Signed ‘Great Gatsby’ first edition to be offered in auction of Charlie Watts’ book collection

Amarachi Orie, CNN

(CNN) — A collection of first-edition books and jazz memorabilia belonging to the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts will go up for auction in September.

More than 500 items, including a first edition of “The Great Gatsby” with inscriptions by the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, will be on offer in a sale in London on September 28 and an online sale between September 15 and 29, according to auction house Christie’s.

“Charlie Watts holds a unique position within music history and Christie’s is proud to pay tribute to his extraordinary achievements and multifaceted legacy,” Christie’s specialists Benedict Winter and Mark Wiltshire said in a press statement Monday.

“Charlie built his collection of modern literature and jazz with passion, intelligence and dedication, and this two-part auction celebrates his distinguished collecting taste,” they added.

The musician, who died in August 2021, had what Christie’s describes as the “rarest obtainable editions” of books by renowned authors such as George Orwell, Agatha Christie and James Joyce. They are expected to sell for between £800 and £300,000 ($1,020 to $383,000).

The collection also includes objects that once belonged to jazz legends, including Watts’ favorite saxophonist, the late Charlie Parker, according to the release.

Parker, about whom Watts wrote a children’s book, led the development of the modern jazz form bebop, and bidders will have the chance to get their hands on his personal possessions, including his Associated Musicians Membership Card and a pair of his 1952 Down Beat awards.

Scores belonging to American composer Irving Berlin will also be on offer, along with George Gershwin’s annotated printed score for his 1935 opera “Porgy and Bess.” This is expected to sell for up to £15,000 ($19,000).

“Charlie was my dearest old friend since early childhood and in our early teens we both developed a lifelong love of jazz,” said Dave Green, a British jazz musician and lifelong friend of Watts. “Charlie of course became a member of the greatest rock band in the world but his love of jazz never left him.”

“His collection of jazz memorabilia which he started in his teens and built up during his years with the Stones is truly astonishing; it reflects his enduring love of the music and the musicians who made it,” Green added.

Highlights from the collection will go on display in Los Angeles between July 25 and 29 and New York between September 5 and 8. There will be a public pre-sale exhibition in London from September 20 to 27.

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