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George R. R. Martin. Two Signed Early Partial Manuscripts of Game of Thrones. Includes: 1 box, 384 leaves. Typed... (Total: 4 Items)
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$21,250.00
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Description
"Winter is coming."
The first time that a draft of any George R.R. Martin book from his iconic A Song of Ice and Fire series has been offered at auction
George R. R. Martin. Two Signed Early Partial Manuscripts of
Game of Thrones. Includes: 1 box, 384 leaves.
Typed, dated November 1994. Boldly signed on the cover page
in blue sharpie. [Together with]: 3 boxes, 888 leaves. Typed, dated
July 1995. Boldly signed on the cover page in blue
sharpie.Two early drafts of the first book from A Song of Ice and Fire, the hit HBO series and international phenomenon.
The impact that A Game of Thrones has had on the fantasy genre, both as a novel and a television series, is almost impossible to exaggerate. Named to the BBC list of "100 'most inspiring' novels" in 2019 alongside C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, Frank Herbert's Dune, and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy, it almost single-handedly cemented "grimdark" as a fantasy subgenre and helped inspire the likes of Joe Abercrombie and Marlon James, both masters of fantasy in their own right. The overwhelming success of the HBO show redefined fantasy for the general public and has been lauded by both authors and publishers as responsible for boosted sales in fantasy and science fiction. Indeed, other streaming platforms currently seek to recreate the same cinematography and opulent ornamentation, capitalizing on the show's unprecedented success, as seen in Netflix's adaptations of The Witcher and The Sandman, as well as Amazon Prime's The Wheel of Time and Rings of Power. An entire industry of spin-off products has been spawned by A Song of Ice and Fire, including a collectible card game, a board game, artwork collections, several RPGs, comics, graphic novels, video games, full-sized weapon replicas, action figures, and Westeros coinage reproductions. Both "Khaleesi" and "Daenerys" are now popular baby names in the United States.
Only The Lord of the Rings has come close to matching the staying power of A Game of Thrones, a series replete with elements of power, violence, family, sex, political intrigue, alleyway stabbings, a sort of medieval realism heavily based on the War of the Roses. Unlike the fantasy epics of Tolkien's generation (and those inspired by him), Martin rejects the common theme of an end-of-the-world battle between good and evil and instead uses gray characters that explore questions of redemption and character development. In an interview conducted by Time on April 18, 2011, Martin endorsed William Faulkner's view of literature: only the human heart in conflict with itself was worth writing about. This sentiment is echoed throughout his novels in the way his characters span the length of human nature, where all are written as human beings with the same basic needs, dreams, and influences, and these often drive the plot of the narrative, for good and for ill.
According to Martin's archive at Texas A&M University, the partial first draft for A Game of Thrones was finished in November 1993 with a grand total of 351 leaves, far short of the eventual 694-page published novel. The first draft offered here, another partial typed manuscript completed November 1994, is the second attempt, standing at 383 leaves. Two other typed drafts for the novel were completed, one in July 1995 (also offered here) and another in October 1995, presumably the same version that was sent to Martin's editor for final revisions and subsequent publication. A novella titled Blood of the Dragon (which won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1997) was published in the July 1996 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction, based on the Daenerys chapters from A Game of Thrones, with the book's official publication coming in August of that year. Though the novel did not see much success when it was first published in hardback, publisher records indicate a strong finish in paperback sales. The novel would go on to win the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1997 and garner nominations for the 1997 World Fantasy Award and Nebula Award. A book of truly epic proportions, this is the first time that a draft of any book of A Song of Ice and Fire has been offered at auction.
As is his typical process, Martin created five copies of each draft of Game of Thrones. Two were kept for his personal files; one was sent to his editor; a fourth was given to Texas A&M University where the archive of Martin's oeuvre resides; and this, the fifth and final copy, was initially donated to a ConQuesT charity auction, held annually in Kansas City. Parris McBride, Martin's wife, hoped the charity would get "a few bucks for them;" alas, no one bid on the items. They were then picked up by one of the original book researchers for A Song of Ice and Fire, and from there found their way to Heritage.
We are proud and honored to offer two early drafts, the only available manuscript copies, of the sensational and genre-defining novel, A Game of Thrones.
Condition: Light yellowing of textblock edges, minimal soiling on first few leaves, slight wear and crinkling to edges, especially at corners. July 1995 MS: Cover sheet and textblock edges heavily yellowed, corners generally bent with soiling and staining on pages 165-192, page 190 crinkled and somewhat creased, some staining along top edge of pages 641-675, page 645 creased, pages 668-672 and page 759 with intermittent tears along left-hand margin, light soiling to final few leaves. With a handwritten note by Parris McBride attesting to the source of the material.
Auction Info
2022 December 1 Historical Platinum Session Signature® Auction #6267 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2022
1st
Thursday
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