Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) - photo 1
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) - photo 2
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) - photo 3
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) - photo 4

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

Lot 39
30.07.2020 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 47 500
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 381247
Lot 39 | Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)
Estimate value
£ 50 000 – 80 000
DOYLE, Sir Arthur Conan (1859-1930). Autograph manuscript of the novel The Land of Mist, London, Crowborough and elsewhere [?Switzerland], n.d. [October 1924 – February 1925]; signed at the end of chapter XI (‘Arthur Conan Doyle / Crowborough / England’).

Approximately 277 leaves, 228 x 172mm, 260 x 200mm (chapters XI and XII only) and 203 x 158mm (chapter XVI ff.3-16 and chapter XVII ff.1-14), a few other leaves cut down to a smaller size; blue or white lined paper, rectos only, occasional original or early foliation throughout, paper stock for chapter X (and a few leaves in chapter XVIII) with printed pagination; tipped on guards into an album, half red roan.

Provenance: Denis Conan Doyle (1909-1955) – sold by his widow Nina Mdivani Conan Doyle, at Parke-Bernet, New York, 11 November 1955 – offered by ‘a Boston collector’ at Parke-Bernet, 22 March 1966 – Iwaki Meisei University, Japan.

The last ‘Challenger’ novel: the complete manuscript as published. The manuscript is a fluent draft, with a number of cancellations and alterations, differing in a number of details from the published text. The opening of chapter I includes two earlier proposed titles for the book: ‘The Quest of Edward Malone’ and ‘The Ladder’, The chapter titles (see below) differ markedly from the published text, and have two numbering discrepancies: a duplicate chapter V, and a missing chapter XIII (cut from the published work: see Christie’s, 19 July 2019, lot 581). Many of the chapters bear Doyle’s characteristic pencil instructions to his typist, ‘3 Co[pie]s … 15 Buck[ingham] Pal[ace] M[ansions]’ or variants. The metric paper stock of chapters XI and XII, and the form of the address including ‘England’ suggests that this section was written overseas, no doubt during Doyle’s visit to Grindelwald, Switzerland, in December 1924 – January 1925.

The Land of Mist is the last of Arthur Conan Doyle's three novels featuring the comparative anthropologist Professor Challenger. A man of massive stature, his head 'the largest I have ever seen upon a human being', Challenger is in some ways the antithesis of Sherlock Holmes, being domineering and crude, yet endearing and endlessly ingenious. The Land of Mist is set after the death of Challenger's wife Jessica, and features his investigation of the world of Spiritualism (one of Doyle's own personal obsessions), alongside his faithful friends Ted Malone and Lord Roxton. According to ABPC, this is the most substantial manuscript by Doyle to have appeared at auction since 1996, and the first for a complete novel since the same date.

I. ‘In which our Specials make a start’. 29 ff.
II. [Untitled]. 10 ff.
III. ‘The Professor’s Opinion’. 6 ff.
IV. ‘Strange Days in Hammersmith’. 10 ff.
V. ‘A Remarkable Experience’. 22 ff.
V. [bis]. Cancelled title: ‘A Remarkable Experience’. 18 ff.
VI. ‘A Notorious Criminal’. 17 ff.
VII. ‘Tom Linden & the Law’. 16 ff.
VIII. ‘A Dark Soul’. 23 ff.
IX. ‘Some very Physical Phenomena’. 11 ff.
X. ‘De Profundis’. 18 ff.
XI. ‘Silas comes into his own’. 13 ff.
XII. ‘Heights and Depths’. 13 ff
XIII. [lacking]
XIV. ‘Challenger goes forth to Battle’. 20 ff.
XV. ‘In which Challenger meets a strange Colleague’. 12 ff.
XVI. ‘Traps for a great Quarry’. 16 ff.
XVII. ‘Challenger has the experience of his Lifetime’. 17 ff.
XVIII. ‘When the Mists Clear’. 6 ff.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.07.2020 – 30.07.2020
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.