John Steinbeck: American treasure? Well, we thought so anyway, but then a collection of the writer’s letters, manuscripts and photographs failed to collected even six figures at auction yesterday, less than a third of what was expected.
The AP has notes on the surprisingly depressing auction: “Among the highlights that did not sell was Steinbeck’s acceptance speech for his 1962 Nobel Prize for Literature. It was one of 26 lots — out of 50 — that failed to find a buyer, the auctioneer said.” Seriously folks? Well, what did sell? “Among personal artifacts was Steinbeck’s chair and terrestrial globe, which sold for $1,800, below the $2,000 to $3,000 estimate.”
$1,800! This GalleyCat editor could have put that on his high-interest credit card!
The items, gathered from the writer’s Upper East Side apartment, were expected to fetch $200,000 to $250,000. In the end, they took only $73,950.