First edition copy of ‘Frankenstein’ sells for over US$1 million at auction

A first edition copy of the classic novel “Frankenstein” sold for US$1.17 million at a recent auction in New York.

Christie’s, which hosted the auction, estimated the book would go for US$200,000 to US$300,000. But by selling for nearly four to six times as much, the book set a record for the highest price paid for a published work by a woman, according to Fine Books Magazine.

The copy was one of 500 originally printed anonymously by author Mary Shelley in 1818. It comes in three volumes and features the original hardcover boards. It also includes a preface by her husband, poet Percy Shelley, along with a dedication to her father, William Godwin, a journalist and political philosopher.

This copy was the first to be auctioned since 1985.

The literary classic tells of a scientist who brings a corpse back to life, creating a creature that goes rogue.