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

CHANDLER, RAYMOND

An extensive archive of unpublished drafts of fantasy stories. A group of drafts of stories written by Raymond Chandler as early as 1921 and six lists of titles linking these stories into a collection. Together nearly 800 typed pages, many with manuscript annotations, additions, and titles. All but two of the drafts are typed on Chandler’s preferred half-sheets of 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches (21.5 x 14 cm) and are typed in mostly black but with many in purple typewriter ink. The earliest date is present on a draft of “The Disappearing Duke” (May 1921); dates are also present on drafts of “The Four Gods of Bloon” with one signed and dated in pencil “R.T. Chandler July 27^th, 1922” and two other draft dated 1926 in type. Some of the materials originally held in an old mailing envelope addressed to Chandler on which he has written in pencil "Odds & Ends of Long Ago." The archive was gifted to Sybil and Jean Fracasse [later Vounder-Davis] in 1957. Very well preserved overall but with signs of handling and wear including short tears and marginal losses, edgewear, folds, paper-clip rust. While much effort to order the pages and collate the drafts has been made, they are not fully collated and read for completeness and some drafts may be incomplete (some noted below).

Comprising:

THE TITLE SHEETS

Chandler has provided lists of titles on 6 sheets or small slips, of these two are typed and four are in pencil or pen. It seems Chandler was envisioning a collection of about 12 stories as on two of the slips he has provided a breakdown:

“Mystery 2

Modern Fantasy 3

Pure Fantasy 4

Pure Realism 1

Mixed Fantasy & Realism 2/

[totaling] 12”

On another slip, Chandler has written out the twelve titles in pencil:

“The Twenty-Fifth Hour

The Last of the Dragons

The Edge of the West

The Disappearing Duke

The Hotel Picanteur

The Four Gods of Bloon

An Idyl

The Rubies of Marmelon

The Ghost in the Garden

The Bronze Door

The Carsbrook Mystery

The Vale of Hamatu”

Of the titles listed above, this archive includes drafts, many with substantial revisions and rewritten drafts, of half of them being: "The Last of the Dragons," "The Edge of the West," "The Disappearing Duke," "The Four Gods of Bloon," "The Rubies of Marmelon," "The Carsbrook Mystery," and a portion of a draft with a varying title of "The Vale of Hamatu." It is worth noting that only "The Bronze Door" was published by Chandler during his lifetime (and is not present here).

THE DRAFTS

First binder:

-“The Carsbrook Mystery.” Approximately 40 pages with pencil correction in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Four Gods of Bloon.” The earliest draft is 30 pages and is pencil signed at the end “R.J. Chandler July 27^th 1922.”

-“The Four Gods of Bloon.” A 24-page draft, and a group of 16 pages, all in black ink on half sheets, both drafts with first pages headed with the story’s title and ending with initials and date “R.T.C. 4/13/26.”

-“The Four Gods of Bloon. A Parable of the Fates.” 3 pages in black ink on half sheets, with the title and numbering in red crayon.

--“The Four Gods of Bloon.” Four short sections titled variously “The Four Gods of Bloon” or “The Gods of Bloon,” 6 larger typed sheets, these housed in an envelope postmarked August 1945 and addressed to Raymond Chandler at his Drexel Avenue, Los Angeles address from James Sandoe at the University of Colorado at Boulder library.

-“The Edge of the West.” There are three drafts present. The longest is approximately 53 pages, with sections I-IV. The second 4 pages, headed “1.” The third is 2 pages, headed “1.”

-“The Edge of the West.” An approximately 36 typed draft of the story on full-sized sheets, unfortunately lacking at least the first two leaves, brad-bound at top, the sheets 11 x 8 1/2 inches (28 x 22 cm). Incomplete as noted, tear to first leaf costing text, creases and short tears. Present here also is an old mailing envelope from Whitey Schafer (photographer) to Chandler on which is written the title "Edge of the West" which possibly originally held this draft.

-“The Emeralds of Innifrath.” 23 standard-size typed pages, plus one leaf with possibly unrelated text, in black ink. The last leaf with losses.

-“A Bedtime Story. The Lord of the Castle of Innifrath.” 30 pages in purple typewriter ink on half sheets.

-“The Too Beautiful Land.” 18 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Too Beautiful Land.” 21 pages in black ink on half sheets, this under a sheet with “Fragments” penciled in Chandler’s hand

-“The Too Beautiful Land.” 5 pages in purple ink on half sheets, a fragment.

Second binder:

-“Lucius Pringle in Fairyland.” 12 pages in black ink on half sheets, with the title added in pencil crossing out the title “The Too Beautiful Land,” other pencil correction.

-“Lucius Pringle in Fairyland.” 11 pages in black ink on half sheet, with pencil correction.

-“Dunsayesque.” 15 pages, possibly fragmentary, in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Star Bridge. 12 pages in purple ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. Part 1.” 15 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. 1.” 16 pages in black ink on half sheets, a fragment.

The Disappearing Duke. 1.” 20 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. 2.” 9 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. 2.” 10 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. 3.” 11 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. Part 3.” 18 pages in black ink on half sheets, a fragment.

-“The Disappearing Duke. 4.” 5 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. 4.” 4 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“A Last Word About Dukes.” 13 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“Atmosphere.” 8 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-[“Atmosphere.”] 11 pages in purple ink on half sheets.

-“Rubies of Marmelon.” 43 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“Rubies of Marmelon.” 7 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-[11 misc. pages with “Rubies of Marmelon” heading; possibly also part of “The Disappearing Duke.”]

-“The Last of the Dragons.” 10 pages in purple ink on half sheets.

-“The Last of the Dragons.” Title in manuscript crossing out “He Rode Upon A Dragon.”10 pages in purple ink on half sheets.

-“The Last of the Dragons.” 3 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“How Beldar Came To Hamatu.” 18 pages in black ink on half sheets (possibly lacking last or final leaves)

-“The Man Whose Father Was A Magician.” 43 pages in black ink on half sheets

Third binder:

-“The Disappearing Duke. 4.” 14 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-[“Rubies of Marmelon.”] Title from context. 25 pages in black and purple ink on half sheets.

-[“The Disappearing Duke]. 2.” 26 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. 3.” 11 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. 1.” 14 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. 1.” 13 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke.” 53 miscellaneous pages in black ink on half sheets, the title added in pencil crossing out “Story of a Young Man Whose Father was a Magician. ”

-“The Disappearing Duke. 1.” 10 pages in black ink on half sheets.

-“The Disappearing Duke. 1.” 18 pages in purple ink on half sheets.

-“A Last Word About Dukes.” 5 pages in black ink on half sheets, without last leaves.

RAYMOND CHANDLER'S UNPUBLISHED FANTASY STORIES

The present archive is the largest group of unpublished Raymond Chandler stories to come to market. Best known as a writer of detective fiction, Chandler was a versatile writer and, particularly in the 1920s and 30s, very capably tried his hand in other genres. He held fantasy stories, particularly the distinctive late 19^th and early 20th-century English style of fantasy stories, in high regard. One story here is dated 1921 and others 1926, the period following his World War I service when Chandler first took the job at the Dabny Oil Syndicate. During the early part of this period, Chandler lived with his mother in Los Angeles and married Cissy Pascal upon her death in 1924. Raymond Chandler infrequently dated or signed these early drafts but they were not ignored - he read, corrected, and rewrote them sometimes several times. Present are numerous drafts of stories with intriguing titles such as “The Disappearing Duke” and “The Rubies of Marmelon” and many others totaling nearly 800 pages on Chandler’s preferred half sheets of typing paper and purple ink.

These stories remained top of mind to Chandler even as success came in 1939 with the publication of his first novel, The Big Sleep, when he was 44 years old. In The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler is reproduced a key document relating to these drafts, a typed “plan for the future” prepared by Cissy Chandler with Ray in 1939 provides a plan for the next few years. Alongside detective and dramatic novels, Chandler planned: “A set of six or seven fantastic stories, some written, some thought of, perhaps one brand new. Each a little different in tone and effect from the others. The ironic gem, The Bronze Door, the perfect fantastic atmosphere story The Edge of the West, the spooky story, Grandma’s Boy, the farcical story, The Disappearing Duke, the allegory ironic, The Four Gods of Bloon, the pure fairytale The Rubies of Marmelon” (See McShane, Frank, ed. The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler, 2015 edition, p. 9). Of the titles listed in 1939, only "The Bronze Door" was published during Chandler’s lifetime. Four of the others are present here along with many others.

Further evidence connecting these stories comes in a late letter written by Raymond Chandler on June 19th, 1956 in which he wrote: “I love fantastic stories and have sketches of perhaps a dozen that I should love to see in print. They are not science fiction. My idea of the fantastic story - possibly a little out of date - is that everything is completely realistic except for the basic impossible premise. Both of those I have mentioned are concerned with vanishing or invisibility. I have one about a man who got into fairyland but they wouldn't let him stay. Another about a princess who traded her tongue for a ruby and then was sorry and it had to be retrieved. One about a young society novelist whose father was a magician and kept making a duke disappear so his son could make love to the duchess. I may add that the duke took it with good grace (a joke) although he was rather annoyed. That sort of thing. Quite rare nowadays” (See McShane, Frank, ed. Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler, Columbia University Press, 1981, p. 401).

The present drafts offer much insight and information on Chandler’s working method as he honed his craft early on. Without a doubt, the voice that delivered the Philip Marlowe novels is present here, although in fantastical stories about fairylands, disappearing dukes, rubies, and other treasures. As Raymond Chandler's reputation as a top writer of the 20th century has only grown, the present archive of unpublished material is certainly worthy of institutional interest.

Please note no copyright is conveyed with the sale of this lot and photography will be limited upon personal examination. All photographs and descriptions in this catalogue are the property of Doyle and may only be used with written permission. Some image text may be purposefully blurred.