The Consummate New Yorker: Books and Other Collections from Robert Gottlieb Opens for Bidding on iGavelAuctions.com, May 30 – June 13
New York: Lark Mason Associates is delighted to announce that “The Consummate New Yorker: Books and Other Collections from Robert Gottlieb” will be open for bidding on iGavelAuctions.com, from May 30th to June 13th, 2024.
Robert Gottlieb–renowned for his editorial stewardship at Simon & Schuster, Alfred A. Knopf, and The New Yorker–shaped a bibliophile’s library of novels, nonfiction books, and magazine articles by a Who’s Who of prominent writers from the mid-to-late 20th century. In his private life, Gottlieb was a collector in his own right, amassing a quirky assortment of Lucite handbags from the 1950s, American travel postcards, Art Deco and early 20th Century decorative arts, and his primary love, books.
The sale, with over 130 lots, includes volumes penned by highly acclaimed 20th century writers Joseph Heller, John le Carré, Robert Caro, Toni Morrison, Bill and Hillary Clinton, John Cheever, Doris Lessing, Bill Gates, Katharine Graham, Barbara Tuchman, Jessica Mitford, and many others.
“Robert Gottlieb was one of New York’s most venerated and influential literary personalities in publishing,” says Lark Mason. “This auction offers bibliophiles and contemporary design enthusiasts an opportunity to acquire an important selection of first edition books and mid-twentieth century decorative objects.”
Among the books are three by Joseph Heller: a first edition, first printing, first issue dust jacket of Catch-22, bearing a personalized inscription (Simon & Schuster 1961) (Estimate: $20,000-30,000), an inscribed Something Happened, (Alfred A. Knopf, 1974) (Estimate: $2,000-3,000), and an advance reader’s copy of the uncorrected proof of Closing Time, with a letter from the author to Gottlieb (Estimate: $2,000-3,000).
Jane Austen’s four-volume first edition set of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, (London: John Murray, 1818) (Estimate: $4,000-6,000) and Bill Gates’ How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, (Knopf, 2021), with a personalized note to Gottlieb from the author (Estimate: $2,000-3,000) are also of interest.
Lucite handbags feature a highly desirable Llewellyn Beehive Box Bag together with a Wilardy Two-Compartment Box Bag (Estimate: $150-350), and two Wilardy bags, one lace-inset with flowers, the other black with rhinestones (Estimate: $150-350).
Decorative arts highlights include a Pair of Tiffany Studios Four-Light Bronze and Green Favrile Glass Candelabra, circa. 1915 (Estimate: $3,000-5,000) and an Austrian Silver Coffee, Tea and Creamer Set, Vienna, 1872-1922 (Estimate: $600/900).
About Robert Gottlieb
Robert Gottlieb had a long and distinguished career as an editor and writer, having served as the head of Alfred A. Knopf, the editor in chief of Simon and Schuster, and the editor of The New Yorker. As an editor he worked with many notable authors, including Toni Morrison, John Le Carré, Bruno Bettelheim, Katharine Graham, Doris Lessing, Bill Clinton, Nora Ephron, Bill Gates, and Joseph Heller—whose debut novel, Catch-22, helped establish Gottlieb’s reputation as a keen discerner of literary talent.
In recent decades, he wrote extensively for The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, and The New York Observer, where he was the dance critic for many years.
An author in his own right, his books include A Certain Style: The Art of the Plastic Handbag, 1949-59; Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt; George Balanchine: Ballet Maker; Lives and Letters; Great Expectations: The Sons and Daughters of Charles Dickens; Near-Death Experiences…and Others; and Garbo.
In 2015, Gottlieb received the annual Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A feature documentary about his collaborations with author Robert Caro titled Turn Every Page was released in 2022.
