On 20th February 2025, Pacific Book Auctions in the US will be holding Sale 832: Fine Literature – Mystery & Science Fiction – Bukowski, Beats & the Counterculture. Within this auction there are six Agatha Christie books for sale – three as individual lots and one lot of three. Of particular note and the highlight of the group is the Canadian first edition of Christie’s first novel – The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
Background on the Rare Canadian Printing of 'Styles':
Agatha Christie's first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was first printed in the U.S. by John Lane Company, New York, in October 1920. The U.K. edition was published the following year (January 1921) by John Lane, The Bodley Head, London. Both of these books are incredibly scarce and original dust jackets are essentially non-existent and, if found, basically unaffordable.
Between the printing of the US and UK first editions, The Ryerson Press, in Toronto, Canada, also published this novel, likely to secure the Canadian copyright. Dated 1920, it was shod in the same cloth and design as the US John Lane first edition. The title page and foot of the spine both state that The Ryerson Press was the publisher. The Ryerson Press printing in Cananda was likely done in late November 1920 as by early December reviews and recommendations of this book are appearing in the Canadian Press.
Print runs for all these versions were small by modern standards, likely a few thousand at most in the US and UK. The Canadian version is estimated to be smaller, likely far fewer than a thousand based on comparable runs for other authors in Canada at that time and potentially as small as only 300 copies.
To complete ones awareness of these early printings it's worth noting that in the U.S. John Lane Company authorized the National Book Company (NBC) to issue a reprint of The Mysterious Affair at Styles prior to assiging publication rights to Dodd Mead & Co. The NBC edition, generally accepted as the 2nd U.S. edition, utilized the same printing plates and cloth binding design as John Lane Company. They didn’t change the copyright or published date within the book, so this edition is often listed by sellers as a 1920 printing. However, it is more likely to have been printed in 1922-1923 as copies that do show for sale generally have gift or ownership inscriptions in them from this period. In addition, newspaper archives show that US libraries started acquiring this title in late 1922 and by early 1923 booksellers in the US were advertising this title for only 33 cents. It is likely this was the NBC printing. Given the almost identical format, it is likely that it had a similar dust jacket – though I have never seen one.
The PBA Lots:
Note that any additional comments from myself - not the auction house are braketed as [...].
Lot 172. Mrs. McGinty's Dead (1952), Hickory Dickory Dock (1955), and The Adventure of Christmas Pudding (1960). Collins, The Crime Club, London.
Estimate: $300 - $500.
Details: (1) Mrs. McGinty's Dead. Jacket spine sunned, light toning to inner flaps, gentle staining to rear panel; cover edges sunned, top edge of text block foxed. (2) Hickory Dickory Dock. Jacket spine sunned, light toning to inner flaps, light soiling to rear panel, price-clipped; top edge of covers toned, endpapers lightly toned. (3) The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées. Jacket spine sunned, light wear, small closed tears, rear panel lightly soiled.
[Note: Mrs. McGinty’s Dead is the first UK edition but was preceded by publication in the US. The other two are first editions.]
Lot 173. The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The Ryerson Press, Canada,1920.
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000.
Details: Original cream cloth boards with green titles and decorations to spine and front board, slipcase. First Canadian edition. Cloth rubbed and worn, front panel stained, back panel soiled, spine toned; ownership inscription to front pastedown, front hinge cracking; very good.
Comes with: [1972 dated] Typed letter signed by Agatha Christie laid in, thanking a fan for his appreciation of The Labors of Hercules. Christie has typed her "Winterbrook House" return address in the appropriate space and at the top of her reply.
[Interesting to note that the letter used the American spelling for 'Labors'. You'll also see the pencil 'C' atop which Christie signed. As I discuss in my article on signatures by the 1970s Christie was not writing these replies and her secretary either put a 'C' or an 'M' to denote how she should sign it - Christie or Mallowan. This letter likely only adds $500 to the value of the lot.]
Lot 174. A Pocket Full of Rye. Collins, The Crime Club, London, 1953.
Estimate: $200 - $300.
Details: Red cloth, spine lettered in black, dust jacket. First Edition. Scattered foxing and small stains to jacket, few closed tears; jacket design offsetting lightly to spine, minor wear to edges; light offsetting to endpapers, preliminary leaves and text block edges foxed; very good.
Lot 175. Sparkling Cyanide. Collins, The Crime Club, London, 1945.
Estimate: $300 - $500.
Details: Red cloth, spine lettered in black, pictorial dust jacket. First Edition. Jacket price-clipped, light wear, small chips and creasing, rear panel gently stained; volume leaning, board edges lightly sunned, minor toning to spine; near fine volume in very good jacket. [Note: Actually the first UK edition. It was preceded by the US publication under the title Remembered Death.]
Auction Guidance.
Pacific Book Auctions allow both absentee bidding and live bidding. You will need to register with the auction house in advance. All sales will have a 25% Buyer’s Premium added to the hammer price. Shipping and handling costs will typically add another 10% or so. Shipping is a service provided by PBA.
For those interested in reviewing my price guide for books with and without jackets in ‘very good’ condition, please click the link. It is worth noting that my price guide is often significantly different than the auction house’s own estimates which commonly understate value to generate interest (which I left in the descriptions). In addition, the 25% Buyer’s Premium must be considered as part of the total cost. Price-clipped jackets typically lower the value by 10% or so, as they are less desirable than a complete jacket.
Summary Thoughts.
All of these books are appealing for various reasons. Certainly the uniqueness and scarcity of The Ryerson Press first printing is appealing – but Canadian copies are generally less appealing that the true first (US) or first British versions of this title. For Sparkling Cyanide, books from the 1940s are getting harder to find in such a nice jacket and currently are still affordable compared to 1930s books. I would expect values to keep growing. The titles from the 1950s will be the next to dry up for collectors in very good condition. Already 70 years old, these titles were once very common but certainly are less so today. All in all, while a small selection of Christie books, certainly they are lots that anyone would be happy to own.
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