Inscribed Copy Of Dracula Auctioned

Bloomsbury Auctions has reported a world record sale for Dracula by Bram Stoker. While it was estimated to sell for £7,500-10,000, the final auction price was £53,680. Bloomsbury reports this was a world record for an inscribed copy of Dracula; it was a first edition and a scarce first issue copy inscribed ‘To Mrs WS Gilbert with Bram Stocker’s very warm regards, 12/7/97’. Mrs WS Gilbert was the wife of William Schwenck Gilbert, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame and a friend of Stoker. At the time there was some mild controversy over the friendship that existed between Gilbert and Stoker’s young wife Florence, as they often socialized and the former was regarded as something of a decadent.