28th May, 2020 10:00

Printed Books, Maps & Autographs

 
  Lot 618 *
 

Astaire (Fred, 1899-1987). A group of 10 Autograph Letters Signed, 1961-86

Sold for £3,000


 

Astaire (Fred, 1899-1987). A group of 10 Autograph Letters Signed, ‘Fred A.’, ‘Fred’ and one initialled ‘F.’, Beverly Hills, California, 1961-86, all addressed to his friend, the actor and director Lionel Jeffries, all of a personal nature with some references to work and himself, sometimes with self-deprecating humour, plus his daughter Ava and her husband, sending good wishes to Lionel and his family, mostly dated with day and sometimes month only, a total of 14 pages written mostly in blue ballpoint pens on various personal letterheads, 8vo, all with original envelopes addressed in Astaire’s hand and all but two signed ‘F. Astaire’ or ‘Astaire’ on rear panel (but many torn from opening), together with two signed Christmas cards, ‘Fred A.’ (in red felt tip, with signed envelope) and ‘Fred Astaire and Ava’, the latter lacking tipped-on illustration to front board and rear board with old tape remains, plus a Christmas telegram, 22 December 1970, plus a first edition copy of Astaire’s autobiography, ‘Steps in Time’, (New York: Harper, 1959), signed and inscribed by the author to half-title, ‘To Lionel from Fred, 1961’, original cloth in dust jacket, soiled and nicked at edges with old sellotape repairs, 8vo

(Quantity: 14)

Provenance: The estate of Lionel Jeffries (1926-2010) by family descent. Fred Astaire and Lionel Jeffries both appeared with Kim Novak and Jack Lemmon in The Notorious Landlady, directed by Richard Quine and released in 1962.

[?23 September 1961]:

Thanks so much for your letter. How I would like to have been with you all on that crazy mixed up party. It was nice of you to think of old dad. While you were all laughing it up and getting your kicks, I was working on my Alcoa obligations for TV. Giving one of my marvellous performances of course. I finished the one hour show last Friday. We shot 6 days – 10 pages a day – which no doubt you can gather is somewhat of a contrast to a Novak–Quine production!! I must say it's rather fun to do them that way and not stall around waiting hours for each. I think it's a good show…

PS Thanks for the half hair piece. Who ate the other half? Please note that I put it to work! Enclosed find photo [not here present] of the "poor man’s Alec Guinness’.’

1 March [1972]:

‘… again I was delighted about your success in directing that lovely film [presumably The Railway Children, 1970]. How nice to add directing to your professional accomplishments! I don't know when I'll get to England but it may be fairly soon since Ava and her husband and family are going to meet over there. It seems definite now. She’s in fine shape and I like her husband very much indeed. The two boys are keen lads and I think you failed to do well in England.
It was nice of you to enquire as to whether or not I have a story in mind for myself. I have not really and I've been questioning myself as to whether or not I want to do anything more. I love doing non-musical things, but there are not many – if any – right now for an old bastard like me – I mean I may not look 72 nor do I feel it, but important enough roles are not plentiful as you know in the older man age bracket – I mean at least not for a lousy actor like me.
Incidentally one was just handed to me the other day which I think I would like if things are right with the project. It’s a Robert Nathan book called
The Colour of Evening. More about that later…’

22 August [1980]:

‘Thanks for thinking of me but I must tell you that there is no way I would take on a project as suggested in your letter. The idea has been brought to me by all three major networks here, a number of times.
As you know I
hate talking about my past work. I even have it in my will that I do not give permission for my life story to be made into a movie!!…’.

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Auction: Printed Books, Maps & Autographs, 28th May, 2020

Important Travel, The David Wilson Library of Natural History (Part I), The Leon Paul Library of Fencing, Army Lists and Military Books from the Library of Lt Col R J Wyatt MBE TD and a large collection of Vinyl Records.

To see a page-turning version of our catalogue, please see the Virtual Catalogue.

 

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(c) If such arrangements are not made within seven days of the notification the Auctioneer is empowered to sell the lot without reserve by auction or by private treaty and to receive from the seller the normal selling commission and special expenses.

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8. (a) Notwithstanding any other terms of these conditions, if within fourteen days of the sale the Auctioneer has received from the buyer of any lot notice in writing that in his/her view the lot is a deliberate forgery and within fourteen days after such notification the buyer returns the same to the Auctioneer in the same condition as at the time of the sale and satisfies the Auctioneer that considered in the light of the entry in the catalogue the lot is a deliberate forgery then the sale of the lot will be rescinded and the purchase price of the same refunded. "A deliberate forgery" means a lot made with intention to deceive.

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14. If, on collation, any named items in the catalogue prove defective, in text or illustration, the buyer may reject the lot provided he/she returns it within fourteen days stating the defect in writing. This however will not apply in the case of unnamed items, periodicals, autograph letters, manuscripts, music, maps, atlases, prints or drawings, nor in respect of damage to bindings, stains, foxing, marginal wormholes or other defects not affecting the completeness of the text, nor in respect of lack of list of plates, inserted advertisements, cancels or subsequently published volumes, supplements, appendices or plates or error in the enumerating of the plates, nor in respect of defects mentioned in the catalogue or announced at the time of sale.

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The amount is calculated as follows:

Royalty For the portion of the Hammer Price (in Euro)

4.00% up to 50,000

3.00% between 50,000.01 and 200,000

1.00% between 200,000.01 and 350,000

0.50% between 350,000.01 and 500,000

0.25% in excess of 500,000

Invoices will be issued in Pounds Sterling. For the purposes of calculating the resale royalty the Pounds Sterling/Euro rate of exchange will be the European Central Bank reference rate on the day of the sale. Please refer to the DACS website www.dacs.org.uk for further details.

18. These conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.

 

Buyer's Premium :

The buyer's premium is 20%, except those lots asterisked (*) in the title for which Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to the premium, resulting in a buyer's premium of 24% inclusive of VAT. Eligible items include manuscripts, prints, photographs, drawings, framed maps, paintings, pens and other objects which are subject to VAT at a rate of 20% on the buyer's premium as part of the Auctioneers Margin Scheme. VAT zero-rated items such as books, unframed maps and albums are not subject to VAT on the buyer's premium.

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An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Dominic Winter Auctioneers website (dominicwinter.co.uk). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.

An additional commission of 4.95% plus VAT (5.94% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the ATG Media website (the-saleroom.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.

An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Invaluable website (invaluable.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.

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Payment is preferred by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you with your invoice.

Payment can be made in cash at the Cashier's Office, either during or after the sale. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque (Pounds Sterling only), please allow 5 working days for the cheque to clear before collection of goods.

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UK Shipping

We are not specialist shippers. Some items, such as framed & glazed or fragile goods, will require specialist handling and buyers will be asked to use Mailboxes or RF Shipping Ltd. (details below).

For non-fragile items and items of reasonably small size, we offer an in-house packing and shipping facility for UK buyers. When possible, purchases will be sent by either Royal Mail Special Delivery or DPD overnight service. The charge for this service is variable (£15 minimum per parcel) and will be added to your invoice. Please note shipments to the Highlands and Islands may require shipment by courier and may be more expensive. Please contact us for a quote before bidding.

For larger packages and fragile goods, we recommend Mailboxes, Pack & Send or RF Shipping Ltd who will collect fully paid-for purchases from us twice a week and liaise with the buyer direct. For more information please contact Sarah Ball by telephone on +44 (0)1285 860006 or email sarah@dominicwinter.co.uk. These companies will require payment direct for their services.

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