This post was revised on 17 July 2016. Several Sylvia Plath lots of typescripts and books were offered today at Bonhams Knighstbridge as part of their Fine Books, Manuscripts, and Original Illustrations sale. I listened to the action of the auction live online and let me just say my stomach was turning somersaults and I was feeling anxious...and I was not even bidding. It is exciting and thrilling to bear witness to these sales: a true rush full of wonder. The first five lots (167-171) were from the larger Plath archive that has been up for sale, piecemeal, after the whole archive failed to sell via Sotheby's in December 2014 . Initially only one of the lots sold, however in doing some follow-up research, I learned that all five lots in the end did sell. The second lots (172-174) are books formerly belonging to Winifred Davies, Plath's Devon midwife and friend. To sum these lots, the first two sold for above the high estimate and The Bell Jar lot sold for the high estimat...

Bonhams Knighstbridge has done it again! They are offering several lots of Sylvia Plath typescripts and books in their 15 June 2016 auction of Fine Books, Manuscripts, and Original Illustrations . This auction is in two Plath sections. The first five are from the larger Plath archive that's been up for sale, piecemeal, after the whole lot failed to sell via Sotheby's in December 2014 . The second section are books formerly belonging to Winifred Davies, Plath's Devon midwife and friend. Lot 167 Sylvia Plath, Typescript draft, with autograph revisions, of her story "The Green Rock", and typescript of "Gramercy Park", with occasional annotations, 1948-9 £800 - 1,200 / US$ 1,200 - 1,700 Lot 168 Sylvia Plath Typescript draft with autograph revisions of her poem ʻSeek No More the Young', here with the deleted typed title "Latvian Threnody", [March 1949] £800 - 1,200 / US$ 1,200 - 1,700 Lot 169 Sylvia Plath Carbon typescript of her st...

As reported on 10 October 2015 in this blog post , there were two Sylvia Plath lots at the Fine Books, Maps and Manuscripts auction via Bonhams Knightsbridge auction today in London. The two Sylvia Plath lots just finished. Lot 120 featured an autograph manuscript of Plath's early short story "The Mummy's Tomb". Lot 121 featured annotated typescripts of five poems written when Plath was a student in high school and at Smith College: "acquatic nocturne", "Terminal", "Van Winkle's Village", "The Dark River (P.N.)", and "The Invalid". Lot 120 sold for £5,000 ($7,559)  also blowing passed the high estimate. Price includes buyers premium. Lot 121 sold for £13,750 ($20,789) annihilating the high estimate. Price includes buyers premium. Go Plath. That was intense and interesting bidding to watch online! All links accessed 10 November 2015.

Sotheby's is auctioning a major archive of Sylvia Plath materials including stories, poems, a letter, photographs, lecture notes and other items in New York City on 2 December 2014. It's all I can do not to pass out. Sylvia Plath: AN ARCHIVE OF PLATH'S EARLY POETRY AND SHORT STORIES (BOTH MANUSCRIPT AND TYPESCRIPT), COLLEGE LECTURE NOTES, A TYPED LETTER, AND TWO SELF-PORTRAITS IN INK AND CRAYON. WELLESLEY AND NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS, C. 1946–1954 The archive comprises: Short stories. Autograph manuscripts and typescripts, 1946–1953 where dated, as follows: 1) "On the Penthouse Roof," autograph manuscript in pencil, 3 1/2 pp., 18 May 1946. 2) "The Mummy's Tomb," autograph manuscript in pencil, 4 pp., 17 May 1946. 3) "Gramercy Park," typescript with a few corrections, 6 pp. [1948]. 4) "The Green Rock," two typescripts, one corrected, 11 and 12 pp. 5) "The International Flavor," two typescripts, one corre...

The Roy Davids' Collection ( catalog description ) auction held by Bonhams earlier this year featured wonderful Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, and even Assia Wevill materials. The prices realized for the documents was quite substantial. I was curious at the time where they would end up… And now we partially know. Several of the auctioned items are now held by Emory University in Atlanta in the Manuscripts and Rare Books Library (MARBL) in the Stuart Rose Literary Collection ( permalink ). This is a fitting place for these materials as Emory holds a massive collection of Ted Hughes papers already. The collection features a substantial sub-series of Sylvia Plath materials (series 3), and in addition there are smaller collections, including  Letters to Assia Wevill , among others. The following are now available for research use with no stated restrictions on access: Box 1 Folder 10: Hughes, Ted, "The Evolution of Sheep in the Fog," by Sylvia Plath, 7 working drafts, cir...

Bonhams London on New Bond Street held "The Roy Davids Collection. Part III. Poetry: Poetical Manuscripts and Portraits of Poets. Second Session (L-Y)" today ( see video with commentary ). In the auction were four lots of Plath material and Plath-related material. I've been tracking the lots since the auction started and the space between updates and hitting refresh felt interminable. Here are the results: Lot 332: MODERN POETS: ELIOT, AUDEN, HUGHES, SPENDER and MACNEICE : PORTRAITS OF T.S. ELIOT, W.H. AUDEN, TED HUGHES, STEPHEN SPENDER AND LOUIS MCNEICE TOGETHER BY MARK GERSON (b. 1921), vintage photograph, silver print, showing the 'Faber Poets' on the stairs at Faber and Faber, 24 Russell Square, signed in pencil on the mount by Gerson and with his stamp on the verso, framed and glazed, size of image 7 ½ x 9 ½ inches (19 x 24 cm), overall size 16 x 17 inches (41 x 43.5 cm), Faber's, 23 June 1960. Estimate: £3,000 - 3,500; US$ 4,700 - 5,400; €3,600 - 4,10...

The following is reproduced from the forthcoming Bonham's auction catalogue for The Roy Davids Collection: Part III. Poetical Manuscripts and Portraits of Poets. First Session (A-K) by permission of Roy Davids. It is published here for the first time, prior to the appearance of the catalogue. Please verify descriptions with the printed/online catalogue just in case any of the information changes. Lot 372 [PLATH, SYLVIA 1932-1963)] and TED HUGHES (1930-1998) THE COMPLETE WORKING PAPERS FOR THE FIRST VERSION OF TED HUGHES'S ESSAY ABOUT SYLVIA PLATH'S POEM, 'THE EVOLUTION OF SHEEP IN FOG,' comprising the autograph manuscript, revised typescript written in the form of a typed and autograph letter signed ('Ted') to Roy Davids as notes for a lecture, with autograph revisions and comments (' This is very hugger mugger - but it covers, with a specific example, the points we talked about at the weekend'; 'Puppet lecturer begins to speak'; '...

"There's never been a poetry sale like it, and I'm sure there won't be another" (Roy Davids) This is to let you know that I am selling my poetry collection, forty years in the making, in 526 lots at Bonhams in London on 10 April (A-K) and 8 May (L-Y) this year. The sale comprises both poetical manuscripts (about 450) and portraits of poets (about 170). There will be a two volume catalogue. The highlights among the manuscripts include: T.S.Eliot, 'The Journey of the Magi'; Sylvia Plath, 'Sheep in Fog'; Auden, 'Stop all the clocks'; Keats, part of the draft of 'I stood tiptoe upon a little hill'; Gerard Manley Hopkins, a draft of 'Binsey Poplars'; Ted Hughes, 'The Thought-Fox'; Rudyard Kipling, 'Recessional'; Robert Lowell, 'Fall 1961'; Siegfried Sassoon, poems from the First World War and the 1920s (including 50 unpublished poems); Christina Rossetti, 'Remember me when I have gone away'; ...

The rare book and manuscript dealer Glenn Horowitz , in New York City, has just posted on their blog a fascinating Sylvia Plath document. The "Class Song - 1950" which Plath (words) co-composed with Robert Blakesley (music) was to be sung upon the occasion of their graduation from high school. In all probability, this is the same document which failed to sell at at 14 July 2009, Sotheby's auction and I hope that it finds a good home before too long. I say in all probability as the link I included in my review of Sotheby's sold lots rudely is no longer working... For those who are interested in tracing other copies of Plath's works, a copy of "Class Song - 1950" is held by the Lilly Library; see Plath mss. II, Box 7, folder 9. Also, Between the Covers Rare Books in New Jersey has for sale now Plath's own copy of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s The King's Henchman . The copy was also formerly Aurelia Plath's, too, quite the provenance! Th...

On Monday, 21 September, I was able to spend a couple of hours at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. Of the vast holdings at the Morgan is a smallish collection of Sylvia Plath books and a rare manuscripts. The books form part of the Carter Burden Collection of American Literature. The manuscripts, on which I have posted a couple of times on this blog ( here and here ), are of 40 or so "juvenile" poems, written between 1937 and the mid-1940s. Previously, I have seen only a black and white photocopy, from microfilm, but on this research visit I was given permission to see the original. Plath illustrated her early journals, which are housed at the Lilly Library (more on Plath and the Lilly later this week!) at Indiana University, but I don't recall seeing many illustrated poems. What a treat this turned out to be. The books I looked at were: The 1972 proof of Winter Trees published by Harper & Row; the 1976 proof of The Bed Book published by Faber ...

The British Library has been blogging about their recent Ted Hughes archive acquisition all year. Helen Broderick is the lucky archivist processing the collection, and she posts pretty regularly about her progress, findings, etc. Plath is mentioned in two posts. The posts are adorned with images throughout that are wonderful to see. As an archivist/librarian myself, I am envious of Ms. Broderick's experience and thankful to her and the British Library for this kind of attention.

The John Rylands University Library at the University of Manchester holds the Critical Quarterly archives, 1958-1989 . Within this collection are some Sylvia Plath related materials. The Critical Quarterly was an important publisher for Sylvia Plath and she both placed a number of poems with them, and edited their 1961 supplement (No. 2), American Poetry Now . The reference code for the collection is GB 133 CQA. The full, online catalogue (finding aid) is online here . Plath related materials can be found in the following series and files: CQA1: Papers relating to Critical Quarterly writers and contributors File 106: Plath, Sylvia ([1961]-18 Oct 1976) Materials include photocopies of typescripts of "Two Campers in Cloud Country" and "On Deck" and 27 poems by various contemporary poets typed by Plath for American Poetry Now, and other materials. In CQA1, there is also a Ted Hughes file (CQA1/1/65), which also contains references to Sylvia Plath. CQA5: Pa...

My only vice is that I can't get enough Plath. In the 14 July 2009, Sotheby's London auction of English Literature, History, Children's Books & Illustrations, there were several Plath items that both sold and failed to sell. The biggest money maker was a first edition of Sylvia Plath's The Colossus (Heinemann, 1960) for £17,500. The copy was signed and inscribed by Plath - on her birthday - to her high school English teacher, Wilbury Crockett. The lot included a Christmas card from 1960 with a note from Plath to Crockett. Also at this sale were the following Plath items: Two early manuscripts of Plath's , which sold for £5,000. Illustrated typescript poem in the form of a handmade "get well" card , which sold for £4,000. Early typescript poem in the form of song lyrics entitled "Class Song - 1950" , which did not sell. Plath's copy of Edna St. Vincent Millay's The King's Henchman: A Play in Three Acts , which did not sell. The li...

Another Plath manuscript formerly for sale was "SYLVIA PLATH VI POEMS. (A.M.S., autographed manuscript signed)." This notebook, described in detail below, sold several years ago. The bookseller recently advised me that it may have gone to an institution in New York, though he is unsure which one it may be. I've searched the catalogs of Cornell, Columbia, and NYU, as well as WorldCat and found nothing. If anyone has worked with or seen this notebook, the Loch Ness of Plath manuscripts, please let me know! Paragraphs added by me. "Wellesley, MA: circa 1944-45, original notebook, signed, ruled pages wire-stitched in original cloth reinforced red paper covers. The title "Sylvia Plath VI Poems" is written in the author's hand on a white label with double ruled red border, and applied to the upper center of the front cover. "The following description is taken from the letter of authenticity which accompanies the notebook: "Sylvia Plath created t...