BERKELEY, Calif. – More than 450 lots of fine literature and ephemera with science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, Beat Generation and counterculture items along with a selection of surfing memorabilia and poster art will come to PBA Galleries on Thursday, January 25. The catalog is now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.
A personally signed and annotated Gideon Holy Bible taken from a Las Vegas hotel room by ‘gonzo journalist’ Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) is a leading contender for the oddball of the sale. With a publication date of 1958, this copy would have been exceedingly old by the time Thompson made a name for himself with 1967’s Hells Angels, his breakthrough work. It was purchased directly from Thompson’s Woody Creek, Colorado home in the mid-1990s. As Thompson wrote in 1998’s Generation of Swine, “I have stolen more quotes and thoughts and purely elegant little starbursts of writing from the Book of Revelation than anything else in the English language – and it is not because I am a biblical scholar, or because of any religious faith, but because I love the wild power of the language and the purity of the madness that governs it and makes it music … [the Gideons] have saved me many times, when nobody else could do anything but mutter about calling security on me unless I turned out my lights and went to sleep like all the others … ” The Bible is estimated at $10,000-$15,000.
An early entrant to the realm of science fiction literature is 1884’s Flatland, A Romance of Many Dimensions by Rev. Edwin Abbott (1838-1926). A 1980 reissue of the work – which was encased in aluminum and features an accordion-fold format – has text that can be opened to read as a square, and, when unfolded, extends to 33 feet per side. The first half of the book is printed on one side, the second on the opposite. With an introduction by sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury, and signed by him, this copy is number 120 of 275 and is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.
An 1876 first printing of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens, 1835-1910) is notable for retaining its original sheepskin binding, a rarity among Tom Sawyer editions printed by the American Publishing Company of Hartford, Connecticut. It is estimated at $7,000-$10,000.
By the time Jack Kerouac typewrote and signed this 1968 letter to his niece – focusing primarily on the antics of his two house cats – the Beat Generation writer’s original vision for the ‘counterculture’ was spinning out of control in American politics and popular culture. “Pitou just ran out again. He’s white as snow from the white sand around here. He has a favorite tree in the yard and he goes way out on the limb and looks down at me with the stars above him.” The letter carries an estimate of $7,000-$10,000.
One of the most beloved authors and illustrators of all time, Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) created a wonderful world of animal characters known to generations. Her 1904 release of The Tale of Benjamin Bunny continued the series, and this first edition copy published by Frederick Warne and Co. in London is in remarkable condition despite it having been clearly loved by its original owner. The lot also includes a later edition, and the pair are estimated at $1,000-$1,500.
