Dec 6, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
709
John Steinbeck on winning his Nobel Prize
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
STEINBECK, JOHN
Typed letter signed on winning his Nobel Prize. New York: 12 November 1962. A one-page typed letter on Steinbeck's personal stationery signed in full in ink "John Steinbeck", the letter addressed to Jean Vounder-Davis. With the original mailing envelope. Usual folds, creased corners.
In 1962, John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception." Jean Vounder-Davis wrote to congratulate him and Steinbeck wrote back, somewhat glowingly. He writes "Anyone who says he doesn't like a friendly pat on the back is untruthful or a fool. Far from the least regarding results of the Nobel Award to me have been the many letters of congratulation which are a clear indication to me that people care."
Sold for $1,920
Estimated at $1,000 - $1,500
Includes Buyer's Premium
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
STEINBECK, JOHN
Typed letter signed on winning his Nobel Prize. New York: 12 November 1962. A one-page typed letter on Steinbeck's personal stationery signed in full in ink "John Steinbeck", the letter addressed to Jean Vounder-Davis. With the original mailing envelope. Usual folds, creased corners.
In 1962, John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception." Jean Vounder-Davis wrote to congratulate him and Steinbeck wrote back, somewhat glowingly. He writes "Anyone who says he doesn't like a friendly pat on the back is untruthful or a fool. Far from the least regarding results of the Nobel Award to me have been the many letters of congratulation which are a clear indication to me that people care."
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, Dec 6, 2024
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Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on December 6, 2024
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
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We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Books, Autographs & Maps
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle held a successful auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps onDecember 6, 2024 showcased is a wonderful diversity of Americana, maps, autographs, early books and landmarks of literature and science.
Highlighting the sale was the first edition of Spinoza's Tractatus theologico-politicus from 1670 that soared to $70,350. Spinoza’s Tractatus is his only work published during his lifetime and remains his most significant. It presents a clear theory of natural right, asserting that the love of God leads to love for others. The state exists to ensure liberty, not oppression, with justice, wisdom, and toleration as key. Influential to thinkers like Blake and Goethe, it shaped Romanticism.
The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection offered the largest trove of unpublished Raymond Chandler stories, poetry, letters, books and personal artifacts to come to market. Best known for his Philip Marlowe detective novels including The Big Sleep (1939) and Farewell, My Lovely (1940) and as screenwriter of film noir classics such as Double Indemnity (1944) and The Blue Dahlia (1946), Raymond Chandler is considered one of the top writers in the hardboiled fiction genre alongside Dashiell Hammett and James Cain. Held for decades, the archive belonged to Jean Fracasse [later Vounder-Davis] who was first hired in January 1957 as Chandler's personal secretary but quickly became his close friend, confidant, fiancé and muse to whom he dedicated his last book.
We Invite You to Auction!
Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141 ext 248, Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext 234, or Noah Goldrach at ext 226, or email Books@Doyle.com
