The Gorey Podcast from the BBC

Spend three quarters of an hour exploring a deep dive on the life and work of Edward Gorey. The podcast is peppered with a veritable who's who from the Gorey universe. Listen to it HERE.

A Gorey Tale from Rome

Fans of Edward Gorey can turn up anywhere, even in the Vatican. About fifteen years ago I was corresponding with Cuthbert Thambimbuttu (1945 - 2019), an insatiable book collector known to many dealers, fellow collectors, and authors as "Tubby" about all things Edward Gorey. Mr. Thambimbuttu was a devoted and persistent collector of signed editions by authors he admired and respected. Edward Gorey was among the authors whose works he sought out.

In an email dated February 21, 2011, Mr. Thambimbuttu told me an origin story about the image Edward Gorey created that has become known as The John Locke Quote. John Locke (1632 - 1704) was an English philosopher and physician whose work and views have influenced writers, philosophers and political thinkers to this day. 

The quote, hand lettered by Edward Gorey, tells of the perils of books in general, and the moral pitfalls that befall anyone who comes into contact with them professionally. Illustrated with a witty color image of an obsessive book collector clutching a volume just after he has caused the previous owner to fall over the edge of a cliff, this delightful image was printed as an oversized folded stationary card by The Gotham Book Mart. The 7" x 8.5" card is printed on regular paper stock and was issued without envelopes. 

Mr. Thambibuttu related that Andreas Brown (1933 - 2020), owner of The Gotham Book Mart and one of the original trustees of The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, had been sent a copy of the Locke quote by Fr. William Sheehan (1937 - 2018). Fr. Sheehan was originally from New York and in 1986 had become the Director of the Incunabula Catalog Department - Printed Books at the Vatican Library in Rome. Fr. Sheehan had contacted Mr. Brown to see if Edward Gorey could "make anything fitting" using the quote as inspiration. The stationary card was Edward Gorey's response to the request.

Auction News

The Fine Books and Manuscripts auction held at Bohnam's Auctions in New York City on Tuesday April 8th included three pieces of original illustration art by Edward Gorey. (The image above is a detail from the third piece discussed below).

The first of the three is an illustration from Hauntings, Tales of the Supernatural, a collection of stories published in 1968 by Doubleday. The artwork shows three vignette's for John Collier's 1940 short story Thus I Refute Beelzy. The individual drawings are not only beautifully and precisely drawn but are artfully arranged on the page to indicate the story progression. This piece of art sold for $5632.00 (including the buyer's premium).

The second piece illustrates a poem by Felice Holman titled Finding Out from her 1970 book, At the Top of My Voice and Other Poems. This sweet image shows a young girl going to look at a flower. On closer inspection she discovers an ant, and the two pause to contemplate one another. The delicately drawn image sold for $5376.00 (including buyer's premium).

The final piece in this sale is a true rarity. Edward Gorey published selected images from Leaves From A Mislaid Album in First Person magazine in 1960. The full collection of 17 single images with no text was eventually published as a limited edition primary work in 1972 by The Gotham Book Mart. The collection of loose drawings were packaged in a folded portfolio housed in an illustrated envelope. 

Edward Gorey made it a point of not selling original artwork from his primary publications. During his lifetime, Mr. Gorey only sold art from two primary works - The Broken Spoke and Leaves From A Mislaid Album. While quite a few pieces from The Broken Spoke have appeared in collections or have been offered on the market over the years, this is one of only three pieces from Leaves that have been offered for sale (according to my research and knowledge). 

Expressively rendered by the artist in his "loose" painterly style (pen & ink line work with areas of painted wash for dramatic effect), this exquisite Femme Fatale sold for $14,080.00 (including buyer's premium).
 

The Centennary Exhibition at The Edward Gorey House

The Edward Gorey House opens for the season on Thursday April 10th with Concealing the Art. The show delves into the repetitive themes that appear in Gorey's art throughout his career, often without comment or explanation by the artist. The show runs through December 28th, 2025. For more information on the exhibit, The House, and membership, visit https://www.edwardgoreyhouse.org/pages/2025-exhibit

 

An Edward Gorey Theatrical Exhibition

It matters not which coast you live on or if you reside somewhere inbetween, 2025 is the year to find rare and unusual treasures by Edward Gorey on display. The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco is presenting Backstage With Edward Gorey, A Centennial Exhibition, which runs from Saturday April 5, 2025 through August 10, 2025.

The exhibition will feature original artwork, posters, and ephemera  related to Edward Gorey's theatrical career from the personal collection of Carol Verburg. Ms. Verburg was Mr. Gorey's theatrical collaborator and friend in the 1990's and she produced many of the theatrical entertainments he created. The exhibition will include many of Ms. Verburg's personal treasures that she featured in her book The Theatrical Adventures of Edward Gorey (published 2024 by Chronicle Books).

 For more information about the exhibit and the Cartoon Art Museum, visit, https://www.cartoonart.org/backstage-with-edward-gorey

 

 

A Gorey Exhibition in Texas

As part of the yearlong celebrations honoring the Edward Gorey Centennial, there will be an exhibition at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Featuring pieces from collector Patrice Miller's extensive Edward Gorey collection, the exhibit promises to showcase many rarely seen works by the artist/author. The exhibition runs from April 10th through September 17th at the Cushing Memorial Library. Ms. Miller also publishes unique artist book bindings and re-bindings through her Aredian Press which has featured a collection of works by Edward Gorey.

For more information on the exhibition, visit https://library.tamu.edu/news/2025/03/Edward_Gorey

The Edward Gorey Trust's Centennial Birthday Party

On Saturday February 22, 2025 The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust threw a once in a lifetime party in honor of Edward Gorey's 100th birthday. This spectacular event was attended by more than 120 people with connections to Mr. Gorey, each of whom were eager to celebrate his memory and share personal recollections and anecdotes.

The event took place from 8pm to 11pm at the Raines Law Room at The William, an inspired choice of venue that appeared to spring from one of Edward Gorey's elaborate rooms in his book The West Wing. The William is located just around the corner from the apartment where Mr. Gorey lived for years. 

Unusual floral arrangements by Emily Thompson Flowers added a patina of faded gentility to the space, including the above extravaganza that greeted guests as they arrived in the front entrance hall. Throughout the evening, a turn into a room would lead to an encounter with an old friend or a new Gorey acquaintance.

Keeping an eye open to explore the nooks and crannies, guests could view pieces of original art, hand made puppets, and set pieces by Edward Gorey in glass fronted cases. 

Themed cocktails were served throughout the evening as were delicious hors d'oeuvres. The signature cocktail of the night was Theoda's Pearls, a Hendrick's Gin based libation that slipped down the throat like Theoda sinking in the ocean (Theoda is the heroine of Edward Gorey's 1990 volume The Tuning Fork).

Artist Jeremy Nguyen delighted partygoers with his spot-on pen and ink caricature portraits, deftly created in a few short minutes as the sitter relaxed in a corner of the front room.

The guests arrived attired with sartorial elegance inspired by Edward Gorey's works. 

Bats of all shapes and sizes fluttered about, adorning the flowing dresses, stylish suits and perfectly coiffed hairstyles of the guests. Each room became a living tribute worthy of the opening sequence from the PBS program Mystery! with spirited conversation and laughter replacing moaning sighs.

A fashion highlight of the evening occurred when Clifford Ross appeared in one of Edward Gorey's beloved fur coats. Edward Gorey had the extra large full length coyote coat dyed yellow and lined in yellow plaid.

I was one of three guests (that I know of) who attended wearing an Edward Gorey "Ring of Power". Clifford Ross and myself wore one of Mr. Gorey's personal rings. Anne Bromer donned a petite ring that Edward Gorey gifted to her. The ring had belonged to Gorey's mother Helen and he commented on the fact that Ms. Bromer was probably the only person he knew that the ring would fit.

As the evening progressed, live music was provided in one of the back rooms by Papa Vega's Dream Shadows, a talented ensemble with an eclectic repertoire that provided the perfect atmospheric background throughout the evening.

The proceedings came to a climax as special guest artists Patti Smith and Jesse Paris Smith performed songs and a reading of Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies with musical accompaniment. Patti Smith regaled the crowd with her own story of meeting Edward Gorey in the 1960's when she worked at Scribner's Books, and her encouraging him to contact Andreas Brown of The Gotham Book Mart as a possible venue to sell his books.

(Cake photo courtesy Robert Greskovic)

The festivities were capped when an absurdly tall, five tiered birthday cake was presented to the assembled throng. Created by Danielle Konya of Vegan Treats bakery, the design of the cake was inspired by Edward Gorey's illustration from A Very Fine Clock. After a champagne toast to Mr. Gorey, the delicious cake was cut and passed to the party goers.

As the evening drew to its inevitable denouement, guests were presented with a limited edition program as a tangible remembrance of a perfect evening of celebration.