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Dame Edith Sitwell address book smashes auction estimates

Dreweatts auctioneers Dame Edith Sitwell's address bookDreweatts auctioneers
Dame Edith Sitwell's address book includes notes on people such as "psychopath who insulted me after television" and "well-meaning American pest"

A rare Islamic atlas and the address book of "eccentric poet and personality" Dame Edith Sitwell were among items sold at far beyond their asking price at auction.

The items were found at Weston Hall in Northamptonshire, where the Sitwell family lived for more than 300 years.

The address book was estimated at £200-300 and went for £52,500.

The "exceptionally rare" atlas was sold for £86,250, four times its estimate.

Dreweatts auction house said the address book showed off Dame Edith's "infamous character".

Denise Kelly, book specialist at Dreweatts, said: "It was an absolute joy to catalogue such a personal item belonging to Dame Edith.

"Her personality and humour tumbled out of every page."

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Dame Edith Sitwell

Dame Edith Sitwell
Dame Edith Sitwell was known for breaking boundaries in both her writing and her fashion sense
  • Born in 1887, her collections of poetry include Green Song and Other Poems (1944), Façade (1922) and The Wooden Pegasus (1920)
  • Her brothers, Osbert and Sacheverell Sitwell, were also celebrated writers
  • Dame Edith's celebrated 1959 interview with John Freeman on Face to Face is available on the BBC iPlayer, billed as a chat with "the well known eccentric poet and personality"
  • Sitwell suffered from a brain haemorrhage in 1964 and died shortly afterwards aged 77
  • Her address book was described as being like a "Who's Who" in the world of music, theatre, publishing, film, ballet and politics
  • William Sitwell, the restaurant critic who appears on BBC Masterchef, is Sacheverell's grandson and put Weston Hall up for sale recently
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The Ottoman folio atlas by Mahmoud Raif Efendi was one of only 50 produced and Dreweatts said it was the first printed in the Islamic World.

It was found in one of nine attics at Weston Hall, stamped and dated 1804, and featured a hand-coloured pictorial title with the monogram of Sultan Selim III.

Dreweatts auctioneers Undated Dreweatts auctioneers image of a rare Ottoman folio atlas by Mahmoud Raif Efendi,Dreweatts auctioneers
Undated Dreweatts auctioneers image of a rare Ottoman folio atlas by Mahmoud Raif Efendi

Written in Ottoman Turkish with 24 hand-coloured terrestrial maps, the atlas included two twin-hemispheres and one world, with a plain celestial chart.

Ms Kelly said: "This is a wonderful atlas. The condition of the binding, terrestrial maps and celestial chart are extraordinary. A fascinating object to come to the market."

It was thought the atlas was brought to Britain by Sitwell family member General Lord Hely-Hutchinson.

Dreweatts Drawing by Giovanni Battista TiepoloDreweatts
A drawing by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo also features in the auction and was described as "probably the most important find" at Weston Hall

The auction of the hall's contents, called Weston Hall and the Sitwells: A Family Legacy, took place over two days at Donnington Priory in Berkshire.

It also included a drawing by the 18th Century Italian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, described as "probably the most important find" at the hall, in Weston near Towcester.

The drawing, which was found in bubble wrap and leaning against a wall in an attic, sold for £125,000, under its estimated sale price of £150,000-£200,000.

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