Potter & Potter Auctions held a signature early summer Books and Manuscripts sale on June 1. It featured 510 lots and had a 97-percent sell-through rate. All prices noted include the companys 20-percent premium. This auction featured fine selections of groundbreaking first-edition publications. Charles Dickens (1812-70) Great Expectations was estimated at $8,000-$12,000 and sold for $24,000. This first-edition, first issue copy was printed in London by C. Whiting for Chapman and Hall in 1861. Howard Phillips Lovecrafts (1890-1937) The Outsider and Others was estimated at $4,000-$6,000 and made $11,400. This first-edition of the first book published at Arkham House in 1939 retained its original dust jacket. It was one of only 1,268 copies printed by the legendary publisher of horror. Henry Roths (1906-95) Call It Sleep was estimated at $3,000-$5,000 and traded hands at $9,000. This first-edition of the authors first book was published in New York by Robert O. Ballou in 1934 and included its rare first issue dust jacket. This example was from the personal library of Larry McMurtry. Thomas Hardys (1840-1928) The Trumpet-Major. A Tale was estimated at $2,000-$3,000 and made $11,400. This first-edition in book form was printed in London by Smith, Elder & Co. in 1880. This work in its rare secondary binding was originally published as a serial in Good Words magazine that same year. Collections and archives also caught the eye, and wallets, of literature enthusiasts. A group of 32 mostly first-edition works by Charles Dickens sold for $6,600. A library of 1,300 mystery and detective titles mostly from the first half of the 20th century, estimated at $1,000-2,000, rang up $15,600. Many were listed and limited, all were in their original cloth or wraps, and most retained their original dust jackets or slipcases. This sale came full circle with antique to antiquarian works, important historical ephemera, and other category-spanning publications. Gaius Julius Caesars (100-44 BCE) The Commentaries of Caesar, translated into English, went for $6,600. It was translated by William Duncan. Published in London in 1753 for J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper, and R. Dodsley, it was complete with all plates, including the doublepage bull plate. Maureen Lambrays The American Film Directors Volume I was estimated at $2,000-$3,000 and made $7,800. It was published in New York by Rapoport Press in 1976. This first-edition was specially bound by Lord John Press for publisher Herb Yellin (1935-2014) and was signed by 500-plus film directors, actors, and Hollywood personalities. The sale was truly remarkable all around. We more than doubled our low estimate, selling 97 percent of the 508 lots, which far surpassed the average that week of global sales. We already have our sights set on August when we bring to market the collection of Robin and Kathryn Smiley of Firsts Magazine. After that is the important Chet Ross collection of Nobu Shirase and the Japanese Antarctic Expedition, most of which has never been offered on the market and is near impossible to find in the wild. We close out the year with the Alice in Wonderland collection of Stephen J. and Nancey Farber, featuring choice offerings of presentation copies and rare first editions, according to Christopher Brink, Potter & Potter Auctions director of Fine Books and Manuscripts. For more information, visit www.potterauctions.com.