The Edward Gorey Auction, Bloomsbury Auctions, New York, Thursday December 9th, 11 AM

Ooooooh... This is very exciting: An Edward Gorey Auction, featuring a broad variety of one-of-a-kind objects drawn from The Great Man's personal collection. A few of the 60 lots can be viewed above, full details on auction and objects can be found below:

The Edward Gorey Sale
New York, 9 December 2010, 11am

To be held on premises at 6 West 48th Street, New York, NY 10036
View sale online or download a pdf.
Live Bidding to be held on-site, absentee bids acccepted, free internet bidding via liveauctioneers.com and the-saleroom.com

Bloomsbury Auctions New York is very pleased to announce an auction devoted entirely to the author and illustrator Edward Gorey (1925-2000). Known for his whimsically macabre illustrations and intensely unique personal illustration style, this sale will feature an array of items owned by Gorey, as well as a large selection of his published books, original artwork, and personal jewelry.

The central focus of the sale will be 14 fur coats once owned, worn (and one also designed) by Edward Gorey from the 1950’s to early 1980’s. While gentlemen wearing fur coats were hallmarks of Gorey’s early pen and ink illustrations, Gorey himself had a change of heart in the 1980’s, putting the fur coats into storage – never to be worn again. Always well cared for, all coats have been in storage for well over 30 years. Mr. Gorey left the entirety of his estate to the care and welfare of animals. The proceeds from the sale of the coats will benefit the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, whose sole mission is the care and welfare and animals, and the Edward Gorey House in Yarmouth Port, MA, which celebrates Gorey’s life and work through public exhibitions. Each coat is accompanied by a letter confirming the provenance as well as a custom label with an original Gorey design which has been sewn to the inside lining.

Other noted items include the original hand-penned and colored front cover illustration by Gorey for Edward Fenton’s book Penny Candy, a turquoise onyx skull pendant, two Gorey hand crafted bean bag -like creatures, Gorey’s illustrating fountain pen and approximately 50 signed, first, or interesting editions of Gorey’s classic books.

For all inquiries, please contact us at newyork@bloomsburyauctions.com or 212.719.1000.

For further information on the fur coats only, you may also contact the Edward Gorey House at 508.362.3909 or info@edwardgoreyhouse.org.

Exhibition Times:
Saturday, December 4, 10am-3pm
December 6, 7, 8 10am-5pm
Thursday, December 9 9am

You can find out more, peruse the full 60 lots, and find out how to bid by clicking here.

All images drawn from the auction website. Object descriptions and price estimates, top to bottom:

1. Silver Bat Silver cloth with shoe-button eyes; stuffed with rice (190 x 360 mm). Bean bag toy designed and hand-stitched by the artist. Provenance: James Marshall. The versatile Gorey designed and personally made bean bag animals such as bats, frogs, rabbits and elephants. He stuffed the earliest ones with rice. He usually made them for friends like the children's book illustrator James Marshall; and only rarely were they sold to the general public. $1000 – $1500
2. Fur Coat owned and worn by Edward Gorey Lynx coat, below knee, big lapels, brown silk lining, extra large collar. Label sewn in celebrating the 2010 Annual Goreyfest and Gala. Provenance: Edward Gorey to the Edward Gorey Charity Trust, Accompanied by a letter signed by Andreas Brown, Co-Trustee, confirming the ownership. $800 – $1200
3. Skull Necklace A skull neclace on a string, possible onyx, turquoise, or Abyssinian. Provenance: Edward Gorey to the Edward Gorey Charity Trust, Accompanied by a letter signed by Andreas Brown, Co-Trustee, confirming the ownership. A FINE EXAMPLE OF THE ECCENTRIC JEWELERY WORN BY EDWARD GOREY. $500 – $800
4. The Listing Attic New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, [1954]. Original pictorial boards, in the original unclipped dust jacket. Condition: edges lightly darkened, very faint old dampstain at top edge and to verso of jacket, cloth and jacket lightly rubbed at corners with a short tear to the upper panel of the jacket. FIRST EDITION OF GOREY'S SECOND BOOK. $150 – $200
5. The Vinegar Works New York, Simon & Schuster, 1963. 3 volumes, comprising: "The Gashlycrumb", "The West Wing" and "The Insect God." Square 4to. Original pictorial boards, housed in original slipcase. Condition: "The Gashlycrumb" somewhat shaken, spines darkened, light rubbing to corners; slipcase lightly chipped along extremities and soiled. FIRST EDITIONS; FIRST PRINTINGS. $250 – $300

Recent posts of interest: A Visit to The Edward Gorey House Museum, Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts

Thanks so much to Colin Dickey and his very follow-able Twitter feed for alerting me to this!