Auction News

The Fine Books and Manuscripts auction held at Bohnamn's Auctions in New York City on Tuesday April 8th included three pieces of original illustration art by Edward Gorey.

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, 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.

 

Edward Gorey's Centennial Birthday Week!

 Happy Birthday Edward Gorey!

Saturday February 22, 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of Edward Gorey's birth. Take a moment this week to enjoy your favorite book by Mr. Gorey. Celebrate this extraordinary artist by introducing a friend to his works by sharing your favorite book with them.

My favorite work by Edward Gorey is The Epiplectic Bicycle. Over the years, I have gifted copies of this extraordinary work to many of my friends.

Apologies to Mr. Gorey for making him wear the silly Birthday Crown, but you only turn 100 once!

From Ted to Tom, The Illustrated Envelopes of Edward Gorey

From Ted to Tom, The Illustrated Envelopes of Edward Gorey is an illustrated glimpse into Edward Gorey's friendship with Tom Fitzharris. The book reproduces each of the 50 hand painted envelopes Mr. Gorey sent to Mr. Fitzharris between July 8, 1974 and July 26, 1975. Excerpts from the enclosed letters appear alongside enclosures from the missives. 

Tom Fitzharris met Edward Gorey after purchasing one of the works Gorey exhibited at his Graham Gallery exhibition (April 23 through May 18, 1974). The style and variety of the envelope art shown in From Ted to Tom is a visual extension of the works Edward Gorey created for the exhibition, but with the added depth of personal references in the paintings. A friendship was established that inspired not only the illustrated envelopes, but also L'Heure Bleue, a book published by Edward Gorey in 1975. 

The hand lettered enclosures are thought provoking quotes from authors and artists. At the end of the book, Mr. Fitzharris details many of the visual and written references from the missives.

During the 1970's Edward Gorey spent the summer months rooming with his extended family at their home on Cape Cod and would return to his apartment in New York City when the New York City Ballet season commenced. Tom Fitzharris would visit the Cape and many of the summer letters reference these visits in their visual blandishments. According to the notes at the back of the book, the above envelope was inspired when Mr. Gorey was driving and saw what appeared to be a boat oar floating in mid air. It turned out that the oar was affixed to the porch of a home, but the image of a floating oar stuck with the artist.

There has long been curiosity about these extraordinary envelopes. As early as 2002 a selection of six were featured in a New Yorker article (with Mr. Fitzharris's name altered). The Edward Gorey House also displayed a selection around this time. From then until this publication the envelopes were mentioned on occasion but were rarely, if ever seen.

Edward Gorey had been elaborately decorating letters to family and friends since the 1940's and these communications often featured paintings on the envelopes. It is not surprising that the letters were saved and after his death in April 2000 a number of these extraordinary pieces began to be shared by the recipients. Peter Neumeyer published his collection of letters in Floating Worlds, The Letters of Edward Gorey and Peter Neumeyer (Pomegranate 2011). The Neumeyer letters were written for roughly one year beginning in September 1968. Floating Worlds shows the illustrated envelopes but focuses on the content of the letters.

From Ted to Tom has been carefully and beautifully designed, presenting each of the 50 numbered envelopes in order. Edward Gorey enjoyed sending and receiving letters and postcards in the mail. This form of interaction between people is unfortunately dying away as electronic communications have made instant messaging the norm. What will future generations have to ponder of today's communications between people?

Sopping Thurday Lettered Copy Sales Prospectus

The Sopping Thursday by Edward Gorey was published in 1970 by The Gotham Book Mart to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the celebrated emporium. This was the first of many titles by Mr. Gorey to be published by GBM. 

The Sopping Thursday came out as a limited edition of 300 signed/numbered copies and 26 signed/lettered copies. The 300 numbered copies were published in stiff wrappers and signed/numbered by Mr. Gorey. It was the 26 lettered copies that set this edition apart from anything that Edward Gorey had previously published. It is unknown if the idea for this deluxe edition came from Andreas Brown or from Gorey himself, but it is clear that the artist wanted to create something memorable for the store's milestone anniversary.

Each of the 26 lettered copies was specially bound in hardcover, slipcased and was accompanied by an original drawing with a corresponding letter. The letter/limitation are in the lower right hand corner of each drawing together with Edward Gorey's signature in initial form. This was the first time that Mr. Gorey produced a Deluxe Edition for one of his books. With the publication of Amphigorey two years later, the artist would produce another Deluxe Edition, this time with 50 numbered copies, each accompanied by a piece of original artwork. My copy of The Sopping Thursday is letter M and is shown in the first photo.

To advertise the publication of this very special limited edition, The Gotham Book Mart held an exhibition featuring the 26 pieces of art created to accompany each book. The exhibit ran from November 20 through December 12, just in time for Christmas gift giving. The publication price for a lettered copy of the book with the accompanying art was $75.00. In the 1990's it was not unusual for a lettered copy of a new Gorey book to be offered by GBM for $125.00. These of course, had no original art included.

With the edition not selling quite as robustly as Andreas Brown anticipated, a sales brochure was created to boost sales. The drawings were xeroxed and 15 brochure sets were created to generate interest from perspective clients. Each of these sets consists of 26 full sized xeroxes of the complete suite of artwork stapled together with the gallery announcement card on top. Each set is numbered in red ink 1/15, 2/15, etc. on the announcement card.

This past year I was able to acquire copy 15/15 which came the collection of the late George Bixby, founder of the Albodoncani Press. This copy is inscribed to Mr. Bixby and signed by Edward Gorey, both on the numbered announcement card and on the first drawing in the suite.

The complete collection of artwork created for this deluxe edition has only been gathered together once for the 1970 exhibition at The Gotham Book Mart. Fortunately for fans and scholars, the art did not sell out and Andreas Brown made the 15 sales prospectus brochures. Even these rare brochures are so seldom seen that it wasn't until collector Sam Speigel photographed and sent me the combined images collaged together on three pages that all the art was again seen in its entirety. The advantage of the brochure is that a collector could assess and evaluate the individual pieces of art when selecting which number to purchase.

The brochure presents a slightly misleading representation of the artwork because the pieces were Xeroxed in black and white and the pieces were created in two colors of ink. In the above image the original art is on the left and the brochure xerox is on the right. The figures are drawn in black ink while the rain is rendered in a light grey ink. The Xerox significantly changes the feel of the original art, emboldening the line quality of the drawings. On the original art the light grey rain softens each drawing and endows the piece with a subtle flavor that can only be experienced by viewing the original art in person. This is truly a masterpiece suite of drawings.

In Edward Gorey's typically enigmatic fashion, the suite of drawings at first feels disjointed and rambling. As in his 1965 book The West Wing the captionless drawings become a story that unfolds in the readers mind as they turn from one drawing to the next. Rain, and the inconvenience of rain, is the main feature in this suite. Edward Gorey understood city rain and, after spending time with these drawings one gets the claustrophobic feel of a week of steady rain in New York City where the only relief is to go indoors. On visiting GBM one rainy day in April in the 1990's, manager Gina Guy remarked to me that she hated rainy days in the city because she was tall and was constantly batting umbrellas away from her face.

The first drawing of the suite is an homage to The Gotham Book Mart and to Andreas Brown. The initials AB and GBM appear in the decorative ironwork of the weather vane that the cat is flying past, Mary Poppins style. It is fortunate that Mr. Brown made a record of this remarkable suite of drawings, but unfortunate that the record is Xeroxes. But was this possible without preparing for expensive full color reproduction?

The technology of the time would not have allowed for a two color scan of the suite of images. When creating the images for The Sopping Thursday Edward Gorey created two pen and ink drawings for each page in the book - one for the black printing and one for the grey. The book drawings do not exist as a single image except when they are printed. The Deluxe Edition drawings are exquisitely rendered individual works of art.

Goreymania - A New Collecting Website

Edward Gorey was born in 1925 and his centennial year is starting off with a bang. Goreymania (www.goreymania.com) is a brand new website devoted to all those perplexing questions one has when plunging into the murky waters of Gorey ephemera. Xandy Hand, the author of the site has provided in-depth information and photos to guide and inform the novice and advanced collector alike. The site currently features four distinct collecting areas of ephemera and promises more will be forthcoming over time.