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Saleroom Spotlight: Some 80 first
SALEROOM SPOTLIGHT
Ever wondered what really inspired some of the 20th-century’s literary giants? An auction of 89 first-edition books and works of art annotated by their authors gives a wonderful insight
Below Haddon doodled throughout the book, including a spaceship on page 155. It has an estimate of £2,000-£3,000 at this month’s sale
Above Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. First edition, London: Jonathan Cape, 2003
From Mark Haddon’s agent unknowingly lending his name to the rat in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, to a rant by John le Carre’s housemaster being used in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, the reason writers write what they do largely remains a mystery. But there is a wonderful opportunity for collectors and fiction aficionados to gain a unique insight into the minds of some of the 20th-century’s finest authors this month when 89 first-edition books and works of art annotated by their authors go up for sale.
Notes include Margaret Atwood explaining the politics behind The Handmaid’s Tale and Salman Rushdie discussing how Midnight’s Children changed his life, with Quentin Blake providing an original drawing of the BFG. The annotations, in some cases totalling over 4,000 words, lift the curtain on the authors’ minds like nothing else.
Top Some 89 first editions annotated by their authors go under the hammer this summer with estimates starting at £1,000
Below John le Carré, (1931-2020). The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. First edition, London: Victor Gollancz, 1963 Below Hilary Mantel, Bring Up the Bodies. First edition, London: Fourth Estate, 2012
Above Le Carré passed away having annotated only the first 45 pages of his book. It has an estimate of £8,000£12,000 Above The Booker Prizewinning title includes detailed notes from Mantel. It has an estimate of £4,000-£6,000 at this month’s sale
In most cases the annotations were added several years after publication, allowing authors to comment on the social mores of the time they were written.
Monica Ali writes in her 2003 book Brick Lane: “Haven’t read BL in last 16 or 17 years. Sense of Trepidation. Also curiosity.” While on page 130 of The Handmaid’s Tale; next to the word “natalist” Margaret Attwood explains: “People said that.”
On the title-page of Atonement, shortlisted for the 2001 Booker prize, author Ian McEwan reveals how fellow author Tim Garton Ash persuaded him to drop ‘An’ from the title.
Below Atwood annotated the book author across 161 pages, with 1,137 words. It has an estimate of £4,000–£6,000
Above Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale. First edition, London: Jonathan Cape, 1986
While some books include learned historical additions, Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, lines his pages with stars and drawings of space ships.
Below McEwan added more than 4,000 words of commentary to his 2001 book. It has an estimate of £4,000-£6,000
Above Ian McEwan, Atonement. First edition, London: Jonathan Cape, 2001
Hilary Mantel said: “The process of publication (however welcome and necessary) is a process of estrangement. Annotation gives your book back to you… A special kind of memory comes into play and you realise, if you didn’t know it already, that there’s another book behind the book.”
New collectors
With estimates ranging from £1,000 to £20,000, and bidding on most lots set to start from £100, it is an ideal opportunity for collectors to put a toe in the field.
Christie’s international head of books and manuscripts, Margaret Ford, said: “These works offer new insights into the work, life and career of some of the most important writers of our generation. As such, they are ‘copies of record’ which will excite collectors, readers and literary enthusiasts around the globe.”
Other authors’ work taking part in the online sale, from June 28 to July 12, include Sebastian Faulks, Ben Okri, Bernardine Evaristo and Phillipe Sands, as well as books by artists Anish Kapoor, Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Ai Weiwei and Edmund de Waal. The auction is raising funds to support the charity English PEN, which works to defend freedom of expression and campaign for writers who are at risk around the world.
AUCTION fact file
WHAT: First Editions, Second Thoughts: An Auction to Benefit English PEN When: Online from June 24 to July 12 From: Christie’s, 8 King Street, St. James’s London Viewing: A selection of lots will be on view from June 6-15 at Christie’s, St James’s, London and online from June 17 before all lots go on show at a standalone exhibition from July 8-11 and online at www.christies.com
Above Monica Ali, Brick Lane. First edition, London: Doubleday, 2003 Below The first edition has more than 1,000 words of commentary over 79 pages by Ali. It has an estimate of £1,500-£2,000 at this month’s sale Below right Max Porter, Grief is the Thing with Feathers. First edition, London: Faber & Faber, 2015
Below far right Porter’s annotations and illustrations appear on almost every page. It has an estimate £1,500£2,000 at this month’s sale
IN MY OPINION...
We asked Mark Wiltshire, Christie’s books and manuscripts specialist for his personal highlights How unique are these first editions?
Book collectors are used to seeing signed copies of important books, but these are much more special. The extent to which the authors have engaged with their texts, many providing thousands of words of the most insightful commentary in the margins is incredible. I might daydream about discovering a copy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice or Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations with the author’s notes and corrections, but I don’t think such things even exist. This sale offers us the modern-day equivalent.
What do the annotations reveal?
In each case there is a clear sense of personality and individuality. What struck me most of all was how the authors could recall such precise details about where and when a particular passage was written, how they felt, what they were thinking and doing at the time. It is incredible to witness an author responding to their text as a reader, being surprised by certain phrases, reacting emotionally as if reading it for the first time. I love the Hilary Mantel’s annotations in Bring up the Bodies –they are acutely personal with a profound emotional attachment to the story.
Do you have a favourite book?
I’ve enjoyed spending a little time with each and every one. I think the first edition of Max Porter’s Grief is the Thing with Feathers is just wonderful – replete with illustrations and colour and additional material pasted into the margins. I love the book anyway, but it’s almost as though the original publication has evolved into something new in his hands. Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries is another favourite. Her annotations are copious – more than 4,000 words of deeply engaging, informed, humorous, personal and selfdeprecating notes on her extraordinary Booker Prize-winning novel.
