Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts’s prized book and music collection ensnared for thousands at Christie’s auction

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Get our Now Hear This email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Satisfaction abounded as bidders landed rare first edition copies of books by Agatha Christie and PG Wodehouse on day two of the sales event, named “Charlie Watts: Gentleman, Collector, Rolling Stone – Literature and Jazz”, which started up at famed auction house Christie’s on Thursday. open image in gallery F Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby, described as “the cornerstone” of Watts’s prized collection, drummed up the highest bid fetching for £226,800 While being a member of one of the the world’s best-selling bands during his lifetime, Watts, more than two years after his death in August 2021, is now responsibile for two world records: works from his esteemed collection – first edition copies of The Hound of the Baskervilles and Christie’s The Thirteen Problems – sold for more than any other printed book by the classic authors in auction history. open image in gallery Charlie Watts’s Victorian full-size replica of the Bayeux Tapestry sold for £20,160 Twenty-five Christie novels were also placed under the hammer, with an “exceptionally rare” edition of the author’s 1932 mystery collection The Thirteen Problems selling for £60,480. Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 4 month free trial Sign up Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 4 month free trial Sign up Ahead of the sale, Watts’s bandmates, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, told the auction house: “Charlie was the heartbeat of the Rolling Stones for nearly 60 years.