Tennessee Williams Manuscripts
GUEST:
I brought in some Tennessee Williams manuscripts, some with handwritten notes. I'm from New Orleans, Louisiana, so Tennessee Williams is a big deal there, and in my family. My grandfather actually once met him in a bar, and I think from there tended to follow him and his work. My father went to an auction to see if he could pick up some Tennessee Williams lots and got really lucky. He had been there, and they had been selling really high, and they called a break in the auction. And instead of getting up to go to the restroom or anything, he just sat there, and they actually started it early, so he pretty much bid against himself.
APPRAISER:
These manuscripts are really nice. They're typed scripts. So you have two manuscripts that have hand corrections in them, and then you have two manuscripts that are just typed scripts. Now, there are a few issues about them. They're not complete. I'll also point out that there is on one of them some condition issues, but they're still legible, which is very important. Do you remember what he paid for them?
GUEST:
For the whole collection, around $1,000.
APPRAISER:
Those hand corrections really give you an idea of what the thoughts were, and it adds a lot. And to a collector, it adds a lot of value. Now, the two manuscripts that have handwritten corrections are probably $3,000, $4,000 each, to be conservative. The two manuscripts that don't have the handwritten corrections, around $1,000 each. And this is on a retail value.
GUEST:
Well, thank you very much. I appreciate it.
APPRAISER:
Thank you, they're a lot of fun.
GUEST:
Thank you.
Appraisal Details
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