Offered as part of a PBA Galleries (20/15% buyer’s premium) sale of August 9 were a number of books bound for a collector (thought to be American) by the well-known London firm, W Root & Son.
One of them, An Anthology of World Poetry edited by Carl van Doren and published in New York in 1928 (below left), made rather more than expected at $2400 (£1875), but it is the letter that accompanied it that catches the attention.
Sent parcel post, the book had been insured for £10 – though a footnote detailing the work involved reveals that the actual cost to the client was £6 19s 9d.