Rare titles from the personal collection of Otto Penzler sparked frenzied bidding, driving the final total for Heritage Auctions’ Rare Books Auction to $1,437,530 on September 5, 2019, in New York City. The auction featured sell-through rates of 97% by lots sold.

Penzler, a leading editor and publisher of mystery fiction, has spent most of his life collecting prized first editions and is the founder and proprietor of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan. Of the 828 lots in the overall auction, 481 lots were from Penzler’s collection, a group that boasted a 100% sell-through.

Leading the sale was Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock, which more than doubled its preauction estimate before closing at $93,750. This novel, which solidified Greene’s position in 20th century literature, was adapted several times for television and film, and appears on the Haycraft Queen Cornerstone list, which is billed as “the definitive library of mystery fiction.” Loosely based on Homer’s Odyssey, a rare first edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses realized $48,125. Initially censored in the US, the book was later defended and given significant importance in the history of American publishing.

Arthur Rackham’s The Pied Piper drew multiple bids before doubling its preauction estimate when it brought $30,000. The 1934 image, from The Pied Piper of Hamelin, is done in pen, ink, and watercolor, and is signed “Arthur Rackham” on the lower left. The top lots by English author Agatha Christie included The Mystery of the Blue Train ($22,500), Why Didn't They Ask Evans? ($22,500), The Mysterious Mr. Quin ($18,750), The Murder on the Links ($17,500), and Dumb Witness ($15,625). 

Other top lots included, but were not limited to Leslie Charteris’ Meet the Tiger for $15,625, Arthur Rackham’s And There Were Gossips Sitting There by One, by Two, by Three (The Witches’ Frolic) for $15,000, Arthur Rackham’s I'll kiss thy foot: I’ll swear myself thy subject for $13,750, and Wilkie Collins’ After Dark for $13,750.