This next item ties together two of England's most notable authors of the 19th century – Charles Dickens and George Eliot. Dickens has inscribed a first edition of A Tale of Two Cities (1859) “To George Eliot, with high admiration and regards.” It is dated December 1859. Eliot had sent Dickens a copy of her first work, Scenes of Clerical Life, the previous year. Dickens enjoyed it tremendously. At this time, Eliot was still hiding her true identity as a woman, real name Mary Ann Evans, though Dickens was the first to suspect the writer's gender was not as implied. When Eliot sent Dickens her second novel, Adam Bede, in the summer of 1859, she revealed her true identity, so he knew who “Eliot” was at the time he inscribed this book. If Eliot feared her work would be rejected if people knew the writer was a woman, her continued success is evidence her fears were overblown. Item 10. £275,000 (US $471,082).
Item 13 is a “Top Secret” Outgoing Message signed by General Dwight D. Eisenhower on May 7th, 1945. That (or May 8, depending on the country) is celebrated as VE Day, a somewhat forgotten holiday that had an enormous meaning to an earlier generation. That was “Victory in Europe” Day, the day Germany officially surrendered, and the Second World War in Europe came to an end. Eisenhower, as commander of the allied forces, prepared a mimeographed announcement, which he signed and sent out in a small number of copies. His aides had prepared several potential draft announcements for the momentous occasion, but when the time came, Eisenhower dictated but a brief, unemotional version instead. It states, “The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 0241 local time, May 7th, 1945.” £100,000 (US $171,291).
Peter Harrington may be reached at +44 (0)20 7591 0220 or orders@peterharrington.co.uk. Their website is www.peterharrington.co.uk
