Rare image of Oscar Wilde sells for €6k at UK auction

A remarkable discovery has surfaced from the annals of literary history, with a rare photograph of Oscar Wilde, the celebrated Irish poet and playwright, fetching over €6,000 at a UK auction. The image, captured during Wilde's formative years as a student at Magdalen College, Oxford, offers a glimpse into the life of a man who would later become a towering figure of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The photograph's journey to the auction block is as intriguing as the image itself. Discovered serendipitously by an individual in west Wales who had purchased a Victorian photo album, the likeness of a young Wilde was spotted amidst a collection of old pictures. The owner's keen eye led them to contact auctioneer Chris Albury, who subsequently verified the photograph's legitimacy.

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A few days ago we established the existence of one other copy of the photograph at the Library of Congress, Washington DC.

While the existence of another copy at the Library of Congress is acknowledged, the significance of this particular find lies in its public offering. As auctioneer Albury noted, this marks the first time a copy of this rare photograph has been made available for sale. Wilde's time at Magdalen, from 1874 to his graduation four years later, was a period where he established himself as a prominent and witty figure within Oxford's academic circles. The photograph, taken around 1876, places him among more than 50 fellow students and teachers in the college's Cloisters, a poignant reminder of his early intellectual journey before his global literary fame.

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Bidders were informed of this, but it remains a very rare photograph of which no copies have been recorded as having been offered for sale before.