The Tuning Fork at Auction

On December 13, Sotheby's will be auctioning a suite of original pen and ink drawings by Edward Gorey from The Tuning Fork. Curiously, this suite of drawings is not the final published artwork that appears in Amphigorey Also (published in 1983), or in the first edition of this title (published by the Fantod Press in 1990). The drawings being auctioned are not sketches, but rather are completely finished drawings. After checking with Sotheby's, it was confirmed that this suite of 14 drawings plus title page and page of lettering is unpublished. The photo below was provided by Sotheby's Auction House, New York.
The illustrations being auctioned are dated on the reverse, and were made between 10 August 1966 and 19 October 1966, long before the first publication of this work in 1983. On his "A" collection books, Mr. Gorey always dated each individual drawing on the reverse when he started and completed them. He must have intended this to be a final set of artwork, but changed his mind. It would be interesting to know what the dates on the reverse of the final artwork in the Gorey archives are.
Obviously, Mr. Gorey redrew the entire book before publication. It is interesting to compare the earlier drawings with the later illustrations. The composition of the art has not changed at all, but the detailing of the published art is more refined. In the photos above and below, the Sotheby's art is on the left and the published art is on the right. The differences, while clear when viewed side by side, are subtle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!
from Goreyana

The Black Doll

The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust has come out with a new Edward Gorey stuffed toy - The Black Doll. These wonderful felt dolls come in a fully illustrated box and are limited to 2000 pieces. Dolls can be acquired through the Edward Gorey House online store (www.edwardgoreyhouse.org).

The dolls (and box) are quite a bit larger than I expected them to be - each doll is a full 14" in length. Created in black felt and stuffed with a plush fiberfill, they can be bent to sit on a book shelf or amongst a collection of other Gorey dolls. I am showing the doll next to a first edition copy of The Black Doll to give a sense of scale.

Auction News

On Tuesday, November 10, 2011, Swann Galleries in New York City held an auction of Literature: Art, Press & Illustrated Books that included a nice selection of works by Edward Gorey. While this auction did not create the buzz of Swann's 2010 auction (see my posting from October 17, 2010), the 14 lots of Gorey books included limited edition titles as well as signed first trade editions and ephemera. Bidding was strong for each item offered, and no lot remained unsold.

More Graham Gallery Art

In 1974, Edward Gorey had the first of two gallery exhibitions at the Graham Gallery in New York City (see my postings from June 30, July 3 & 6, 2009, and March 9, 2010). A recent catalog from Bromer Booksellers features another piece of art from this exhibition.
Listed in the 1974 exhibition catalog as item #3, Cell, this wonderful image shows a two part tableau with a child being (presumably) carried away by a flying creature. I have had the pleasure of viewing this piece in person, and the detailing and colors are quite remarkable.