THE NATIONAL STEINBECK CENTER IN SALINAS CAME BACK FROM A NEW YORK AUCTION (OF JOHN STEINBECK ARCHIVES AND MEMORABILIA) WITH SEVERAL ITEMS FOR THE MUSEUM. A MANUSCRIPT BY THE AUTHOR, AS WELL AS CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN STEINBECK AND HIS EDITOR, A SET OF FILM AND AUDIO RECORDINGS, HIS OFFICE CHAIR AND GLOBE, AND A COLLECTION OF PERSONAL EFFECTS SUCH AS PIPES, EYEGLASSES AMD WALLETS. THE MEMORABILIA INITIALLY CAME FROM AN APARTMENT WHERE HE HAD LIVED IN NEW YORK.
THE STEINBECK CENTER DID NOT BID ON ONE OF THE MOST PUBLICIZED ITEMS (A BRIEFCASE THAT ONCE BELONGED TO MONTEREY BIOLOGIST AND STEINBECK CONFIDANT ED RICKETTS, INCLUDING THE TELEGRAM THAT NOTIFIED THE AUTHOR OF A CAR CRASH THAT CLAIMED RICKETTS’ LIFE). THE STEINBECK CENTER HAD HOPED THE BRIEFCASE AND ITS CONTENTS WOULD GO TO MONTEREY, BUT THAT DID NOT PAN OUT.
