Darwin first edition set to fetch £50,000

The sale, at Dukes of Dorchester, features more than 220 books and manuscripts, including a first edition of On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin, expected to go for between £30,000 and £50,000.

Among the sought-after lots are works by Sir Isaac Newton, AA Milne, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

But among the rarest on offer is a subscribers' edition of Thomas Edward Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom - one of just 170 that the author, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, had printed himself.

Consultant at Dukes, Charles Cox, said: "These very seldom come on to the market and when they do they can fetch anything from £10,000 to £30,000."

The sale also includes a private letter, sent by Lawrence to Tarka the Otter author Henry Williamson in 1933. In it he tells of his love of motorbikes, describing "a noble ride to Salisbury" on his "splendid bike".

"It's a terrific letter," said Mr Cox. "It's estimated at £1,000 to £2,000 but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it got double that."

Lawrence, a British liaison officer, rose to fame for his part in the Arab Revolt of 1916 to 1918.

He had a lifelong connection with Dorset and spent his later years at Clouds Hill, a cottage near Wareham.

In 1935, at the age of 46, he was fatally injured in a motorcycle accident near his home. He is buried at Moreton.

Most of the lots at next week's auction have come from two private collections.

They range from 15th-century manuscripts to 1980s and '90s prints and include first editions of Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels, both expected to fetch £10,000, and a rare copy of the Canterbury Tales, thought to be worth £40,000.

Mr Cox said interest had come from private collectors, dealers, libraries and museums around the world.

"It's highly unusual for so many, and such good books to come on sale all at once," he added. "It's going to be a real occasion."

The sale is on Thursday, March 8, at 11am.