This auction gem sounds like (rock) music to the ears

Charlie Watts' love for music went hand in hand with a passion for literature. The late drummer of The Rolling Stones managed to collect many special (first) copies throughout his life. It was recently announced that many pearls from his collection will be auctioned. For the real bookworms: sounds like music to the ears, doesn't it?

Auction house Christie's calls it a privilege to announce the auction, which consists of two parts. The first will take place on September 28 in London, with part two online from September 15 to 29. Saves you another ticket, if you want to bid... 

Books by Agatha Christie, PG Wodenhouse and James Joyce will disappear under the London auction hammer. However, a signed first edition of The Great Gatsby from 1925 will take the cake. This is expected to yield between €233.000 and €350.000. 

Love for jazz 

Although Charlie Watts was of course the beating heart of the world's greatest rock band, his love for jazz formed the basis of his life. The auction will therefore contain a lot of jazz memorabilia. This includes a signed score of the opera Porgy and Bess as well as some Down Beat awards from Charlie Parker from 1952. Childhood friend and musician Dave Green says the following about this: “Charlie was one of my dearest friends from my early childhood. In our teenage years we both developed a lifelong love of jazz. Charlie was of course a member of the biggest rock band in the world, but his love for jazz never left him. His jazz memorabilia, which he started in his teens and built up during his years with The Stones, is truly astonishing.”

Before the Charlie Watts collection is auctioned, the collection will be exhibited later this month at Christie's branches in Los Angeles, New York and London.