Rare and collectible books featured in Downey library silent auction

DOWNEY – The Friends of the Downey City Library is holding a silent auction this month featuring rare and collectible books, with proceeds benefiting the Downey City Library.

The auction includes eight literary and historical titles ranging from classic fiction and science fiction to art and history volumes. Bidding closes at noon on Saturday, May 30. Both in-person and telephone bids will be accepted through the close of the auction.

Among the featured items is a first-edition leatherbound Louis L’Amour collection containing four complete novels: “The Tall Stranger,” “Kilkenny,” “Hondo,” and “Showdown at Yellow Butte.” Organizers describe the book as being in like-new condition. The minimum bid is $35.

Another highlighted item is a Franklin Library special issue of Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield,” which Virginia Woolf once described as “the most perfect of all the Dickens novels.” The classic novel follows a young man’s journey from poverty to becoming a successful novelist. The minimum bid is $40.

Science fiction fans may be interested in a first edition of Ray Bradbury’s “Where Robot Mice and Robot Men Run Round in Robot Towns.” The 1977 Knopf publication includes Bradbury’s signature and inscription from 1978. The minimum bid is $35.

Collectors also will find a limited first edition of Scott Phillips’ “Cottonwood,” numbered 145 out of 300 copies. The signed edition includes a slipcase and carries the auction’s highest minimum bid at $50.

The auction also features “Nuremberg Interviews” by Leon Goldensohn, documenting conversations between a U.S. Army psychiatrist and Nazi leaders during the Nuremberg trials. The minimum bid is $20.

Art enthusiasts can bid on “Egyptian Art” by Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen, which includes photographs and commentary on famous works such as the Sphinx of Sesostris III, the Temple at Carnac reliefs and murals from Thebes. The minimum bid is $25.

Other items include a 1982 complete and unabridged collection of Mark Twain’s works featuring “Tom Sawyer,” “Huckleberry Finn” and Twain’s autobiography, with a minimum bid of $30, as well as “The Concise Encyclopedic Guide to Shakespeare” by Martin and Harrier, a 450-page hardcover reference book with a minimum bid of $15.

According to the auction flyer, bids may be submitted in person or by phone at (562) 299-6790 through the close of the auction.