Collector Paul Moran writes that The Other John Updike Archive, a blog he started in order to share some of his treasures with the world, will remain open.
“After much vetting of copyright legalities I am satisfied that The Other John Updike Archive is now in conformity with copyright laws,” he writes. “The site will remain as a kind of U-seum. Possible updates like the article on my collection in yesterday’s Austin American-Statesman will be included.”
Paul Moran writes,
“The Other John Updike Archive is a collection of objects that formerly belonged to John Updike.
“Each posting will contain another piece from the collection.
“This is part of the Kula Art Project, which consists of a return to the importance of relics and the biography of ordinary things.”
Some of the things are actually quite extraordinary, such as a royalty statement from Knopf showing domestic and foreign sales for Rabbit, Run. Or a hotel bill detailing what room the Updikes stayed in.
Member Larry Randen reports that you can buy prints of Scott Laumann’s portrait of John Updike that was commissioned by Reader’s Digest. Click on the link below to see a PDF of the full portrait and a website url for placing orders.
Mark Stolle, who owns the used bookstore Manchester By the Book in Manchester, Mass., writes that he purchased books from John Updike periodically. He kept most of them at the house but is now bringing a few to the store to sell. Most are inscribed to Updike from well-known authors. If anyone is interested they can contact him by email (Manchesterbythebook@gmail.com) or phone (978-525-2929). Some of you may have spoken with him in Boston, as he attended our conference.
Updike once remarked that he liked to think of his books being discovered by a young boy somewhere in Kansas, and that looks like a real possibility, since the Lawrence Public Library in Lawrence, Kansas, seems to be a firm believer in fighting censorship. This year they’ve “assembled sets of seven cards designed by local artists and inspired by banned books or authors.” Updike’s Rabbit, Run was one of the seven. You can buy the sets by mail. This item comes from Jack De Bellis, who probably has already ordered his set.
Here’s the link.
Here’s an odd Updike sighting: Larry Randen forwarded this item from The McSweeney’s Store, a San Francisco-based publishing company and boutique retailer. And on their website, under the category of “Limited Edition Goods,” there’s a sketch/portrait of John Updike for sale for $150. No word on how “limited” the edition is, and curiously Updike’s portrait is priced at $50 more than rocker Mick Jagger’s, but $50 less than self-described “liberal foodie intellectual” Michael Pollan.
The artist is Tony Millionaire (born Scott Richardson), a cartoonist and illustrator whose drawings have appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal. Fans of Adult Swim may also know his work.
The 1970 film adaptation of Rabbit, Run, starring James Caan as Rabbit Angstrom and Carrie Snodgress as Janice, is now available from the Warner Bros. Archive Collection “on demand”—meaning that the product is manufactured when ordered from Amazon.com, Critics Choice Video, or another vendor. The film wasn’t highly regarded by the public, the critics, or John Updike, which may account for why it’s so seldom reviewed or seen, and why it’s part of the enormous archive of lesser and lesser-known films. But that’s a step up from 2007, when the Reading Eagle reported that the film celebrated native son John Updike and sealed Reading in a celluloid time capsule, but was all but impossible to find. Not so anymore. What once cost hundreds or even a thousand dollars is now in the $25-27 dollar range.
“I felt sad for the actors,” Updike was quoted as saying. “James Caan and Carrie Snodgress were terrific as Rabbit and his wife, and I always had a lingering hope that some day Warner might remake some of the weak scenes and then give the movie another push.” Spoken like a true, compulsive revisionist.
John Updike’s typewriter is for sale.
Christie’s Auction House has listed John Updike’s Olympia “electric 65c” typewriter with cover and metal typewriter cart as Lot Number 318 in Sale 2328, Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Including Americana. The estimate for the typewriter is $4000-$6000. June 22, 2010 is the date of the auction.
The lot description dates the typewriter from 1967-68, probably purchased when Updike lived with his family in London from 1968-69 not long after he wrote Couples. Of interest is the ribbon, which passed only once and recorded a speech for a Gordon College commencement, a paragraph on writing well, a letter regarding an intro he wrote for Kafka’s Complete Short Stories, and a letter to his typist. According to Christie’s, “the typewriter was given to one of his daughters about 15 years before his death.”
Call it a case of bad timing. The Society is in the process of establishing an archive, with several collections already donated. But we’re just a little too new to have the money to purchase something like this to preserve for future museum display. The Updike typewriter is one of two in the sale, with Jack Kerouac’s priced in the $20,000 range. But the Updike typewriter is priced in the same range as a manuscript of Walt Whitman’s, and higher than a typed and signed letter from J.D. Salinger.
UPDATE: Christie’s lists the price realized as $4,375 for the typewriter.
Darren at Clouds Hill Books recently contacted Jack De Bellis to inform him that they’re acting as an agent for the owner of a batch of Updike material (primarily letters and typescripts). He wanted to give members an advance heads-up, in case one of us (or one of our schools) might be interested. Clouds Hill has broken up the material into four lots:
1. Letters, 1958-1990 (19 items) $7500
2. Letters to Keith Baker, 1973-1985 (8 items) $1000
3. Letters to Philip Krapp, 1964-1976 (5 items) $1000
4. Letters to Robie Macauley, 1969-1992 (33 items) $17,500
At those prices, they’d better contain the secret of life . . . or at least be content letters related to the manuscripts! All inquiries can be directed to Darren at Clouds Hill Books, 27 Bank St., New York, NY 10014, (212) 414-4432, cloudshill@cloudshillbooks.com.
Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu: John Updike on Ted Williams is now available exclusively from The Library of America Web store, ten days ahead of its release to bookstores—including online booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
The list price is $15.00, but the book is available directly from the LOA for $13.50 (10 percent off) and shipping is free within the U.S. Here’s the link. You can also purchase the book by phoning LOA at 1-800-964-5778 and requesting product #410027. Jim Yerkes reports that the price is cheaper if you phone and request the product number than if you order online.