MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) 鈥� A buyer from Argentina paid $42,120 for a manuscript of works, including seven unpublished stories, by legendary Argentine writer Julio Cort谩zar at an auction Thursday in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo.
The bundle of 60-year-old sheets bound together with metal fasteners bearing the inscription 鈥淛ulio Cort谩zar. Historias de Cronopios y de Famas. Paris. 1952鈥� was the basis for the writer鈥檚 iconic 鈥淐ronopios and Famas鈥� book, published in 1962.
The buyer paid $36,000, plus the auction house's 17% commission, for the typewritten manuscript containing 46 short stories that make up the heart of what ended up becoming one of Cort谩zar鈥檚 most famous works.
Of the total stories, 35 were published in 鈥淐ronopios and Famas.鈥� Some were printed exactly as found in the manuscript that was once thought to be lost forever. It was discovered in Montevideo last year, while others underwent editorial changes. Three other stories were published in magazines before Cort谩zar's death in 1984.
The seven unpublished works are: 鈥淚nventory,鈥� 鈥淟etter from one fame to another fame,鈥� 鈥淎utomatic Butterflies,鈥� 鈥淭ravels and Dreams,鈥� 鈥淭iny Unicorn,鈥� 鈥淢irror鈥檚 Anger鈥� and 鈥淜ing of the Sea.鈥�
Cort谩zar is one of Latin America's most celebrated writers, known for several groundbreaking works that included innovative narrative techniques that influenced future generations of writers.
The 60 yellowed sheets had a starting bid of $12,000 and were being auctioned by Zorrilla, an auction house in Montevideo, in partnership with the Buenos Aires art antique dealer Hilario.
In 1952, Cort谩zar sent a manuscript titled 鈥淪tories of Cronopios and Famas鈥� from Paris to Luis Mar铆a Baudizzone, the head of Argentine Argos publishing. Baudizzone, a personal friend of the writer, who at the time had only published his first novel, 鈥淏estiario,鈥� never responded, according to Cort谩zar scholars.
鈥淭hese little tales of cronopios and famas have been my great companions in Paris. I jotted them down on the street, in cafes, and only two or three exceed one page,鈥� Cort谩zar wrote to his friend Eduardo Jonqui茅res in October 1952. In the same letter, he informed Jonqui茅res that he had sent a typescript to Baudizzone.
More than half a century later, the typescript began to be studied by specialists when the son of a book collector, who had passed away in Montevideo, found it at the bottom of a box with other materials.
鈥淚t was something that had been lost,鈥� Roberto Vega, head of the Hilario auction house, told The Associated Press. 鈥淭he book was in an unlisted box. It could have happened that the collector died, and things could have ended up who knows where. It could easily have been lost.鈥�
Vega speculates that Cort谩zar 鈥渓ost track of the manuscript鈥� after he sent it to Baudizzone.
The collector鈥檚 family, who requested anonymity, does not know how Cort谩zar鈥檚 manuscript ended up in the estate of the deceased, who had silently cherished it. The heir contacted Lucio Aquilanti, a Buenos Aires antiquarian bookseller, and a prominent Cort谩zar bibliographer, who confirmed the piece鈥檚 authenticity.
Institutions, collectors and researchers from both the Americas and Europe had been inquiring about the manuscript recently because of its rarity.
鈥淰ery few originals by Cort谩zar have been sold,鈥� Vega said.
Guillermo Garat, The Associated Press
