Kerouac, Jack | Autograph letter signed to Ed White; "Well, boy, guess what? I sold my novel

Startpreis
$ 7 000
AuktionsdatumClassic
08.12.2023 12:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
Sotheby´s
Veranstaltungsort
Vereinigten Staaten, New York
Archiv
Die Auktion ist abgeschlossen. Es können keine Gebote mehr abgegeben werden.
Archive
ID 1108762
Los 43 | Kerouac, Jack | Autograph letter signed to Ed White; "Well, boy, guess what? I sold my novel
Kerouac, Jack
Autograph letter signed ("Bet-a-thousand Kerouac") to Ed White in Paris, announcing the sale of his first novel, The Town and the City

2 pages (279 x 213 mm) on two leaves (three-hole punched), [Ozone Park], 29 March 1949, original typed envelope with three autograph emendations, postmarked Jamaica, NY; some light wear and separation along folds.

Kerouac gets published.

In March 1949, four years after starting to write The Town and the City, Kerouac succeeded in finding a publisher at Harcourt Brace. Robert Giroux liked the manuscript and gave Kerouac a $1,000 advance for the book (reacting to this in the letter, Kerouac exclaims "mad?—I tell you it's mad. mad?—me mad? Heh heh heh."). Kerouac and Giroux got on well initially, and Kerouac speaks highly of him in this letter—"a fine young man...who read my novel (it almost seems) with my eyes." He remarks upon the financial security and what it means for his family and future with glistening optimism. Unfortunately, having extensively revised the novel with Giroux until late 1949, and having published the novel following further delays in March 1950, it received bad reviews and sold poorly. Giroux rejected Kerouac's successive novels and their good relationship subsequently spoiled.

Kerouac goes on to ask after Ed in France and expresses a desire to visit. He imagines a perfect day with Ed in Paris: "That's for me—to sit in a Baroque park, at red dusk, in Paris, watching the amazingly charming children play, with you."

Kerouac signs off with a jovial flourish—

"I command you, as King of the Thousand Dollars, to write me a long and informative epistle, sirs. Bet-a-thousand Kerouac."
Adresse der Versteigerung Sotheby´s
1334 York Avenue
10021 New York
Vereinigten Staaten
Vorschau
01.12.2023 10:00 – 17:00
02.12.2023 10:00 – 17:00
03.12.2023 13:00 – 17:00
04.12.2023 10:00 – 17:00
05.12.2023 10:00 – 17:00
06.12.2023 10:00 – 17:00
07.12.2023 10:00 – 17:00
Telefon +1 212 606 7000
E-Mail
NutzungsbedingungenNutzungsbedingungen
GeschäftszeitenGeschäftszeiten
Mo 10:00 – 17:00   
Di 10:00 – 17:00   
Mi 10:00 – 17:00   
Do 10:00 – 17:00   
Fr 10:00 – 17:00   
Sa 10:00 – 17:00   
So 13:00 – 17:00   

Mehr von Creator

Kerouac, Jack | Typed postcard signed to Ed White; selling stories to buy to buy
Kerouac, Jack | Typed postcard signed to Ed White; selling stories to buy to buy "500 beers for everybody"
$800
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg;
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg; "God, I'm going to die this year"
$7 000
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to his girlfriend Lois Sorrells;
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to his girlfriend Lois Sorrells; "I’ll end up with my ass in the straw"
$4 000
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to Ed White, discussing On the Road, Alene Lee, and Malcolm Cowley
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to Ed White, discussing On the Road, Alene Lee, and Malcolm Cowley
$8 000
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg, a blunt letter addressing a rift in their friendship
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter to Allen Ginsberg, a blunt letter addressing a rift in their friendship
$10 000
Kerouac, Jack | Two typed letters to Allen Ginsberg, analyzing his vision of William Blake through his new Buddhist worldview
Kerouac, Jack | Two typed letters to Allen Ginsberg, analyzing his vision of William Blake through his new Buddhist worldview
$10 000
Kerouac, Jack | Maggie Cassidy, inscribed to his mother
Kerouac, Jack | Maggie Cassidy, inscribed to his mother
$20 000
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to Allen Ginsberg, refusing to help promote Junkie
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to Allen Ginsberg, refusing to help promote Junkie
$5 000

Verwandte Begriffe