Dec 6, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
733
Chandler's manuscript foreword to "The Pencil," the final Marlowe story
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
CHANDLER, RAYMOND
Two-page manuscript in pencil providing the foreword to The Pencil. [La Jolla: circa 1957]. A two-page pencil manuscript on onion skin initialed "RC" at end. The sheets 11 x 8 1/2 inches (27 x 21.5 cm). Creasing and folds.
At the head of the first sheet here, Chandler has listed a group of potential titles starting with "The Pencil," perhaps planning a new collection. The "Foreword" is 1 1/2 pages or about 22 lines in Chandler's hand and reads like an introduction to his detective oeuvre: "Foreword: Our country is not ruled politicians or statesmen ... it is ruled by a syndicate of criminals ... am I afraid of them? I suppose so. But I am much more afraid of the sort of world that awaits us if we don't find a way to liquidate their power." This text appears unpublished.
In 1957, Chandler was offered £10,000 by an English newspaper for a Philip Marlowe story. The Pencil marks the final appearance in a Chandler story of this complicated but beloved character. The story was not published until after Chandler's death. See Tom Williams' A Mysterious Something in the Light. Raymond Chandler: A Life, p. 343.
Sold for $1,536
Estimated at $1,000 - $1,500
Includes Buyer's Premium
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
CHANDLER, RAYMOND
Two-page manuscript in pencil providing the foreword to The Pencil. [La Jolla: circa 1957]. A two-page pencil manuscript on onion skin initialed "RC" at end. The sheets 11 x 8 1/2 inches (27 x 21.5 cm). Creasing and folds.
At the head of the first sheet here, Chandler has listed a group of potential titles starting with "The Pencil," perhaps planning a new collection. The "Foreword" is 1 1/2 pages or about 22 lines in Chandler's hand and reads like an introduction to his detective oeuvre: "Foreword: Our country is not ruled politicians or statesmen ... it is ruled by a syndicate of criminals ... am I afraid of them? I suppose so. But I am much more afraid of the sort of world that awaits us if we don't find a way to liquidate their power." This text appears unpublished.
In 1957, Chandler was offered £10,000 by an English newspaper for a Philip Marlowe story. The Pencil marks the final appearance in a Chandler story of this complicated but beloved character. The story was not published until after Chandler's death. See Tom Williams' A Mysterious Something in the Light. Raymond Chandler: A Life, p. 343.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, Dec 6, 2024
-
Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on December 6, 2024
-
Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
-
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
