Dec 6, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
722
A large group of interesting fan mail sent to Raymond Chandler
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
[CHANDLER, RAYMOND]
A large group of interesting fan mail sent to Raymond Chandler. About 20-30 items held in an old manila folder with Chandler's typed "fan mail" label, the letters mostly dated 1955-59 and are from fans as far afield as Israel and Australia. Usual folds, occasional creases and short tears.
Raymond Chandler received much fan mail and dutifully responded to as much of it as he could handle. Here there is an influx of letters starting in spring 1955 offering condolences to Chandler on the death of his beloved wife, Cissy, earlier that year, and his hospitalization following a suicide attempt. Most letters offer appreciation and questions about his novels. One reader hopes to motivate Chandler through his famous character: "Philip Marlowe would want you to go on and wherever you go, never to give up the ship, never to leave the trail until the case is solved..." Another reader laments in 1954 that "during your screen writing assignments for the movie industry, the mystery book shelves didn't have too much to offer for the reader addicted to the hard-boiled, fast action type of story. Of course, there is always Mickey Spillane, but I don't call him a writer. Anyone can write the drivel he turns out." An attorney from Mendocino writes Chandler that "I wish to express my appreciation for our realistic portrayal of law enforcement officers in your THE LONG GOODBYE." These letters, rich in the public's response and perceptions of Chandler as he wrote and lived, are unknown to Chandler biographers and worthy of research for fresh perspectives.
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
[CHANDLER, RAYMOND]
A large group of interesting fan mail sent to Raymond Chandler. About 20-30 items held in an old manila folder with Chandler's typed "fan mail" label, the letters mostly dated 1955-59 and are from fans as far afield as Israel and Australia. Usual folds, occasional creases and short tears.
Raymond Chandler received much fan mail and dutifully responded to as much of it as he could handle. Here there is an influx of letters starting in spring 1955 offering condolences to Chandler on the death of his beloved wife, Cissy, earlier that year, and his hospitalization following a suicide attempt. Most letters offer appreciation and questions about his novels. One reader hopes to motivate Chandler through his famous character: "Philip Marlowe would want you to go on and wherever you go, never to give up the ship, never to leave the trail until the case is solved..." Another reader laments in 1954 that "during your screen writing assignments for the movie industry, the mystery book shelves didn't have too much to offer for the reader addicted to the hard-boiled, fast action type of story. Of course, there is always Mickey Spillane, but I don't call him a writer. Anyone can write the drivel he turns out." An attorney from Mendocino writes Chandler that "I wish to express my appreciation for our realistic portrayal of law enforcement officers in your THE LONG GOODBYE." These letters, rich in the public's response and perceptions of Chandler as he wrote and lived, are unknown to Chandler biographers and worthy of research for fresh perspectives.
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
