Daphne du Maurier's Typewriter to Auction

Daphne du Maurier's typewriter Olympia SM-4 De Luxe typewriter is going under the hammer at Bonhams' Books, Atlases and Manuscripts auction which ends on November 19.

With an estimate of £3,000 - £4,000, the typewriter (with serial no. 1354444 engraved on the base) has Olympia Werke A.G. maker's and London selling agent's plaque on the back, and was manufactured in West Germany. It comes with its grey-green case as well as the author's slightly frayed Chinese green silk dust-cover, and seems to be in working order.

The lot also includes the original manual plus a photograph of Daphne du Maurier at her desk using the typewriter.

Her first typewriter was an American Oliver Model 11 which is now held at the Smuggler's Museum at Jamaica Inn in Cornwall, England. She also used an Underwood Standard Portable Typewriter, a top of the range Olivetti, and an Adler which features in 1971 archive footage of her at work.

The Olympia SM-4 was produced between 1958 until 1961 in various colors, but the serial number dates this model to 1959 when du Maurier was writing her short story collection The Breaking Point and her The Infernal World of Bramwell Brontë biography. After her death it passed to her friend and secretary Maureen Baker-Munton.