The National Library of Ireland has bought a manuscript of a chapter of Ulysses, hand written by James Joyce. The manuscript was sold at Christie’s auction house in New York for $1.4m. The manuscript consists of 27 pages and concerns the experiences of Leopold Bloom and Stephen Daedalus in Dublin's red-light district.
The manuscript is an early, previously unknown draft of the "Circe" chapter of the 18-episode Ulysses, which Joyce began as early as 1915. It was serialised from 1918 before being published for the first time in book form in Paris in 1922. "Christie's is very, very pleased with the results of the sale today," manuscripts specialist Chris Coover said after the sale. "The price realized constitutes a record for an English-language literary manuscript as far as I'm aware and we are doubly delighted that it is returning to Ireland."
The auction house said that the manuscript consists of 27 large sheets, densely hand written, with additions, corrections and deletions in the margin. The manuscript sold to a bidder representing the National Library of Ireland in Dublin. The price included the auction house's 10% commission.
Edward Maggs, of Maggs Brothers Limited in London, made the winning bid on behalf of the Library. Mr Maggs said that the manuscript would be delivered to Dublin overnight. "I think it is a great symbol of the new self-confidence of Ireland and indeed of Dublin that one of the most important texts relating to the city can at last be allowed back in," he said. "It was something of a bargain I think. It is a very important manuscript."
