Oscar Wilde letters are sold at auction
A small but revealing group of letters written by the playwright Oscar Wilde have been sold at auction in Derby.
The five letters, sold as separate lots, reached a total of £33,900 and were all bought by one bidder.
Auctioneers, Bamfords of Derby, said the letters appear to reveal Wilde propositioning a magazine editor at a time when homosexuality was illegal.
They were written to Alsager Vian, during the Society Magazine era, and were sold off by his descendants.
It is thought it was family tradition that the letters were kept under lock and key in a bureau until Vian's death in 1924.
In the letters, Wilde continually invited the magazine editor to visit him. In the final letter he went to great lengths to encourage a meeting.
It is not known if a meeting took place between the two....
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The five letters, sold as separate lots, reached a total of £33,900 and were all bought by one bidder.
Auctioneers, Bamfords of Derby, said the letters appear to reveal Wilde propositioning a magazine editor at a time when homosexuality was illegal.
They were written to Alsager Vian, during the Society Magazine era, and were sold off by his descendants.
It is thought it was family tradition that the letters were kept under lock and key in a bureau until Vian's death in 1924.
In the letters, Wilde continually invited the magazine editor to visit him. In the final letter he went to great lengths to encourage a meeting.
It is not known if a meeting took place between the two....