Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler

CHANDLER, RAYMOND

A charming group of items relating to the dog Grunion and the cat Carmichael. A charming group of items prepared in late 1957 and 1958 comprising a typed poem, letter with manuscript postscript, typescript, and autograph card by Raymond Chandler and two home-made newspapers made in collaboration with Jean Fracasse's children. Always an owner of a cat, the items here all relate to a cat named Carmichael and a dog named Grunion. Some creases and or short tears.

The archive includes:

1) A typed poem on a yellow sheet titled "An Ode in Limerick to a Distinguished Feline named Alastair Carmichael,” signed in type with initials "RC" and dated from Palm Springs in December 1957, the poem is four rhyming verses of five lines each with a few ink corrections by Chandler.

2) A typed note from Ray addressed to "My darling Sybil the Nibble" signed "Ray" in ink, the note regarding his care of Grunion and Carmichael while Sybil is away, and with a three-line autograph post-script: “Carmichael has a sight look of missing someone – probably you. R.”

3) A typed manuscript titled “A Night with Carmichael and Grunion,” on full sheets of onion-skin paper, 2 1/4 pages, signed in type "Raymond Chandler" at the end, the story expanding upon the letter above in describing Chandler's night alone with Grunion and Carmichael

4) Two issues of a homemade newspaper titled “The Carmichael” dated 31 October and 6 November 1958, likely mimeographed copies, the earlier issue with short articles mentioning that Chandler's novel Playback was seen in the window display of a local store and that Ray had smashed his cane on Vincent Fracasse's bicycle; the latter issue with the headline "Ray's Back from Hospital!" and with short articles about how Ray knocked over the T.V. set, the status of the children's braces, and the conclusion of the cane/bicycle incident.

5) A autograph holiday card in Chandler's hand written from Alastair Carmichael (signed "A.C. Esq.") presumably to Sybil with a humorous description of the cat

Together with a box of clipped newspaper cartoons, the box with a note requesting all the cartoons be put back. It is thought these cartoons were meant to amuse adult friends when coping with an illness.

A highly personal archive displaying Raymond Chandler's willingness and great ability to be whimsical with children and encouraging of their creativity. Always humorous and self-deprecating, this lot offers much on Chandler's misadventures when left alone with these family pets. This archive does much to dispel the notion that in his last years, Raymond Chandler lived in a solitary fashion suffering from alcoholism and illness.