Thurbers Auctioned At Christie’s
Bidding has ended for the three lots of Thurber drawings that were part of the William Reese Collection. All three lots exceeded their estimates.
Lot 423:”Price realised”: $17,640.00…Eight drawings, including the outstanding, “I don’t want any part of it!”
Lot 424: “Price realised”: $16,380.00…15 drawings for “The Middle-Aged Man On The Flying Trapeze”
Lot 425: “Price realised”: $6,930.00…Three books (one by Thurber, one by Thurber & White, and one by E.B. White), all inscribed, all with drawings…White’s includes a drawing by him; the other two books include Thurber drawings. Here’s one of them:
And here’s the other:
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James Thurber’s A-Z Spill entry:
James Thurber Born, Columbus, Ohio, December 8, 1894. Died 1961, New York City. New Yorker work: 1927 -1961, with several pieces run posthumously. According to the New Yorker’s legendary editor, William Shawn, “In the early days, a small company of writers, artists, and editors — E.B. White, James Thurber, Peter Arno, and Katharine White among them — did more to make the magazine what it is than can be measured.”
Key cartoon collection: The Seal in the Bedroom and Other Predicaments (Harper & Bros., 1932). Key anthology (writings & drawings): The Thurber Carnival (Harper & Row, 1945). There have been a number of Thurber biographies. Burton Bernstein’s Thurber (Dodd, Mead, 1975) and Harrison Kinney’s James Thurber: His Life and Times (Henry Holt & Co., 1995) are essential. Website