Skinner, Inc, set a new world record for a rare illustration by Aubrey Beardsley at its fine books and manuscripts auction November 16. Beardsley’s “The Climax” fetched $213,300 including buyer’s premium, well over its $15/20,000 estimate, and sailed past the previous record for a Beardsley drawing of $159,600.

A second Beardsley illustration fared almost as well; “A Platonic Lament” sold for $142,200, seven times over high estimate.

These original pen and ink drawings were provided as illustrations for Oscar Wilde’s controversial Salome: A Tragedy in One Act, 1894, published in London by Elkin Mathews & John Lane, and in Boston by Copeland & Day. After being exhibited in Europe, they returned to the collection of John Lane.

In 1926, the drawings were dispersed in a sale at Anderson Galleries where the entire series was purchased by an agent acting on behalf of a collector. Nine of the 13 drawings were eventually donated to the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, as part of the Grenville Winthrop Bequest.

Both works were recently discovered hanging on a bathroom wall in a Boston-area home. They were found and identified by Stuart Whitehurst, director of Skinner’s fine books and manuscripts department, during a routine appraisal visit to the client’s house.

According to Whitehurst, “Extraordinary items bring extraordinary prices.” Whitehurst continued, “The purchase of these illustrations presented a unique opportunity to acquire the last two pieces in this suite, and contesting bidders appreciated that fact. Opportunities like this happen but once.”

A complete review will appear in a future issue.