by Mike

Auction results for the past week (ending March 20) looked much like the previous week, though on a reduced scale. Once again, the most expensive item was a scroll that ran through the typewriter of Jack Kerouac. Last week, it was On the Road. This week, it was Dharma Bums. On the Road has a status as one of the greatest pieces of American literature. Dharma Bums is good, but without the same level of recognition. So Dharma Bums led the price list for the past week at $1,651,000. Nothing wrong with that, but not on the same scale as On the Road's scroll which last week sold for $12,135,000.

Once again, the “Cute Beatle,” Paul McCartney, made the list for handwritten song lyrics. As with Kerouac, it was not his most famous work. Maxwell's Silver Hammer does not get anywhere near the radio play of Hey Jude, which is reflected in their prices. Maxwell sold for $53,340, compared to Hey Jude last week at $1,016,000.

Bob Dylan also was a repeat member at the highest prices, but this was for a lesser type of item. This is for a poster for the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Dylan was just one of many names on this poster, including his “friend” Joan Baez. However, it is more significant than first appears as this was the concert in which Dylan “went electric,” and it angered some of his most fervent supporters who saw it as a sell out. It took in $33,020, unlike his handwritten lyrics for The Times They Are A-Changin which took in over $2.5 million last week.

There is an explanation for these similarities in material. The listed “pop culture” items in both sales came from auctions at Christie's of the Jim Irsay Collection. Irsay had a fortune of roughly $5 billion, including ownership of the Indianapolis Colts NFL football franchise, when he died last year.
 

We find ourselves driven back again to Kerouac and the Beatles as once again we find Keroauc near the top with an early letter he sent to Ed White, dated December 29, 1950. It predates his writing On the Road. He asks, “...what would you like me to write? What kind of book would you like to see come from me at this time? What is happening in the world, and especially in America? Where are we going? What do you think of our generation? What think of death and change? What does a guy like me have to offer in the way of a book to a world in its present state? What is the vision in your heart of what I could do?” Why so many questions? $95,250 worth.

Another letter from Kerouac to White took in $82,550. Written while being treated in a hospital in 1951, Keoruac closes with a reassuring, “Sir, I'm not about to die.” He was right. Keoruac still had 18 years to go. $82,550. Another such letter to White took in $53,340. Kerouac writes, “I've written 86,000 words almost finishing On The Road.”

Theological works never go out of style, even if they are several millennia old. A much later edition of the Bible, printed by Draper in Boston in 1777, sold for $235,410 at John McInnis Auctioneers. A Book of Hours, Use of Paris, from the first quarter of the 16th century, took in the equivalent of $105,450 at Marc van de Wiele Auctions.
 

A historic document signed by King James in 1615 discharging Sir Walter Raleigh from imprisonment was sold at RR Auction. Raleigh was discharged after previous misdeeds to mount an expedition to South America to find a legendary City of Gold. He didn't find the gold, but he did find more trouble. Against his orders, some of his men attacked a Spanish outpost. On his return, the Spanish ambassador pressured King James to reinstate a previous death sentence on Raleigh which, this time, was carried out. This remnant of an earlier, happier event for Raleigh went for $81,251.

Another 98 auctions, give or take, are scheduled for the next weekly period starting today. You can check them out on the calendar by clicking this link: www.rarebookhub.com/auctions/calendar?year=2026&month=3