Collector’s rare books sold for $1.5 million

NORTH DAKOTA

These three books owned by Bill Strutz of Bismarck, N.D., sold for more than $1.5 million at a June auction. They include from left: an inscribed copy of “The Great Gatsby” $425,000; “Frankenstein” in original pink, $843,750; and “The Hobbit,” $300,000. More of Strutz’s books are being auctioned through Dec. 11. HERITAGE AUCTIONS

Strutz said he liked collecting books because “I’m a reader.” In 1975, he found his first-edition copy of Mary Shelley’s 1818 “Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus.” There are only two other known copies of the book in the original pink boards. MATT ROPPOLO — HERITAGE AUCTIONS

Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” from 1854 sold for $275,000. The book is inscribed by Thoreau to Harrison Gray Otis Blake: “H.G.O. Blake / from / H.D.T.” HERITAGE AUCTIONS

The auction includes many books that were later adapted to film, including “All Quiet on the Western Front” from 1929. At press time, the current bid is $4,200. MATT ROPPOLO — HERITAGE AUCTIONS

William Strutz’s library in his Bismarck home contained 15,000 books that were lovingly cared for and read often. HERITAGE AUCTIONS

“Profiles in Courage” from 1955 by John F. Kennedy and “To Seek a Newer World” from 1967 by Robert F. Kennedy are sold together in one lot. Both books are inscribed by the authors. MATT ROPPOLO — HERITAGE AUCTIONS

Image

By Tracy Briggs

Forum News Service

Remember that scene from Disney’s animated classic “The Beauty and the Beast,” where Belle gasps in awe at the towering shelves and endless rows of books in the Beast’s magnificent library?

That was likely people’s reaction when they stepped into Bill Strutz’s ruby-red, breathtaking home library in Bismarck, N.D. But the humble attorney was a “beast” only when it came to his passion for book collecting.

Strutz died in January 2024.

On June 27, his family, working with Heritage Auctions (headquarters in Dallas, Texas), presented “The William A. Strutz Library, Part 1, Rare Books Signature Auction,” which contained 220 lots of his 15,000-book and manuscript collection.

But that was just the beginning. Another auction is now underway and more records could be broken, by the man who simply loved a good book.

A record-breaking day

The items sold in June for an astounding $5.6 million. They included numerous new record prices for some beloved works of literature, including a world record price for a copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,”(1925) selling at $425,000; J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” (1937) selling for $300,000; and Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” (1854) selling for $275,000.

Towering above them all was a copy of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” (1818) that sold for $843,750. It was one of only three known first editions in the original pink boards (and the only one in private hands).

“This was a single-owner sale 60 years in the making, and the results are a true testament to a great collector and a market that recognized the treasures assembled by William Strutz,” said Francis Wahlgren, Heritage Auctions’ International Director of Rare Books and Manuscripts.

However, if you found yourself a few thousand dollars short this summer and are still looking for a history-making read, now is your chance.

The second part of the auction, “Important English and American Literature: The William A. Strutz Library, Part II,” started on Nov. 11 and runs through Dec. 11. It includes 400 lots, delving deeper into the many shelves of the Strutz library.

It consists of an expanded selection of books and manuscripts of Strutz’s favorite poets and authors, including John Donne, Sir Thomas Browne, William Wordsworth, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Robert Frost, James Agee, Wallace Stevens, and John Steinbeck.

Strutz was also a fan of books that were eventually adapted to film, including “Key Largo,” “State Fair,” “The Caine Mutiny,” “Elmer Gantry,” “The Guns of Navarone,” “The Godfather,” “Jaws,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and more.

The collection also includes print and manuscripts of hymns, lyrics, songs and works of science fiction, horror and fantasy.

This portion also includes a broader range of inscribed books by historical figures, including Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Jr. and a sizable selection of books signed or inscribed by Presidents of the United States, including John F. Kennedy.

An educated, yet humble collector

Wahlgren first heard of Strutz and his collection in the 1980s.

“Everybody just knew him as ‘the guy from North Dakota.’ But he was so much more than a ‘flyover collector.’ He had a name and reputation for being good,” Wahlgren said.

Strutz began assembling his collection in college in the late 1950s and focused on books of great literary significance, in superb original condition and with important provenance.

Wahlgren didn’t travel from New York City to Bismarck to meet him until around 2010.

“I had always heard that he had a “Great Gatsby” that was allegedly the best copy, the finest copy, which is magic in the book world, and this one happened to be inscribed as well,” Wahlgren said.

He knew he just had to see the collection for himself.

“I had no idea until I got there what it would be like. His library was kind of a cloistered room within his home. He had the home designed around the library. So you have a two-floor library, at the center, the heart of the house,” he said.

He described the massive collection as accessible via a spiral staircase, meticulously organized and lovingly maintained. The most valuable volumes were securely housed in a glass-and-steel cabinet strategically placed beside his reading chair.

“I can imagine, on a cold North Dakota evening, him sitting in his chair, reaching for a book and having his tea and chocolate,” Wahlgren said.

Wahlgren said what delights him the most is that Strutz didn’t just collect the books and shove them onto the shelf like fragile, porcelain dolls never to be touched again. Instead, he cherished reading them, often leaving notations in pencil on their pages, a testament to his engagement with the words within.

“He was a real scholar of books. Aside from being a lawyer, his passion for books was there, and he made the time for it. I think every evening he was in that library, and he was inquisitive. He was a real educated collector,” Wahlgren said.

Wahlgren said the June auction attracted international interest so much that English dealers will participate for the first time during this second auction. He said a third, even larger auction, will be held July 23-24, 2025.

The Strutz family, which includes Bill’s widow Marilyn and children Heidi, Colin and Nat Paul, said they’re grateful to everyone who made the first auction a success.

“The auction honored my father’s passion, and we look forward to working with Heritage as we continue to tell Dad’s story through the books he collected and loved,” Colin said.

Bill Strutz would likely be pleased to see his collection garnering so much attention, knowing others share his deep love of literature.

However, Wahlgren noted, Strutz was the type of person who probably wouldn’t have made a big deal about it.

“He was a humble collector,” he said. “A very nice man with a Midwestern way of thinking and no big ego. But what he amassed with this collection is absolutely incredible. And I’m so happy that we could bring that to light.”

For more information about the Strutz auction go to Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) and search “Strutz” in the keywords.