A Bookman’s Treasure Comes to Auction Nov. 18 at Heritage

Collection of Maurice F. Neville features exceptional association copies, manuscripts and letters from celebrated authors DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT DALLAS, Texas (Oct. 22, 2026) — Many of the greatest collections start with a childhood interest that grows into a lifelong passion. Such is the case with Maurice “Maurie” Neville, whose love of books and literature began when he was still a young boy growing up on a farm in Indiana. As an adult he began assembling a monumental collection of modern literature, including association copies, literary manuscripts and letters from the greatest authors of the 20th century. In addition, he collected with the same intensity books, letters and ephemera relating to other areas of popular culture, music, sports, Hollywood and cinema. The lion’s share of his remarkable achievement will be offered Nov. 18 in Heritage’s “Highlights from the Estate of Maurice F. Neville” Signature® Auction. His background in real estate was quickly eclipsed by his collecting passion. He kick-started his collection when he and his wife, Marcia, drove to see the collection of former bookshop owner Norman Unger, a 9,000-volume collection from which Neville said he initially wanted “about 200,” according to a story in the Los Angeles Times. Instead, the longtime book lover used his business acumen (and his savings) to purchase the entire collection outright, and embarked on a decades-long career as a bookseller and publisher. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of his shop, Maurice F. Neville Rare Books, in the historic Gonzales-Ramirez Adobe in Santa Barbara, Calif. “Maurie was a collector who spent his life acquiring extraordinary items in all the areas that he was passionate about, and this auction contains many of the items he treasured the most,” says Francis Wahlgren, Heritage’s International Director of Rare Books & Manuscripts. “It offers the unique essence of Maurie Neville, the collector.” A longtime member of the Grolier Club in New York, Neville enjoyed acquiring items on his extensive travels across the country and abroad, attending major book fairs and events, and purchasing from dealer friends and auctions. He made his notable entrée into the auction rooms when he dominated the legendary three-part sale of literature from the library of Jonathan Goodwin at Sotheby Parke Bernet in 1977-78 in New York and kept up until he passed away in December of 2025. “Maurie was a beloved figure in the book world during the latter part of the 20th century, befriending dealers, collectors, authors, personalities and auction houses alike,” Wahlgren says. “Maurie and Marcia are so fondly remembered as the most generous and gracious hosts, whether at the historic bookshop or their wonderful home in Montecito.” Books and manuscripts from literary heavyweights like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack London, Dylan Thomas, Jack Kerouac and Mark Twain abound throughout the sale. The bookshop allowed Neville to combine his keen business instincts with his multifaceted interests and his lifelong passion for books. Association copies, inscribed to meaningful recipients, can be found throughout this sale. In addition, his avid interest in Hemingway led him into the world of bullfighting, and the sale contains a large section devoted to the sport in posters, broadsides, ephemera and original artwork. Bringing these items back to auction means they can again be shared by collectors, booksellers and curators who appreciate the unique items Maurie Neville spent decades acquiring. Highlights include:   • An Orson Welles signed Third Revised Final Draft for Citizen Kane — starting bid: $15,000   • A Bob Dylan autographed manuscript with the working lyrics to Man on the Street — starting bid: $20,000   • A Robert Frost autographed fair copy signed of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening — starting bid: $5,000   • The Call of the Wild inscribed by Jack London — starting bid: $750   • An F. Scott Fitzgerald autographed letter signed (“F Scott Fitzgerald”) to composer, music critic and author Deems Taylor — starting bid: $7,500   • Death in the Afternoon, inscribed by Ernest Hemingway to the daughter of the Spanish Ambassador — starting bid: $2,500   • Red Harvest first edition, inscribed by Dashiell Hammett to Sam Marx of MGM — starting bid: $10,000 Images and information about all lots in the auction can be found at HA.com/6344. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Munich, Geneva, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 2,000,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of more than 7,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter. Link to this release or view prior press releases. Hi-Res images available: Steve Lansdale, Senior Public Relations Specialist 214-409-1699; SteveL@HA.com