Item 62 is a letter from the children's photographer and mathematician, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better remembered by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, under which he wrote about Alice and her adventures in Wonderland. Dodgson was noted for his “child friends,” of which he had many, and often wrote them when the need arose. These letters are generally humorous, logical in his illogical way. This one is to Mabel Burton, and evidently young Miss Burton had not sent a photo Dodgson requested. He writes, “I find it so hard to remember your face without one: I find myself saying 'had she three eyes? Or had she four? And which side of her face did her nose point to.' I could settle all such questions in a moment, if only I had a photograph to look at.” £2,100 (US $3,319).

That book you see on the cover of this catalogue, Poirot Investigates, is an early item from mystery writer Agatha Christie. It is her first collection of short stories featuring detective Hercule Poirot, where he investigates all sorts of terrible crimes. Item 33. £4,000 (US $6,322).

Here is an item that may be early Edgar Allen Poe, or nothing of the sort. The title is The Philosophy of Animal Magnetism, published in 1837. It was written by “a gentleman of Philadelphia.” That gentleman remained unknown and forgotten until 1928, when Joseph Jackson republished the book with an introduction claiming that the unknown author was, in fact, Edgar Allen Poe. Poe was very interested in animal magnetism, or mesmerizing, or hypnosis, as it was variously called. As to whether Jackson was correct in his claim, some people believe he solved the mystery, others believe his claim a lot of nonsense. I will leave that to others. Item 155. £1,250 (US $1,976).

In terms of scientific importance, this book was to the 20^th century what Darwin's Origin was to the 19^th: Relativity. The Special and General Theory. The book is a bit hard to follow, so you will have to take our word that it is a great book. This is a 1920 first English edition of Albert Einstein's laws of nature that revolutionized our understanding of the universe, even if we can't understand him. Item 74. £3,750 (US $5,926).

Adrian Harrington Rare Books may be reached at +44 (0) 20 7937 1465 or rare@harringtonbooks.co.uk.