A handwritten three-page letter from George Orwell is the headline item in the first autumn auction being staged by Stonehouse-based Quire Auctions, with an estimate of between £5,000 and £8,000.
The online sale includes part of the literary estate of children’s writer Geoffrey Trease, as well as rare first editions and other books and works on paper. The auction is scheduled to finish on 16 September 2026, according to material published by the Gloucestershire auction house.
Letter links Orwell and Geoffrey Trease
The letter was written by Orwell to Trease after Trease wrote to him following the publication of Boys’ Weeklies. In that article, Orwell criticised Frank Richards and his Billy Bunter series, alongside similar right-wing and jingoistic literature for boys that was being published at the time.
Orwell’s response continues that discussion and considers whether a left-leaning publication aimed at boys and young people would be feasible. The letter is therefore not only an example of Orwell’s correspondence but also a document connected with contemporary arguments about politics, publishing and children’s reading.
Quire Auctions describes the item as particularly significant because letters written by Orwell are rare. The auction house also highlights the politically charged subject matter of this particular three-page handwritten letter.
The sale includes extremely rare first editions from Trease’s library dating from the period before the Second World War, when his writing was heavily left-wing. Trease wrote historical fiction aimed at young people from the 1930s through to the late 1990s. He also wrote several novels and an autobiography in three parts.
Viewing arrangements in Stonehouse
The material is officially on view ahead of the Books & Works on Paper auction on 16 September, with viewing scheduled from 10am until 4pm. Quire Auctions is also welcoming visits by appointment.
People interested in the books and their contents are invited to contact the auction house before visiting so arrangements can be made. Quire Auctions lists [email protected] as its contact email and says visitors are welcome, provided they get in touch first.
The company says it has continued working behind the scenes on the auction while also preparing its next catalogue. That forthcoming sale will feature Part II of the Patrick Wood collection of children’s and illustrated books.
Next sale to include Narnia first edition
One of the planned highlights is a first-edition copy of C. S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew, complete with a bright dust wrapper. The book has an estimate of £400 to £600 and is the sixth of the seven titles in the Chronicles of Narnia series.
The Patrick Wood collection also includes illustrations by Edmund Dulac, Pauline Baynes, Mervyn Peake, Errol le Cain and Ralph Steadman. Caitlin Riley, Quire Auctions’ co-founder, describes cataloguing the material as a pleasure.
Quire Auctions specialises in rare books, manuscripts, first editions and works on paper. Its current Stonehouse sale brings together children’s literature, historical fiction, illustrated books and a rare piece of Orwell correspondence, giving prospective bidders access to material spanning literary, political and publishing history.
