Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to his girlfriend Lois Sorrells; "I’ll end up with my ass in the straw" - photo 1

Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to his girlfriend Lois Sorrells; "I’ll end up with my ass in the straw"

Lot 59
08.12.2023 12:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Starting price
$ 4 000
AuctioneerSotheby´s
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1108798
Lot 59 | Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to his girlfriend Lois Sorrells; "I’ll end up with my ass in the straw"
Estimate value
$ 4 000 – 6 000
Kerouac, Jack
Typed letter signed (“Jack” in pencil), to his girlfriend Lois Sorrells (later Beckwith) in New York City

One page (215 x 140 mm), n.p., n.d. [Northport, New York, early January 1960]; single-spaced, integral blank leaf.

“Maybe my Mother is right when she says I'll end up with my ass in the straw.”

At the time Kerouac was living with his mother in Northport, on Long Island, hoping to start a new book he was calling Beat Traveller (later abandoned after 40,000 words). “... I stay home now for a thousand years [he had gone into Manhattan for New Year’s parties with Allen Ginsberg and friends] except to bring my mother to Radio City and Chinatown on her birthday Feb. 4th. And for the world premiere of Subterraneans movie [in June, based on his novel] ... Am sending a check for 40 to Allen [Ginsberg] to cover the long taxi fare, the food, bottles, taxis etc ... Maybe my mother is right when she says I’ll end up with my ass in the straw, which were better than taxes and death letters on desk. I used to say to my mother ‘I’m going to write now, I’ll be in the kitchen when I’m hungry’ but now all I say is ‘I’m going to write letters now’ ... O last night I dream’d a perfect page of prose, the ‘best of Eugene O’Neill’ it said in the dream, all about a freighter at dusk and men leaning on he gunwale smoking pipes. Like Coleridge, lost it ... call Tom Payne [at Avon Books] and tell him to pick up Tristessa, he wants it right away and everything [is] mixed up eightball [Avon would published the book later in the spring]. I walked in the rain and even Dody [Muller, another girlfriend] wouldn’t let me in — and I heard you laugh gayly over the phone. But I am too old and wise and I’m safe for 1000 years.”
Address of auction Sotheby´s
1334 York Avenue
10021 New York
USA
Preview
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
Phone +1 212 606 7000
Email
4FQ.AE2YUKFA@AYGLGHC3Y@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 10:00 – 17:00   
Tu 10:00 – 17:00   
We 10:00 – 17:00   
Th 10:00 – 17:00   
Fr 10:00 – 17:00   
Sa 10:00 – 17:00   
Su 13:00 – 17:00   

More from 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 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
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to Ed White;
Kerouac, Jack | Typed letter signed to Ed White; "at night, till dawn, I'm writing the second novel, On the Road"
$7 000

Related terms

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.