(14 Dec 2001)
1. Wide shot Senior Vice President Francis Wahlgren (on right) flipping through fragment of Gutenberg bible
2. Pan from Wahlgren to Gutenberg bible
3. Close up Gutenberg bible
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Francis Wahlgren, Senior Vice President, Books and Manuscripts, Christie's:
"Well, it begins with the ultimate soundbite for a book collector: 'In the beginning was the word'. And I think that would really strike a chord for any collector or anybody who loves books, because here is the beginning of printing and the beginning of the printed word. So it has a kind of a dual meaning I think for a book lover."
5. Medium shot Christie's employee picks a rare copy of St. Thomas More's "Utopia" out of book case
6. Close up flipping through "Utopia"
7. Medium shot flipping through first edition of King James bible
8. Close up flipping through King James bible
9. Wide shot letter from U-S President Thomas Jefferson
10. Close up letter from Jefferson
11. Close up cover of first American edition of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
12. Close up flipping through pages of "Huckleberry Finn" with illustrations
13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Francis Wahlgren, Senior Vice President, Books and Manuscripts, Christie's:
"Actually we've seen a real strong market that's been very steady. We've had a couple of sales since the eleventh (September 11) and they've really done very well. The great books have been selling very well."
14. Various wide shots of book gallery and visitors looking at books
STORYLINE:
A fragment from a Gutenberg bible highlights a rare books sale on Friday at the Christie's auction house in New York.
Dating from 1455 A-D, the fragment is the first appearance in print of the Gospel of Saint John.
Christie's estimates it will fetch between 800-thousand and 1.2 (one-point-two) (m) million (US) dollars.
The materials are from the collection of Estelle Doheny.
Mrs. Doheny married a prominent California businessman who left her a considerable fortune when he died in 1935.
She actively collected the best books and objects available in her day.
The books and manuscripts coming up for sale were found in a small Missouri town named Perryville.
Little was known about the existence - or the significance - of the material Mrs. Doheny assembled there and the collection was visited only by scholars on rare occasions.
Mrs. Doheny was active with Christian charities and the collection is being sold to benefit a Catholic mission in Kenya.
In addition to the Gutenberg bible, highlights of the sale include a rare original copy of Saint Thomas More's "Utopia", and an original letter from U-S President Thomas Jefferson.
A first edition of the King James, or Royal, version of the bible is expected to bring between 250-thousand and 350-thousand (US) dollars.
A first American edition of Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is expected to bring between 10-thousand and 15-thousand (US) dollars.
Christie's' chief book expert said that despite the economic downturn since the September 11 attacks, the rare book market is still quite strong.
The sale will take place over two days.
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