Going into Bonhams fascinating Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, The Property of Frieda Hughes auction I was completely torn about bidding. Of course Plath herself, in the guise and persona of "Lady Lazarus", predicted how her readers would covet "a piece of my hair or my clothes". And having been lucky enough to acquire, previously, something that Plath created as well as being gifted a typescript story, there is always the desire to have more.
I ranked some of the lots that most interested me and that would not completely destroy my meagre piggy bank from the moment I saw the draft sales catalogue in January. I was completely taken with the idea of owning something as random and frivolous as Plath's fishing rod (Lot 351). But something in me said go for something else. So I marked down Lot 334 ("A Winter Ship") as being idea. Copies are available but not one that was retained for 58 years by the family. I was interested also in the small lot of books (381) and well as the lot of 6 editions of The Colossus (336). So, yea, I was all over the place.
I discussed with a few friends what they might be interested in bidding on so as to not bid against a friend. It was also interesting to see what other items people were attracted to. So I put in a bid on those Colossus editions but then immediately cancelled it and went for "A Winter Ship". I put in the low estimate and had no faith it would hold. And it didn't… it sold for £5,500 (£6,875)... five and a half times the low estimate.
Watching the auction live was an event; an experience. Truly glued to my seat and incapable of leaving it, I weighed my other option. I put a bid in that held for about 2 seconds on the Oxford Book of Wild Flowers (340), misheard the bidding price on the wooden tray (350) which sold for what I consider to be "chump change". I did bid a couple of times on Lot 380 as I have convinced myself some of those items were actually once the property of Sylvia Plath directly… Of course I could be and probably am delusional… The mind is a funny thing. The last things I bid on were lots 400 and 401, the Laureate's Choice sherry. I lost those, too, as I just could not make myself click "bid" once more. For what they were I felt the went for reasonable prices of, respectively, £187 and £112.
After the auction ended I reached out to Frieda Hughes about the unsold lot 328 of "Tobias and the Angel" by Leonard Baskin. But, because I did actually win a lot in the auction I opted in the end not to try for the additional item. I regretted it the minute I passed on it, and still do. Massively. The extra expense just could not work itself out in my mind. I regret it more and more and more each day.
If you read that previous paragraph you will see that I did successfully bid on one of the lots. In the end it was the first thing that I was initially drawn to that saw me walking away slightly lighter in my wallet but with an item that is to me both bizarre and unique. The catalogue description of the fishing rod read, "Sylvia Plath's 2-piece cane fishing rod, made by Forrest & Sons, Kelso, 5 loops, cork handle, length approximately 1220mm." And it was accompanied with a footnote: "Ted Hughes wrote to his brother Gerald in late summer 1958 that 'Sylvia loves fishing, and has luck' (Letters of Ted Hughes, Faber, 2007, p.131)". In addition to this in Hughes' letters, there is more than likely additional material about fishing in Plath's forthcoming letters.
Like my "Dark River" experience in December, this item had me on tenterhooks. It was collected on the 28th of March and so should have shipped on the 29th. However, the shipper had a "glitch" that coincidentally lasted the entire four-day Easter weekend. This delayed delivery by several days which I am not impressed with. But, the fishing rod made its way from Bonhams in London, to Oxford where it was packed, then to Stansted and on to Indianapolis before coming back east to me in Massachusetts.
The day it was delivered was comical. I knew it was nearby but the scheduled delivery date was Tuesday 10 April. So, I went to work thinking it would frustratingly hang out for a few days and collect dust. But by the time I got to work, it had moved to a distribution center two towns from my house... Once it was marked as out for delivery I knew I had to leave work to try to be home to sign for it. I had wanted it sent to work, but Bonhams failed to follow my instructions.
Anyway, I get off the train and start walking home. Huffing and puffing up a hill I see a FedEx truck pull onto my street. So naturally I start running after it. I am not faster than a truck. And it wasn't, in the end, my FedEx truck. No, my truck came conveniently about 20 minutes after I got home. Had I stayed home from work I do fully believe it would not have been delivered that day.
The tube in which it came and the padding...
The fishing rod is in two pieces that fit together. It came with a nice dark green carrying bag that has "Shakespeare 1575-240" on it. I have to ask Frieda Hughes about this!
When together, the rod is just shy of seven feet long... here it is on the floor and then propped up by a bookcase.
Now for some close ups...
I am really thrilled about this and will have to figure out what, exactly, to do with it. I have heard from some friends about their winnings; so of course I am pleased for them too.
Did you win something? Do you have it? Do you want to write a guest blog post about it? It can be anonymous if you want. Contact me via this page if you are interested.
All links accessed: 22 March 2018.
I ranked some of the lots that most interested me and that would not completely destroy my meagre piggy bank from the moment I saw the draft sales catalogue in January. I was completely taken with the idea of owning something as random and frivolous as Plath's fishing rod (Lot 351). But something in me said go for something else. So I marked down Lot 334 ("A Winter Ship") as being idea. Copies are available but not one that was retained for 58 years by the family. I was interested also in the small lot of books (381) and well as the lot of 6 editions of The Colossus (336). So, yea, I was all over the place.
I discussed with a few friends what they might be interested in bidding on so as to not bid against a friend. It was also interesting to see what other items people were attracted to. So I put in a bid on those Colossus editions but then immediately cancelled it and went for "A Winter Ship". I put in the low estimate and had no faith it would hold. And it didn't… it sold for £5,500 (£6,875)... five and a half times the low estimate.
Watching the auction live was an event; an experience. Truly glued to my seat and incapable of leaving it, I weighed my other option. I put a bid in that held for about 2 seconds on the Oxford Book of Wild Flowers (340), misheard the bidding price on the wooden tray (350) which sold for what I consider to be "chump change". I did bid a couple of times on Lot 380 as I have convinced myself some of those items were actually once the property of Sylvia Plath directly… Of course I could be and probably am delusional… The mind is a funny thing. The last things I bid on were lots 400 and 401, the Laureate's Choice sherry. I lost those, too, as I just could not make myself click "bid" once more. For what they were I felt the went for reasonable prices of, respectively, £187 and £112.
After the auction ended I reached out to Frieda Hughes about the unsold lot 328 of "Tobias and the Angel" by Leonard Baskin. But, because I did actually win a lot in the auction I opted in the end not to try for the additional item. I regretted it the minute I passed on it, and still do. Massively. The extra expense just could not work itself out in my mind. I regret it more and more and more each day.
If you read that previous paragraph you will see that I did successfully bid on one of the lots. In the end it was the first thing that I was initially drawn to that saw me walking away slightly lighter in my wallet but with an item that is to me both bizarre and unique. The catalogue description of the fishing rod read, "Sylvia Plath's 2-piece cane fishing rod, made by Forrest & Sons, Kelso, 5 loops, cork handle, length approximately 1220mm." And it was accompanied with a footnote: "Ted Hughes wrote to his brother Gerald in late summer 1958 that 'Sylvia loves fishing, and has luck' (Letters of Ted Hughes, Faber, 2007, p.131)". In addition to this in Hughes' letters, there is more than likely additional material about fishing in Plath's forthcoming letters.
 |
| Gail Crowther took this photo which shows many lots, including the fishing rod in the back corner. |
Like my "Dark River" experience in December, this item had me on tenterhooks. It was collected on the 28th of March and so should have shipped on the 29th. However, the shipper had a "glitch" that coincidentally lasted the entire four-day Easter weekend. This delayed delivery by several days which I am not impressed with. But, the fishing rod made its way from Bonhams in London, to Oxford where it was packed, then to Stansted and on to Indianapolis before coming back east to me in Massachusetts.
The day it was delivered was comical. I knew it was nearby but the scheduled delivery date was Tuesday 10 April. So, I went to work thinking it would frustratingly hang out for a few days and collect dust. But by the time I got to work, it had moved to a distribution center two towns from my house... Once it was marked as out for delivery I knew I had to leave work to try to be home to sign for it. I had wanted it sent to work, but Bonhams failed to follow my instructions.
Anyway, I get off the train and start walking home. Huffing and puffing up a hill I see a FedEx truck pull onto my street. So naturally I start running after it. I am not faster than a truck. And it wasn't, in the end, my FedEx truck. No, my truck came conveniently about 20 minutes after I got home. Had I stayed home from work I do fully believe it would not have been delivered that day.
The tube in which it came and the padding...
The fishing rod is in two pieces that fit together. It came with a nice dark green carrying bag that has "Shakespeare 1575-240" on it. I have to ask Frieda Hughes about this!
When together, the rod is just shy of seven feet long... here it is on the floor and then propped up by a bookcase.
Now for some close ups...
I am really thrilled about this and will have to figure out what, exactly, to do with it. I have heard from some friends about their winnings; so of course I am pleased for them too.
Did you win something? Do you have it? Do you want to write a guest blog post about it? It can be anonymous if you want. Contact me via this page if you are interested.
All links accessed: 22 March 2018.