A Rare Book & Collectors’ sale at Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers takes place at the Avalon House Hotel, The Square, Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny on Wednesday, April 30 and Thursday, May 1. Among the books in the sale, potential highlights include a first edition Moonraker, the third James Bond novel by Ian Fleming (Lot 474: est €1,500 to €2,000) published by Jonathan Cape in 1955; and a first US edition of Seamus Heaney’s Death of a Naturalist, signed by the author (Lot 565: est €1,250 to €1,750). Sporting memorabilia in the sale includes two items related to the Northern Irish and Manchester United soccer player, George Best. One is a painting, George Best in Action by the British artist Tom Croft (Lot 626: est €1,000 to €1,500). The image was approved by George Best to be issued in a limited edition signed print run, but the plan was aborted when Best fell ill and the prints were destroyed. Also of interest to fans of Best, a collage of photographs signed by George Best is mounted with a pair of cast Puma match-worn boots. These were cast from the originals in a limited edition of 466. The collage (Lot 627: est €1,000 to €1,500) is framed and glazed. See fonsiemealy.ie An untitled etching by A R Penck (est €2,000 to €3,000) sold for €7,000 at Adam’s Mid-Century Modern sale on April 8. Penck (1939-2017) was a German painter, printmaker, sculptor and jazz drummer famous for painting hieroglyphs and stick men with large penises. The highest price achieved by a piece of furniture in the sale went to a Transat chair by Eileen Gray, which fetched €4,600. See adams.ie