“I knew that Jim was trying to publish his book on the quiet..." - photo 1

“I knew that Jim was trying to publish his book on the quiet..."

Lot 137
27.01.2023 10:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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$ 4 788
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 887915
Lot 137 | “I knew that Jim was trying to publish his book on the quiet..."
Estimate value
$ 2 000 – 3 000
CRICK, Francis (1916-2004). Typed letter signed (“Francis” and in type “F.H.C. Crick”) to Leonard Hamilton, 25 September 1967.

One page, 295 x 205mm. On Laboratory of Molecular Biology letterhead, University Postgraduate Medical School, Cambridge.

In the maelstrom caused by James Watson’s book, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. Both of Watson’s co-Nobel Prize Laureates objected to the portrayal of themselves in Watson’s autobiographical account. Leonard Hamilton was a mutual friend of Crick and of Wilkins who had no loyalty to Watson and, being based in the U.S., he acted as the natural go-between in this controversy. Together with the lawyer Montgomery, Hamilton represented Crick and Wilkins’s interests to Harvard University Press who were slated to publish Watson’s book and managed to have the deal retracted. The Double Helix was instead published by Athenaeum in 1968.

Crick and Wilkins were not the only ones to criticize Watson’s book for its self-aggrandizement (others complained at its dismissal of the contributions of Rosalind Franklin). However, The Double Helix is also a deeply exciting read and it regularly tops lists of the best non-fiction works of the 20th century. Eventually, Crick came to see that the book’s virtues outweigh its prejudices and he reconciled with his collaborator. In September 1967, though, he is worried about potential lawsuits and countersuits. In part, “I knew that Jim was trying to publish his book on the quiet … I should caution Montgomery about acting too strongly. You may recall that he told you that my letter to Pusey about Jim was probably actionable, and I happen to know that Jim realizes this … I will write to [Sir Lawerence Bragg] to see if he has changed his mind [about writing to foreword to Watson’s book], and let you know what happens.” Bragg did not change his mind about writing the foreword and it appears in the first edition.
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