The Vital Message, complete autograph manuscript - photo 1
The Vital Message, complete autograph manuscript - photo 2

The Vital Message, complete autograph manuscript

Lot 127
06.10.2022 12:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 27 720
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 813800
Lot 127 | The Vital Message, complete autograph manuscript
Estimate value
$ 15 000 – 25 000
The Vital Message, complete autograph manuscript

Arthur Conan Doyle, c.1918-19

DOYLE, Arthur Conan (1859-1930). Autograph manuscript signed (“Arthur Conan Doyle”), “The Vital Message,” Crowborough, 16 November [c.1918-19].



67 pp., most 322 x 202mm but many cut in half or shorter; pencil, black, and violet ink on mostly lined paper; organized in five sections, each fastened with a brass tack at top left corner (some foxing and minor soiling, light edgewear in some places). Full morocco clamshell box. Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 10 December 1993, lot 319.



An uncommon working draft by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Vital Message, first published in Hearst's International in March-November 1919, recounts Doyle’s conversion to Spiritualism, which he had announced in 1916. He gave his first public lecture on the topic in 1917 and published The New Revelation, or What is Spiritualism and Life After Death in 1918. Spiritualism, which emerged as a counterculture movement within Victorian and Edwardian society, embraced the idea that the human personality survives death and can communicate with the living through mediums, and Doyle’s longtime fascination (beginning in the 1880s) turned more serious during World War I and following the deaths of his son and brother in 1918 and 1919 respectively. During the final twelve years of his life, he would publish twenty books on the topic (a third of his total output as a writer), the most notable being his two-volume History of Spiritualism, which made him a leader in the movement.



Working drafts of Doyle's work are uncommon; typically manuscripts are quite clean, with only a handful of minor edits throughout. The present manuscript is full of emendations, most evident from leaves that have been torn, or from smaller slips of paper that have been inserted throughout, indicating text that has been abandoned or refined. Despite the revisions, the manuscript is complete and very close to the version of the text as published.

Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
06.10.2022 – 06.10.2022
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

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.
?>