“Read your Ecclesiastes…” - photo 1

“Read your Ecclesiastes…”

Lot 149
02.02.2024 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 9 450
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1129770
Lot 149 | “Read your Ecclesiastes…”
Estimate value
$ 7 000 – 10 000
FITZGERALD, F. Scott (1896-1940). Autograph manuscript signed (“Scott”), being his replies to “The Dunlap Question,” n.p., n.d.

“Read your Ecclesiastes…”
F. Scott Fitzgerald on life and death matters.

Fitzgerald attempts to answer the “Dunlap Question:” whether, after making a survey of your life you would choose to live again exactly the same or to die at once. He returns this to the literary critic Gilbert Seldes. Seldes had panned Fitzgerald’s work professionally (except for The Great Gatsby) but this did not prevent a close friendship between the two men. Fitzgerald’s comments are skeptical of the premise of the question, but still revealing. He chooses life, answering “yes” twice. There are then seven follow-up questions, several of which have expanded replies. To the question "Do you think that the more sensitive a person is the more likely he or she is to choose the instant death?" he answers: "It's a question of vitality, not of experience or logic," and to "Do you think that the wiser or more philosophical a person is the more he would choose to live again? Or to die?" the reply is: "Live in youth. Die at the proper time."

One page, penciled replies on a typed questionnaire, 280 x 215mm (top left with a little soiling and a small tear and pinhole). Provenance: Gilbert Seldes, writer and critic, 1893-1970 (authorial inscription to Gilbert) – Sotheby’s New York, 11 December 2008, lot 60.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
26.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
27.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
28.01.2024 13:00 – 17:00
29.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
30.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
31.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

More from Creator

Tales of the Jazz Age
Tales of the Jazz Age
£10 000
Autograph letter signed ('F. Scott Fitzgerald') to Lucy Norval
Autograph letter signed ('F. Scott Fitzgerald') to Lucy Norval
£6 000
Taps at Reveille and 2 others
Taps at Reveille and 2 others
£2 400
Flappers and Philosophers
Flappers and Philosophers
£12 000
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
£100 000
All the Sad Young Men
All the Sad Young Men
£25 000
The Vegetable
The Vegetable
£7 000
This Side of Paradise
This Side of Paradise
£15 000

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.