Charlie Watts book collection to be offered for sale at auction

[July 11, 2023]  LONDON (Reuters) - Books and jazz memorabilia belonging to late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts will go under the hammer in a two-part sale in September, auction house Christie's said on Monday.

"Charlie Watts: Gentleman, Collector, Rolling Stone – Literature and Jazz" will feature more than 500 lots, with price estimates ranging from 800 pounds to 300,000 pounds ($1,023 - $383,730).

Members of the Rolling Stones (L-R) Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards arrive for the "Exhibitionism" opening night gala at the Saatchi Gallery in London, Britain April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo

Among the highlights is a copy of "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, with a dedication to screenwriter Harold Goldman inscribed inside the front cover to "the original Gatsby". It has a price estimate of 200,000 pounds.

Also on sale are rare editions of books by George Orwell, James Joyce, Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.

Christie's described the literary lots as "an unparalleled library of modern first edition books, the finest and highest value collection of its kind to come to auction in over twenty years".

Watts, who joined the Stones in 1963, died in 2021, aged 80.

Among his jazz memorabilia being auctioned are saxophonist Charlie Parker's Associated Musicians Membership Card and an annotated printed score for "Porgy and Bess" by composer George Gershwin.

“Charlie was the heartbeat of the Rolling Stones for nearly 60 years, he was totally unique and devoted to jazz and literature from boyhood," Watts' band mates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood said in a statement.

"He was the quintessential English gentleman and his absence is a great loss for us all. We miss him hugely."

The flagship auction will take place in London on Sept. 28, while an online sale will run from Sept. 15-29, Christie's said.

($1 = 0.7818 pounds)

(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian, editing by Ed Osmond)

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