QUILLBLOG

Going once … going twice …

Fans of the late Canadian novelist and ZZ Top lookalike Robertson Davies can now claim a part of the author’s history for themselves. StyleNorth reports that selected pieces of furniture and decorations belonging to the novelist and playwright, who died in 1995, are up for sale. Canadian auction house Ritchies is conducting the sale, which will be held from Sept. 16-18.

Items in the sale include an English walnut stationery box valued between $200 and $300, and a Victorian page turner with a tortoise-shell blade and a handle embossed with the image of St. George, whose shield is monogrammed with the initials RWD.

But perhaps the most desirable item on the block will be Davies’s personal writing desk, an early-20th-century leather-topped, Chippendale-style mahogony desk, valued between $1,000 and $1,500. Superstitious writers who want to bask in the reflected glory of a Canadian literary icon and possibly soak up some residual inspiration may be willing to part with a couple of thou’ for this particular item. Given Davies’ own fascination with ghosts and spirits, perhaps the buyer will wind up with more than just a jazzy piece of furniture.

Does anyone have $1,500 Quillblog could borrow?