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The Land of Mist Manuscript:
Christie's 2020 Sale Information
By Randall Stock, July 30, 2020 (revised)
Christie's sold the manuscript of Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger novel The Land of Mist via a July 2020 online auction.
The Land of Mist Manuscript Description
Lot 39: Manuscript of The Land of Mist by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Original autograph manuscript of Conan Doyle's novel The Land of Mist. Signed at the end of chapter XI as "Arthur Conan Doyle / Crowborough / England." Not dated, but 1924-1925. Headed on first page with three alternative titles including "The Ladder," "The Quest of Edward Malone," and "The Land of Mist."
This manuscript consists of approximately 277 leaves of text with intermittent numbering. Text is written in ink on the rectos only of blue or white lined sheets. Paper dimensions include 9 x 6.75 inches, 10.25 x 7.9 inches (chapters XI & XII), 8 x 6.25 inches (parts of chapters XVI & XVII), and miscellaneous leaves cut down into smaller sizes. As is common with Conan Doyle manuscripts, pages have a spindle/pin hole in the upper left corner.
The manuscript is bound in three-quarter morocco leather with seven gilt panels on the spine and gilt lettering for "THE LAND OF MIST | ORIGINAL MS. | SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE." Pages are tipped on guards into an album (see Chapter 4 photo).
Chapter titles and numbering in the manuscript vary from those in the published text. Conan Doyle used the Roman numeral "V" at the beginning of two consecutive chapters in the manuscript. Chapter XIII of his handwritten manuscript never appeared in his book, and so Chapter XIV of his manuscript became Chapter XIII in the book.
The published book uses longer chapter titles that follow a more consistent style. For example, Chapter VIII is "A Dark Soul" in the manuscript, but becomes "In Which Three Investigators Come Upon a Dark Soul" in the book.
The manuscript's chapter numbers, titles, and the number of leaves in a chapter are as follows:
- I. In which our Specials make a start (29)
- II. [Untitled] (10)
- III. The Professor's Opinion (6)
- IV. Strange Days in Hammersmith (10)
- V. A Remarkable Experience (22)
- V. [bis] Cancelled title: A Remarkable Experience (18)
- VI. A Notorious Criminal (17)
- VII. Tom Linden & the Law (16)
- VIII. A Dark Soul (23)
- IX. Some very Physical Phenomena (11)
- X. De Profundis (18)
- XI. Silas comes into his own (13)
- XII. Heights and Depths (13)
- XIII. [not in bound manuscript; see note]
- XIV. Challenger goes forth to Battle (20)
- XV. In which Challenger meets a strange Colleague (12)
- XVI. Traps for a great Quarry (16)
- XVII. Challenger has the experience of his Lifetime (17)
- XVIII. When the Mists Clear (6)
Conan Doyle also wrote an unpublished chapter for The Land of Mist that was not bound with the other pages. The manuscript for Chapter XIII includes a note that reads "this Chapter was lost in some strange way & never appeared in book." It previously accompanied the bound manuscript, but Christie's sold his original Chapter XIII manuscript by itself in 2019.
See below for more photos of the manuscript as well as links to Christie's for more information.
Bidding opened at £35,000 (US$44,100), and the pre-sale estimate was £50,000–£80,000 (US$63,000 - US$100,800).
Sale Results
The manuscript sold on July 30, 2020 with a hammer price of £38,000 and a price realized of £47,500 or about US$59,850.
History & Provenance of the Land of Mist
Professor Challenger appeared in a several science fiction/fantasy stories including The Lost World, which later inspired Jurassic Park. The Professor Challenger series includes five stories:
- The Lost World (1912)
- The Poison Belt (1913)
- The Land of Mist (1926)
- "When the World Screamed" (1928)
- "The Disintegration Machine" (1929)
Conan Doyle began writing The Land of Mist in October 1924. Faint notes in pencil at the top of the manuscript's first page read "3 Cos | 25/10/24" and "15 Buck'h | Pal." Conan Doyle bought a flat at 15 Buckingham Palace Mansions in London in 1922. He frequently had three typewritten copies made of his manuscripts, and this note indicates he wants "3 Co[pie]s" sent to his flat. It also shows that he finished at least the first chapter by October 25, 1924.
He completed roughly 50,000 words of the story by December 13. That took him through chapter X. He then spent about a month in Switzerland at the Villa Berna in Grindelwald, and probably wrote chapters XI and XII during this period.
Conan Doyle finished the story in late February 1925. The tale first appeared in The Strand Magazine from July 1925 to March 1926. Hutchinson & Co published the first English edition in March 1926, and the George H. Doran Company produced the first American edition in May 1926.
Provenance
The manuscript for the entire story, including the unpublished chapter XIII, stayed in the family until the death of Sir Arthur's oldest son Denis Conan Doyle in 1955. Nina Mdivani Conan Doyle, Denis's widow, sent the manuscript to auction at Parke-Bernet in New York on November 22, 1955.
Lew David Feldman of The House of El Dieff bought it at the 1955 auction and soon offered it for sale. A "Boston Collector" acquired it after May 1956, but then offered it at auction with other Conan Doyle manuscripts via Parke-Bernet on March 22, 1966. Iwaki Meisei University in Japan eventually held the manuscript.
The Land of Mist Manuscript Photos
First page of Ch. 1 of The Land of Mist manuscript
Pages from Chapter 4 of The Land of Mist Manuscript
Cut-down sheets from Ch. 4 of The Land of Mist manuscript
For more details on the manuscript and a photo of its binding, see the description section above. Although not part of this sale, see also photos from Chapter 13 of The Land of Mist manuscript.
Christie's Catalogue & Sale Information
Christie's provides online information for their sale number 18887.
You can also go directly to their listing for Lot 39: Conan Doyle's Land of Mist manuscript. It includes large photos of three pages as well as a photo of the binding.
Sale Information
Valuable Books & Manuscripts
Sale Number: 18887
Online bidding 9–30 July 2020
8 King Street, St. James's
London SW1Y 6QT
Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060
The buyer's premium is 25% on the first £225,000, plus 20% on amounts in excess of £225,000 up to and including £3,000,000.
Acknowledgements and Page History
Manuscript photos courtesy of Christie's.
My thanks to Sophie Hopkins at Christie's. Peter E. Blau provided his usual invaluable assistance, and thanks also to Evan Holzwasser and Richard Sveum.
This page is based on information provided by Christie's, and from other research including prior auction catalogues and sale reports.
The first version of this page appeared on May 27, 2020 with news that Christie's offered the manuscript via private sale. A revision on 6/23/20 noted the plan to offer the manuscript at auction. My 7/9/20 update includes more information about the manuscript, and links to Christie's for online bidding. Sale results with the price realized were added on July 30, 2020.
Sale of Chapter XIII of The Land of Mist in July 2019
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Randall Stock. All Rights Reserved.