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Henry Miller's 1930s Paris notebooks contained not only written content but also drawings such as this one, which was obtained directly from the Miller family. PBA Galleries has announced the private-treaty sale of the Henry Miller collection, which originally had been included in their March 18, 2010 auction. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.

PBA sells Henry Miller collection in private-treaty sale

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
Henry Miller's 1930s Paris notebooks contained not only written content but also drawings such as this one, which was obtained directly from the Miller family. PBA Galleries has announced the private-treaty sale of the Henry Miller collection, which originally had been included in their March 18, 2010 auction. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.
Henry Miller’s 1930s Paris notebooks contained not only written content but also drawings such as this one, which was obtained directly from the Miller family. PBA Galleries has announced the private-treaty sale of the Henry Miller collection, which originally had been included in their March 18, 2010 auction. Image courtesy PBA Galleries.

SAN FRANCISCO – In an announcement made yesterday, March 15, PBA Galleries confirmed that a major American research institution has purchased via private treaty the rare and extensive collection of Henry Miller items that were to be auctioned on March 18, 2010 as part of the Library of Roger Wagner. The collection of important manuscripts, letters, and archival material by the acclaimed American novelist and members of his circle includes the typed manuscript for the first draft of Tropic of Capricorn and Henry Miller’s Paris notebooks. “The literary significance of these extraordinary notebooks can hardly be overstated,” a press release from PBA Galleries states. “They capture the thoughts and reflections of Miller during his time of greatest creativity, and provide the basis for the works which were to make him famous.” The material in the collection is from Miller’s personal archives. In addition to his own manuscripts and letters, there are letters from his many friends and literary associates, including Anais Nin, Lawrence Durrell, Erica Jong and others.

Roger Wagner commented, “I’m happy to know that this important archive will stay together and be accessible to the scholars and fans of Henry Miller.”

The remaining 93 lots in PBA Galleries’ auction will be offered on March 18, 2010, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com. The collection reflects Wagner’s skilled interest in a wide range of literary arts, science, history and human endeavor. The material ranges from the 15th through 20th centuries, and touches upon nearly every aspect of the progress of civilization. The 62 lots of books include a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible; a 1486 printing of Aristotle’s Opera; a superb copy of Abraham Ortelius Theatrum Orbis Terrarum from 1584, with 112 hand-colored maps; Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, first edition, 1776; the 1859 first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species; and much more. The 31 lots of autograph and manuscript material range from a manuscript document signed by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, 1501, to a rare autograph letter signed by Herman Melville, to a short manuscript play written by John Steinbeck while visiting the Soviet Union in 1963.

View the fully illustrated catalog for the March 18 sale and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet through www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

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Click here to view PBA Galleries’ complete catalog.