signed book that also had a photo of the signature. Buyers needing more detail or images needed to reach out to Forum directly.

While I provide comments on each item below, two high level observations are that several of the lots were reprints while others were lower quality collectibles - whether that is because they were not in the original cloth or were just fairly tatty. Taken together this implies that quality first editions are getting scarcer and items that once would have been turned away by auction houses are now being accepted for sale. On one hand this acknowledges that there is a distinct market for non-first editions that still have appealing attributes (affordable alternatives, vintage editions, unique jacket design, or scarcity). On the other hand, it affirms that collectors who want a full shelf and can't justify the sky high prices for 'very good' jacketed firsts are more than willing to acquire 'good' only firsts at a more affordable price point. Both bode well for all collectors of Christie as it gives confidence to those who can benefit from this broader market acceptance of editions and conditions.

July 2: Modern Literature.

Lot 49: The Secret of Chimneys, Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 1925. First US Edition.

Sold for: £205.

Condition: Minor nick to margin of first few pages, modern half morocco [red], spine gilt with raised 5 raised bands, very lightly rubbed, spine fractionally faded, a few scuff marks to edges.

CC Comments: Rebinding is done either when the original cloth or hinges were too far gone to be saved or for a private library collection to provide a uniform look. The latter 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 rebound books, their values are significantly lower than books in their original state. The price realised for this and the other rebound lots below is fair.

Lot 50: Partners in Crime, W. Collins & Son, London, 1929. First Edition.

Sold for: £255.

Condition: Spotting, mostly to front, modern half morocco [green], spine gilt with raised 5 raised bands, edges lightly toned,

CC Comment: Actually, the first British edition as it was preceded by the American printing.

Lot 51: The Seven Dials Mystery, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1929. First Edition.

Sold for: £165.

Condition: Short marginal tears to a few pages, worse at p.167, paper reinforcements to pp.91-93 margins, a few light corner creases, light spotting and staining, later black cloth, spine lettered in red, very minor bump to spine end, edges toned,

CC Comments: Very odd that no image of the book's cover was shown. Given the description, this book was likely an affordable way to acquire a first as damaged and repaired books have little appeal to antiquarian collectors. I also question the description as black cloth with red lettering is the correct first edition. Some sellers list a light blue cloth as a first, though that is a later edition that just failed to update the copyright page. Lastly, this is not a ‘Crime Club’ printing as stated. The first Crime Club title was The Murder at the Vicarage.

Lot 52: The Mysterious Mr. Quin, W. Collins & Son, London, 1930. First Edition.

Sold for: £215.

Condition: occasional spotting, more so at pages 212-225, modern half morocco [red], spine gilt with raised 5 raised bands, spine fractionally faded, a few scuff marks to edges.

Lot 53: The Tuesday Club Murders, Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1933. Second Grosset Edition.

Sold for: £255.

Condition: margins lightly toned, a few marginal spots, original orange cloth with lettered in blue, slight shelf-lean, dust-jacket, tape repairs to verso, closed tear at lower panel slightly affecting text, light toning to spine and lower panel, extremities rubbed and chipped, affecting text at spine ends.

CC Comments: The British title of this book is The Thirteen Problems and it is a collection of Miss Marple short stories. The American Dodd Mead & Co. first edition of this title is exceptionally scarce and valuable. All reprints were by Grosset & Dunlap. If this is the 2nd Grosset, then it’s the third printing. Sadly Grosset changed the colour of the jacket from a bright pink to this drab colour. A market correct price for this and an affordable way to acquire a US printing of this title.

Lot 54: Death in the Clouds, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1935. First Edition.

Sold for: £280.

Condition: Light toning to endpapers, scattered spotting to a few pp., original orange cloth lettered in black, spine slightly sunned, a few light scuff marks and stains, spine ends and corners rubbed.

CC Comments: Actually the ‘First British Edition’ as it was preceded by the American printing, under the title Death in the Air. As a grubby copy, it was a fair price. A very good copy would attain double this, but the reality likely is that most surviving copies are more similar to the condition of this book so a good benchmark for valuations.

Lot 55: Murder in Mesopotamia, The Crime Club, Collins, 1936. First Edition.

Unsold. Relisted as Lot 137 in the July 16 sale and discussed below.

Lot 56: Dumb Witness, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1937. First Edition.

Sold for: £230.

Condition: Ink ownership signature and stamps on front free endpaper, light toning to endpapers, light spotting, mostly at front, original orange cloth, lettered in black, spine darkened, covers slightly faded, spine ends rubbed.

CC Comments: Like Lot 54, an affordable way to obtain a first printing as a clean, very-good copy would be double the price. Put a facsimile dust jacket on it and you’ll forget about its condition!

Lot 57: Murder in the Mews, Odhams, London, 1937. First Odhams edition. Plus three Collins Crime Club First Editions: Hickory Dickory Dock (1955), The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (1962), and A Caribbean Mystery (1964). First Edition.

Sold for: £205.

Condition: Murder in the Mews, faint spotting to a few pp., dust-jacket lightly soiled, slight nicking and creasing to extremities; Hickory Dickory Dock, light browning strips to endpapers, minor marginal staining to one or two pp., dust-jacket toned; The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side, ink ownership signature on front free endpaper, slight cracking to gutter at p.128, overall holding firm, light browning, a few nicks to foot at first few pp., spine ends slightly faded, edges toned, dust-jacket spine chipped, slightly affecting text, original cloth, spine ends bumped and rubbed, minor spotting to edges, dust-jackets; and another by the same.

CC Comments: There are actually two Odhams printings, one with the notation C1137 and one with C338 on the copyright page. This text is often ignored, but it actually relates to the printing date of either November 1937 or March 1938. For those who wish to acquire the Odhams first printing, then the C1137 is the correct first state. It’s unclear if Forum Auctions made this observation or not. The buyer acquired this starter bundle for about half the retail prices of these books.

Lot 58: Murder is Easy, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1939. Signed First Edition.

Sold for: £6,985.

Condition: Signed by the author on front free endpaper, light browning to endpapers, slight cracking to gutter at p.160, overall holding firm, light marginal spots to one or two pages, original orange cloth lettered in black, light fading to spine, slight soiling to cover margins, a few spots to edges, dust-jacket priced at 7s. 6d. on front flap (with remains of later price sticker just visible), neat and expert repairs to joints, extremities and lower panel, light surface soiling to lower panel, in effect a near-fine example.

CC Comments: When the spine is faded, it usually means the jacket was married to the book. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it is still an original jacket, but fastidious collectors will pay a premium for books that clearly have the original jacket. A small bit of cloth fading that aligns with a jacket chip is an easy way to identify unmarried jackets. Also, with the repairs to the jacket, I hope any bidders asked for images to assess if they are small or large. The best way to assess repairs at a distance is to ask the seller or auction house to provide a back-lit photo of the jacket with the white side facing forwards. As to price, my price guide values this book at £2,000 if unsigned, which is likely fractionally below market today. Given the significant bump signed books get, the price realised doesn’t surprise me. While the signature lacks any provenance, it appears authentic to me and I would give it a ‘B-Grade’ per my Fake or Fortune article on Christie signatures (link).

Lot 59: N or M?, Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1941.

Unsold. Estimate was: £200 - 300.

Condition: First Grosset & Dunlap cheap edition. Some toning to endpapers, light show-through on final free endpaper, original blue cloth lettered in black, spine fractionally faded, spine ends and corners lightly rubbed, light surface-soiling to joints, edges lightly toned, dust-jacket, spine very slightly faded, spotting, more so at lower panel and verso, splitting to upper panel at spine and flap, rubbing and chipping to extremities, slightly affecting text at spine head.

CC Comments: This isn’t the most popular title and the estimate was double what I’d select – so it’s ambitious. Thus it just wasn’t the right time for this one to find a home.

Lot 60: Evil Under the Sun, Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1941.

Sold for: £305.

Condition: Faint toning to endpapers, light marginal spots to one or two pages, vertical crease to blank endpaper at rear, original orange boards lettered in black, dust-jacket, minor nicking and chipping to spine ends and lower panel head, light spotting to lower panel.

CC Comments: A popular title in Christie’s canon likely pushed this reprint to a very strong price – perhaps an auction high watermark for this edition.

Lot 61: The Moving Finger, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1943. First Edition.

Sold for: £890.

Condition: Light spotting and staining, occasionally affecting text, more so at end and final pastedown, ink stamp on final p. verso, original cloth lettered in black, dust-jacket priced 7s. 6d., spine and lower panel fractionally toned, faint spotting to lower panel foot, light creasing to head, overall a bright copy,

CC Comments: One of the latest Collins Crime Club books with an interesting cover though still with hints of austerity in its design. A very strong price for this title confirming the appeal of a complete jacket with its price. Perhaps five years ago this was a quarter of the price, and a year and a half ago, one like this sold at auction for 40% less. But I’ve been saying for a while that the 1940s books are the next to really jump in price. We’ll see if this level of market value holds true over the new few auctions. On a minor note, it’s actually the ‘First British Edition’ as the US edition was printed in 1942.

Lot 62: The Witness for the Prosecution and Three Blind Mice, The Detective Book Club, New York, [1948]. First Edition.

Sold for: £762.

Condition: Light toning to pastedowns and endpapers, original grey boards lettered in brown, closed tear repaired at spine head, not affecting text, spine ends rubbed and chipped, light surface soiling to top edge, dust-jacket, light toning, tape repairs to spine ends and corners verso, small loss to upper panel, rubbing and chipping to joints and extremities, slightly affecting text at spine.

CC Comments: When I wrote my article about this book (link) a few years ago declaring it a ‘previously unknown first edition’ several copies have now appeared at auction. A copy with a much nicer jacket sold in 2024 for £1,512 but I’m not sure this jacket warranted a 50% price cut so it could be very well bought. We’ll know for certain where the market is after a few more sales.

July 16: 10^th Anniversary Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale.

Lot 136: Poirot Investigates, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1924. First Edition.

Sold for: £1,524.

Condition: "Royal Naval War Libraries" ink stamp on front pastedown, closed tear in text and vertical crease on p.203, marginal loss to foot at a few pages, some surface-soiling and staining, the odd corner crease, endpapers lightly browned, original orange cloth lettered in dark blue, marks in biro to upper cover, light staining and toning, spine faded and creased, spine ends and corners rubbed and bumped.

CC Comments: Ex-library books always take a price hit - partly because of the stamps and stickers, but also because they've generally been very well read. A ‘very good’ copy would easily get double the price realised here, so this affirms the discount one can achieve by accepting a ‘good’ quality, ex-library copy.

Lot 137: Murder in Mesopotamia, The Crime Club, Collins, 1936. First Edition.

Sold for: £7,610.

Condition: light browning to endpapers, more so at end, minor nick at foot to pp.243-255, overall a clean copy, original orange cloth lettered in black, fading to covers, light dust-soiling to edges, dust-jacket priced at 7/6 by Robin Macartney, repairs and restorations to extremities, particularly at upper panel and spine, light toning.

CC Comments: Originally this was Lot 55 in the July 2 sale discussed earlier but went unsold. This is likely due to the lack of images related to the repairs and restoration. I’m assuming the interested bidders received this information in time for this sale. Since a ‘very good’ copy without restoration is fairly valued at £12,000, I have to believe there were some legitimate questions about the repairs and restoration here. Also, whenever I read ‘restoration to extremities’ it makes me think this was a trimmed jacket.  This title and Death on the Nile were also issued in a W.H. Smith’s Library Edition that was a slightly smaller book. Consequently, the jackets had to be trimmed down to fit the book. Many of these jackets have been ‘restored’ by adding back strips of paper to expand the jacket back to its correct size. I don’t know it that is what happened here, but I expect so and hence the price.

Collecting Christie Comments.

While I often write previews of upcoming auctions, I did not for either of these, so my apologies to anyone who was hoping for one. Generally I look for auctions with a larger amount of Christie content or more unique items to warrant a full preview article. Registering with an auction aggregators (details below), and inputting your own favourite authors to track, will enable email notifications of upcoming sale items that may interest you so you can avoid missing anything.

As always, my comments and opinions are based entirely on the limited information provided by the auction house and my own experience. Any reader, or buyer, who has more information or corrections is welcome to write to me at: collectchristie@gmail.com

Auction Specifics.

Buyer’s Premium: 27% on the first £5,000, then at 26% - a very minor savings! 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. If you use one of these platforms for upcoming sale notifications, you can still go to the actual auction house website to register for the sale and bid directly to avoid the surcharge. Shipping costs will be additional and if shipped overseas be aware of potential duties or import fees your home country may apply.