Dec 6, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
737
Raymond Chandler's Olivetti Studio 44 Typewriter
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
CHANDLER, RAYMOND
Raymond Chandler's Olivetti Studio 44 Typewriter. A tan, full-size portable Olivetti Studio 44 typewriter, manufactured circa 1953 and acquired by Chandler shortly thereafter, held in its red original travel case with handle, the 44-key keyboard with keys likely special ordered by Chandler to include the foreign accent marks on the far right including a "caret" (Excellent with languages, Chandler frequently wrote in French). Some light wear to the typewriter which has not been tested for full functionality; the cover detached at hinges, other wear to case. Offered with a red and black ribbon acquired later.
Raymond Chandler's Olivetti Studio 44 Typewriter on which he wrote his 1957 novel, Playback.
While Chandler had previously owned an Underwood, he was quite pleased with his new Olivetti, writing: "I am apt to get up around 4am, take a mild drink of Scotch and water and start hammering at this lovely Olivetti 44, which is far superior to anything we turn out in America. It is a heavy portable and put together like an Italian racing car, and you mustn't judge it from my typing" (Raymond Chandler, 21 May 1955). Clearly, Chandler took his typewriter seriously and used it nearly every day, preferring blue ribbons to traditional black. This is the typewriter Chandler had in his possession at the time he wrote Playback. It is unknown exactly when Chandler acquired the typewriter, but it may have been upon his first trip to England following the death of his wife Cissy, and the depressed period that followed, in mid-1955.
Biographer Tom Hiney noted that "Chandler spoke Spanish. As late as 1956, he had his Olivetti typewriter customized to incorporate Spanish accents, so that his Mexican gangsters could insult Marlowe in their native tongue” (Tom Hiney, Raymond Chandler: A Biography, 1997, p. 286). It does not seem Chandler had this typewriter at the time he wrote The Long Goodbye (published 1953) but it was within that book that Chandler introduced Mexican locales and a Chilean housekeeper who banters with Marlowe in Spanish. The act of writing was also on Chandler's mind when writing The Long Goodbye which centers on a writer who seems a thinly veiled portrait of Chandler himself: "He wrote letters to himself. He wrote and wrote and wrote. Drunk or sober he hit that typewriter. Some of it is wild, some of it is kind of funny, and some of it is sad. The guy had something on his mind. He wrote all around it but he never quite touched it" (Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye). Besides this usage for the foreign language keys, Chandler also corresponded with many people in England and could speak and write in French.
A rare opportunity to acquire the typewriter used by Raymond Chandler, one of the 20th century's most important detective novelists, screenwriters, and short story authors.
$10,000 - $20,000
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
CHANDLER, RAYMOND
Raymond Chandler's Olivetti Studio 44 Typewriter. A tan, full-size portable Olivetti Studio 44 typewriter, manufactured circa 1953 and acquired by Chandler shortly thereafter, held in its red original travel case with handle, the 44-key keyboard with keys likely special ordered by Chandler to include the foreign accent marks on the far right including a "caret" (Excellent with languages, Chandler frequently wrote in French). Some light wear to the typewriter which has not been tested for full functionality; the cover detached at hinges, other wear to case. Offered with a red and black ribbon acquired later.
Raymond Chandler's Olivetti Studio 44 Typewriter on which he wrote his 1957 novel, Playback.
While Chandler had previously owned an Underwood, he was quite pleased with his new Olivetti, writing: "I am apt to get up around 4am, take a mild drink of Scotch and water and start hammering at this lovely Olivetti 44, which is far superior to anything we turn out in America. It is a heavy portable and put together like an Italian racing car, and you mustn't judge it from my typing" (Raymond Chandler, 21 May 1955). Clearly, Chandler took his typewriter seriously and used it nearly every day, preferring blue ribbons to traditional black. This is the typewriter Chandler had in his possession at the time he wrote Playback. It is unknown exactly when Chandler acquired the typewriter, but it may have been upon his first trip to England following the death of his wife Cissy, and the depressed period that followed, in mid-1955.
Biographer Tom Hiney noted that "Chandler spoke Spanish. As late as 1956, he had his Olivetti typewriter customized to incorporate Spanish accents, so that his Mexican gangsters could insult Marlowe in their native tongue” (Tom Hiney, Raymond Chandler: A Biography, 1997, p. 286). It does not seem Chandler had this typewriter at the time he wrote The Long Goodbye (published 1953) but it was within that book that Chandler introduced Mexican locales and a Chilean housekeeper who banters with Marlowe in Spanish. The act of writing was also on Chandler's mind when writing The Long Goodbye which centers on a writer who seems a thinly veiled portrait of Chandler himself: "He wrote letters to himself. He wrote and wrote and wrote. Drunk or sober he hit that typewriter. Some of it is wild, some of it is kind of funny, and some of it is sad. The guy had something on his mind. He wrote all around it but he never quite touched it" (Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye). Besides this usage for the foreign language keys, Chandler also corresponded with many people in England and could speak and write in French.
A rare opportunity to acquire the typewriter used by Raymond Chandler, one of the 20th century's most important detective novelists, screenwriters, and short story authors.
No condition report? Click below to request one.
*Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact and Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Please contact the specialist department to request further information or additional images that may be available.
See our 'Buying at Doyle' page for more information.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, Dec 6, 2024
-
Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on Friday, December 6, 2024 at 10am
-
Featuring The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
-
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 will hold an auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on Friday, December 6, 2024 at 10am. Showcased is a wonderful diversity of Americana, maps, autographs, early books and landmarks of literature and science.
The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection offers 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 (Est. $3000-5000). At the center of the archive is an extensive group of unpublished drafts of fantasy stories begun by Chandler in the 1920s, envisioned as a book in 1939, and retained by him until given to Sybil and Jean in 1957 (Est. $40,000-60,000). Nearly 800 typed and hand-annotated pages, the fantasy stories have compelling titles such as The Disappearing Duke, The Rubies of Marmelon, and The Carsbrook Mystery. Written during the period Chandler was honing his craft, the drafts offer much on the writer’s working method. Another excellent offering is Raymond Chandler’s Olivetti Studio 44 typewriter used to write his final novel Playback (Est. $10,000-20,000) and an inscribed copy of that novel to the dedicatee’s son. Unpublished poems, letters, inscribed books, and personal artifacts abound such as Chandler’s cocktail muddlers, jewelry gifted to Jean and her daughter Sybil, and Chandler’s 1945 Edgar Allan Poe Award. Now nearly seventy years since his death, this is the largest trove of Chandler papers to come to light, and the Jean Vounder-Davis Collection undoubtedly provides valuable insight to Raymond Chandler’s complicated last years. Institutions and collectors should take notice of the unparalleled opportunity to acquire unpublished material from this major 20th century author.
Literature
Beyond Raymond Chandler, literature is headed by a group of early Ernest Hemingway titles including his first two books Three Stories and Ten Poems and In Our Time. An item of Hemingway interest is matador Antonio Ordóñez's Traje de Luces or Suit of Lights worn in the bullfighting rings of Spain while Hemingway wrote One Dangerous Summer. A manuscript page from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is offered in the auction as is a rare pack of promotional Random House Who is John Galt? cigarettes. 19th century literature offers an early printing of Frankenstein and the Polidori's The Vampyre.
Presidential Material & Americana
Presidential material includes a wooden beam from the 1949 White House reconstruction inscribed by Harry Truman and excellent letters from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Mamie during World War II. Early Americana features a rare document in defense of a Shay's Rebellion conspirator sentenced to death and a scarce periodical titled the Colonizationalist which encouraged settlement to Liberia and the Oregon Territory.
Maps & Travel
From an Upper East Side Map Collector comes H.S. Tanner's extremely rare monumental wall map of North America and Munster's circa 1568 map of North and South America. A collection of world maps offers a finely colored example of Visscher's 1652 double-hemispheric world map and other related examples. Travel includes a scarce copy of Sir Walter Raleigh's 1596 narrative of his discovery of Guiana.
Art & Illustrated Books
Art and illustrated books includes a set of Rockwell Kent's edition of Moby Dick and an original illustration from the book. The manuscript of a children's book by Nanno Freerk de Groot is present as are works by Milne, Sendak, Rackham and others.
SALE NOTICE
This sale will be presented as a live auction event conducted by an auctioneer. Place your bids conveniently using the following convenient methods:
- In Person
Experience the excitement of a live auction! We invite you to bid in person with a paddle in our saleroom. For information, please email client.services@Doyle.com - Absentee Bids
Enter your absentee bids directly into the online catalogue until 8am on the morning of the sale. For information on Absentee Bids, please email bids@Doyle.com - BidLive! Online Bidding
Use your computer or mobile device to place bids in real time as the auction progresses with our online bidding platform, BidLive! Read More - Telephone Bids
Your completed Telephone Bid Form must be received by 4pm on the evening before the auction. Download the Telephone Bid Form - We are available to guide you through the entire bidding process and answer any questions you may have. Please contact us at bid.live@Doyle.com
PAYMENT
Please note that all purchases are subject to a Buyer's Premium
Payment can be made in the following ways:
· By credit card (an additional 3.5% fee will be charged)
· By wire transfer. For instructions, please email client.accounts@Doyle.com
PICKUPS & SHIPPING
For information, please contact client.accounts@doyle.com
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
See our Conditions of Sale.
