The manuscript of WH Auden's Stop All The Clocks has sold with excellent results as part of Bonhams' sale of the Roy Davids Collection, which is currently underway in London.
 Stop All the Clocks was written to be sung by soprano Hedli Anderson, and was only later included in a collection of poems |
The poem was written in 1936 and has always been a treasured classic, though it was truly brought to the attention of the public in the 1994 hit film Four Weddings and Funeral. It sold for £23,750 ($36,314), making a 196.8% increase on its £8,000 high estimate.
Stop All The Clocks was originally written as a burlesque dirge in Auden's poetic drama, The Ascent of F6, which he co-wrote with his good friend Cristopher Isherwood.
Also selling was a manuscript of Sir John Betjeman's The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel, which sold for £7,500 ($11,467). It is the only manuscript of Betjeman's much-loved account of Wilde's arrest, which occurred in 1895 for "gross indecency with other men".
Check back with us for more of the latest from this important sale. We also have some superb poetry collectibles for sale, including an autographed note from Allen Ginsberg and an exceedingly rare example of Thomas Hardy's autograph.
