'Frankenstein' first edition sells for a record $1.17 million at auction



Auction house Christie's said an 1818 first edition of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" sold for $1.17 million in an auction, said to be a new world record for a printed work by a woman. Photo courtesy of Christie's

Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A first edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein set a new world record for a printed work by a woman when it was auctioned for $1.17 million.

The three-volume copy of Frankenstein, which still bears its original boards from its 1818 printing, had been projected to sell for $200,000 to $300,000 by auction house Christie's, but the sale closed with a top bid many times that estimate

The sum was reported by Fine Books Magazine to be a new world record for the highest price fetched by a printed work by a woman.

Christie's said the edition was one of only 500 printed in Frankenstein's first run, and the copy sold was the first to be offered for auction since 1985.