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First edition Great Gatsby among items owned by Charlie Watts set for auction

First edition Great Gatsby among items owned by Charlie Watts set for auction
Christie’s books and manuscripts specialist Mark Wiltshire holds a first edition of Gustave Dore and Blanchard Jerrold’s London, A Pilgrimage, inscribed by Sir Mick Jagger (Jonathan Brady/PA)
PA Wire/PA Images - Jonathan Brady

A collection of first edition books owned by the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts will be auctioned off.

Some of the highlights from Charlie Watts: Gentleman, Collector, Rolling Stone include a first edition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound Of The Baskervilles and a first edition of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which has been inscribed by the author.

The flagship sale, from British auction house Christie’s, is called Charlie Watts: Literature and Jazz Part I and will take place in London on September 28.

A part-two online sale is open for bidding from September 15-29.

Charlie Watts: Gentleman, Collector, Rolling Stone saleA Christie’s art handler holds a first edition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles (Jonathan Brady/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jonathan Brady

Also among the collection is a first edition of Gustave Dore and William Blanchard Jerrold’s London, A Pilgrimage.

The book is inscribed by The Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger and says: “To Charlie Happy Christmas 2016 Mick”.

Charlie Watts: Gentleman, Collector, Rolling Stone saleChristie’s books and manuscripts specialist Mark Wiltshire holds a first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’, inscribed by the author (Jonathan Brady/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jonathan Brady

Other items going under the hammer include a George Gershwin-signed and printed score of the opera Porgy and Bess, a score from the American jazz pianist Count Basie and a concert programme signed by Louis Armstrong and other jazz greats.

Watts died in a London hospital in August 2021 aged 80.

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