"The Bully of Brocas Court" Manuscript:
RR Auction 2023 Sale

By Randall Stock, September 16, 2023

The manuscript for one of Conan Doyle's best ghost stories was offered at auction in September 2023. The tale combines the author's passions for both boxing and the supernatural.

 

 

"The Bully of Brocas Court" Manuscript Description

Lot 376: Complete Autograph Manuscript of "The Bully of Brocas Court"

Headed on the first page as "The Bully of Brocas Court. / A Legend of the Ring." Signed on the first page in the top left corner as "A Conan Doyle / Crowboro'" and at end as "A Conan Doyle / Windlesham / Crowborough." Not dated, but 1921.

 

Conan Doyle wrote in ink on 27 lined sheets of about 8 x 6 3/8 inches. The sheets are fastened with brass tack at the top left corner. Someone else numbered the pages in pencil in the upper right corner. The manuscript is housed in a quarter morocco clamshell case, and this lot includes a copy of the November 1921 Strand Magazine containing the first appearance of the story.

 

For photos, see my report for the Bully of Brocas Court manuscript sale at Christie's in 2022.

 

Pre-sale estimate: US$50,000+

 

Sale Results

Bidding did not reach the undisclosed reserve and the manuscript went unsold. The highest bid reported online was $36,574, but this might reflect the auction house bidding up to the reserve.

 

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History & Provenance

A note card from Conan Doyle at the Toronto Public Library shows that he was writing this story in the summer of 1921, and he probably completed it in June or July 1921.

 

First published in the November 1921 Strand Magazine, the story appeared in America in the December 1921 issue of Hearst's International. It was collected in the John Murray edition of Tales of the Ring and Camp (1922) and in the George H. Doran Company edition of The Croxley Master and Other Tales of the Ring and Camp (1925).

 

Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 10 December 1993, lot 320; Edward R. Leahy (from Sotheby's 1993, sold via Christie's New York, 6 October 2022).

 

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"The Bully of Brocas Court" Manuscript Photos

See my 2022 report for the Bully of Brocas Court manuscript sale at Christie's with photos of the first and last pages of the manuscript.

 

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RR Auction Catalogue & Sale Information

RR Auction provided an online listing and bidding page for Lot #376: Autograph Manuscript for "The Bully of Brocas Court". Their online listing included photos of the manuscript's first and last pages, along with the accompanying copy of the Strand Magazine and the quarter morocco case.

 

Sale Information

Fine Autograph and Artifacts

August 25, 2023 - September 13, 2023

 

RR Auction New York

Phone: +1 603-732-4280

 

The buyer's premium is 25%.

 

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Acknowledgements and Page History

Thanks to Peter E. Blau and Ross Davies for their assistance. This page is based on information from the RR Auction online catalogue as well as other research.

 

The first version of this report appeared on September 16, 2023.

 

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Related Pages

Checklist of non-Sherlockian Conan Doyle Manuscripts

 

Census of Sherlock Holmes Manuscripts

 

Lists of each year's best Sherlock Holmes books & DVDs, the most famous Sherlock Holmes quotes, and more Top 10 Lists.

 

 

 

Return to Manuscripts Home page and Introduction

 

 

 

Vers. 2.1ax-RN Original work
Copyright ©2023  Randall Stock. All Rights Reserved.