I saw this about 20 years ago in an exhibition at the Denver Library. I'd wondered how they really knew who the real people behind the characters were, it turns out that Kerouac didn't change any names at first so it's right in the manuscript.
I'd heard about it from a friend in the mid-80s, this friend was an aspiring writer and he mentioned OTR but then was musing about his new word processor typewriter, saying that he felt like the need to physically change pages added breaks to his writing process and he was worried that with the basically infinite page on the word processor it would be too easy to write crap. I wish I had a way to look this guy up and get his take on writing today.
FTA: This scroll is one of the most important literary documents still in private hands.
and: However, the return of the scroll to the auction block echoes an earlier controversy. In 2001, when the manuscript was last offered for sale, Carolyn Cassady – the former wife of Neal Cassady, the real-life inspiration for the novel’s Dean Moriarty – denounced the auction as “blasphemy”, arguing that the scroll belonged in a public library rather than a private collection. “Jack loved public libraries,” she said at the time, adding: “If they auction it, anybody rich could buy it and keep it out of sight.”
If it's in a library, it's going to be in special collections, and nobody's going to see it. It will be preserved and kept safe for the rare scholar who has a legitimate need to see the original, but for most purposes the archetype is never needed. We don't have the archetype of Vergil's Aeneid, but it's well studied nonetheless.
If it's in a private collection, a scholar who really, really needs to see it might make an arrangement with the owner. For everyone else, though, there are copies at the local bookstore. Bonus, though: if it's in a private collection, there's a chance that it physically is in a library. Some private collections are housed inside public (usually university) library special collections. From the investor's standpoint, it's worth it to have professionals who know preservation keeping the book in climate-controlled, reasonably secure facilities.
The billionaire who buys this will almost certainly not allow that kind of access. If its in a public archive its much easier to get that kind of access.
Someone in another comment said they got to see it in an exhibition 20 years ago. So it sounds like even if it’s in some billionaire’s collection it’s taken care of and the public does get an opportunity to see it, at least sometimes.
Yes, this is the iconic version, but the whole point of Kerouac is that its "jazz" and improvised, despite the published novel being at least 6 drafts different
Not to mention the french version, and the previous attempts at the novel.
Saw it in the British Library a few years ago. Hopefully the new owner is as generous with loaning it out to public museums as the current one.
"That isn't writing at all, it's typing."
- Truman Capote on Kerouac's work.
(I love Kerouac...)
I saw this about 20 years ago in an exhibition at the Denver Library. I'd wondered how they really knew who the real people behind the characters were, it turns out that Kerouac didn't change any names at first so it's right in the manuscript.
I'd heard about it from a friend in the mid-80s, this friend was an aspiring writer and he mentioned OTR but then was musing about his new word processor typewriter, saying that he felt like the need to physically change pages added breaks to his writing process and he was worried that with the basically infinite page on the word processor it would be too easy to write crap. I wish I had a way to look this guy up and get his take on writing today.
Did you forget his name? Or is your author friend not online?
Not the first time, it was auctioned in 2001: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2053069
I noticed the lack of glue and yellowed tape. Actually it consists of strips of paper that are 12 foot long, taped together.
Does it come with amphetamines to go with the experience?
It's hard for me to understand how stuff like this isn't in a national museum.
FTA: This scroll is one of the most important literary documents still in private hands.
and: However, the return of the scroll to the auction block echoes an earlier controversy. In 2001, when the manuscript was last offered for sale, Carolyn Cassady – the former wife of Neal Cassady, the real-life inspiration for the novel’s Dean Moriarty – denounced the auction as “blasphemy”, arguing that the scroll belonged in a public library rather than a private collection. “Jack loved public libraries,” she said at the time, adding: “If they auction it, anybody rich could buy it and keep it out of sight.”
If it's in a library, it's going to be in special collections, and nobody's going to see it. It will be preserved and kept safe for the rare scholar who has a legitimate need to see the original, but for most purposes the archetype is never needed. We don't have the archetype of Vergil's Aeneid, but it's well studied nonetheless.
If it's in a private collection, a scholar who really, really needs to see it might make an arrangement with the owner. For everyone else, though, there are copies at the local bookstore. Bonus, though: if it's in a private collection, there's a chance that it physically is in a library. Some private collections are housed inside public (usually university) library special collections. From the investor's standpoint, it's worth it to have professionals who know preservation keeping the book in climate-controlled, reasonably secure facilities.
The billionaire who buys this will almost certainly not allow that kind of access. If its in a public archive its much easier to get that kind of access.
Someone in another comment said they got to see it in an exhibition 20 years ago. So it sounds like even if it’s in some billionaire’s collection it’s taken care of and the public does get an opportunity to see it, at least sometimes.
”The library does not allow me access” is a much more viable lawsuit than ”Mr Moneybags does not allow me access”
Its because there is more than one draft.
Yes, this is the iconic version, but the whole point of Kerouac is that its "jazz" and improvised, despite the published novel being at least 6 drafts different
Not to mention the french version, and the previous attempts at the novel.