Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
[PHOTOGRAPHS]
Three John Engstead portraits of Raymond Chandler. Three vintage black and white photographs depicting a well-dressed Raymond Chandler with his cat Taki in half or three-quarter length smoking in front of his books. Each 10 x 8 inches (25 x 20 cm), each stamped on the verso "Photograph/by/John Engstead/Beverly Hills." One with a corner crease with small losses, other creases, light handling wear, and minor silvering.
Classic author "dust jacket" style portraits of Raymond Chandler by the legendary Hollywood photographer John Engstead. These photographs were likely taken in the 1940s.
Sold for $512
Estimated at $200 - $300
Includes Buyer's Premium
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
[PHOTOGRAPHS]
Three John Engstead portraits of Raymond Chandler. Three vintage black and white photographs depicting a well-dressed Raymond Chandler with his cat Taki in half or three-quarter length smoking in front of his books. Each 10 x 8 inches (25 x 20 cm), each stamped on the verso "Photograph/by/John Engstead/Beverly Hills." One with a corner crease with small losses, other creases, light handling wear, and minor silvering.
Classic author "dust jacket" style portraits of Raymond Chandler by the legendary Hollywood photographer John Engstead. These photographs were likely taken in the 1940s.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, Dec 6, 2024
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle held a successful auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps onDecember 6, 2024 showcased is a wonderful diversity of Americana, maps, autographs, early books and landmarks of literature and science.
Highlighting the sale was the first edition of Spinoza's Tractatus theologico-politicus from 1670 that soared to $70,350. Spinoza’s Tractatus is his only work published during his lifetime and remains his most significant. It presents a clear theory of natural right, asserting that the love of God leads to love for others. The state exists to ensure liberty, not oppression, with justice, wisdom, and toleration as key. Influential to thinkers like Blake and Goethe, it shaped Romanticism.
The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection offered the largest trove of unpublished Raymond Chandler stories, poetry, letters, books and personal artifacts to come to market. Best known for his Philip Marlowe detective novels including The Big Sleep (1939) and Farewell, My Lovely (1940) and as screenwriter of film noir classics such as Double Indemnity (1944) and The Blue Dahlia (1946), Raymond Chandler is considered one of the top writers in the hardboiled fiction genre alongside Dashiell Hammett and James Cain. Held for decades, the archive belonged to Jean Fracasse [later Vounder-Davis] who was first hired in January 1957 as Chandler's personal secretary but quickly became his close friend, confidant, fiancé and muse to whom he dedicated his last book.
Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141 ext 248, Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext 234, or Noah Goldrach at ext 226, or email Books@Doyle.com