A Trove of Teenage Hunter S. Thompson’s Letters Are Up for Auction

The day JFK was assassinated, as remembered by the Gonzo king

September 27, 2018 9:00 am

Calling all fans of modern American literature:

A treasure trove of early writing from none other than Hunter S. Thompson is being made available via an active Nate D. Sanders auction. The only thing to note? It’s less of an unpublished manuscript and more of … a pile of letters and drawings dating back as far as 1955, when the pre-notoriety writer was just 17 and wondering about his place in the world.

In the letters, most of which were dated to childhood friend Paul Semonin, Thompson discusses his own thoughts and ideas but also the happenings of the world at large. There’s his letter dated the day JFK was assassinated, part of which appears in The Proud Highway, as well as a letter to the writer Tom Wolfe. There are also words scrawled on official Time stationery from when the author was working as a copy boy.

And now you’ve got a chance to won the entire stack of missives and dispatches to the country … all handwritten, signed and delivered.

Bidding begins at $110,000, and wraps September 27 at 5 P.M. Pacific time.

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