Charlie Watts: Gentleman, Collector, Rolling Stone - Christies Auction.

Christie’s is delighted to announce Charlie Watts: Gentleman, Collector, Rolling Stone, a two-part auction comprising an extraordinary library of modern first editions together with landmarks from the world of jazz, collected by renowned musician and Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts (1941–2021). The flagship auction, Charlie Watts: Literature and Jazz Part I, will take place live in London on 28 September, with a Part II online sale open for bidding from 15 to 29 September.

Leading the live sale is a first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, inscribed by the author to the ‘original “Gatsby” of this story, with thanks for letting me reveal these secrets of his past’. Charlie’s outstanding literary collection features iconic works of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle alongside the very best English and American literature of the 20th century. Other notable highlights include a George Gershwin signed printed score of the legendary opera Porgy and Bess and a pair of Down Beat awards from 1952 presented to Charlie Parker, as well as signed photographs and rare acetate recordings from the jazz and musical hall of fame.