It was the only one of the three parts of his famous ‘Kritik der politischen Oekonomie’ to be published in his lifetime.
The other two, edited by his friend and supporter, Friedrich Engels, appeared in 1885 and 1894.
The only copy of that key first volume to have made more – £115,000 at Bloomsbury Auctions in 2010 – was one that Marx inscribed for Prof ES Beesley, a historian and founding editor of the Fortnightly Review, whom he had hoped might help get a notice of the book published in England. Beesley co-operated, but the then chief editor of the magazine turned down his critique.
Notorious work
Meanwhile, a sale at held by Silverwoods (15/10% buyer’s premium) of Clitheroe on June 15 offered a copy of Mein Kampf signed by Hitler on the front flyleaf at the urging of a Nazi sympathiser, Unity Mitford.
Hitler, it seems, was reluctant to sign copies of his notorious book – or much else, according to one historian – and this copy made a record £17,000.
A 1935 edition, it was given to a BBC and Oxford Mail journalist Peter Cadogan during a 1936 visit to Munich, and it was at his request that Mitford persuaded the Führer to add his signature.
The previous best, recorded back in 1999, was $22,500 (around £14,000 at the time) for a first that Hitler inscribed as a 1925 Christmas gift to Josef Goebbels.
