The photo of Oscar Wilde for sale at Bonhams. (Click on image to enlarge).
THIS inscribed large format photograph of Oscar Wilde is at Bonhams Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Historical Photographs sale in London on November 22. It is inscribed: ‘Arthur Fish/from his friend/Oscar Wilde/90’. Fish was Wilde’s assistant when he edited ‘The Woman’s World’ from November 1887 to October 1889.
When Wilde could not be bothered to write the ‘Literary and Other Notes’ column he would leave Fish to fill in for him. The two men remained in touch after Wilde left the magazine and the photograph may well have been a present to mark Fish’s forthcoming wedding. Wilde wrote to him on August 8, 1890 saying that he would like to see him before his marriage and arranging for Fish to collect the photograph in person.
The photograph was owned by Hesketh Pearson whose classic biography, ‘The Life of Oscar Wilde’, was for many years the standard work on the playwright. It is estimated at £4,000-6,000.