A rare copy of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, printed during the bard's lifetime, is set to go under the hammer. It's expected to fetch up to two million US dollars when it's auctioned in New York's Christie's later this month.

Printed in 1611, the copy is the earliest available version of "Hamlet" held by a private collector.

It is being sold as part of a 60-year collection from the Estate of Mary, Viscountess Eccles at Christie's later this month.

The complete Eccles collection offered for sale includes rare editions of King Lear, Richard the Second and Macbeth.

Christie's described the miscellany as "one of the most exceptional private collections of the past century".

Christie's Rare Book Expert, Francis Wahlgren, said, "A good example of how rare it is is the fact that this was the last copy to appear at auction and that was in 1919. So, it's been 90, almost ninety years, 85-90 years that a copy hasn't come on the market."

In 2001, a first-folio edition of Shakespeare's complete plays sold for 6.2 million US dollars, an auction record for Shakespeare and a world auction record for a 17th Century book.

(CCTV.com April 8, 2004)