“Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences,” Sylvia Plath said in The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. She sure did live, love and write it incredibly well, and now we’ve found out how, and for how much. Recently auctioned by Ted Hughes and Plath’s daughter, Frieda Hughes, were Plath’s most prized possessions. Most important to catch our fashion freak hearts, Plath’s typewriter. An Hermès sage green 3000 typewriter that the poet bought in Boston in 1959. Iconic! We are so glad she was writing all those sorrowfully fabulous books and poems on such chicness. The 3000 was the most evolved typewriter for the House, introduced in 1958 and following all the ‘baby’ typewriter styles before it. New and improved, sleeker, sexier, apparently. Plath knew what was good. Interesting to note that other Hermès 3000 typewriter fans included John Steinbeck and Matt Groening. We know what we’ll be purchasing off eBay today. The magic touch.
Plath’s typewriter sold for £33,022 pounds, a slight difference to Hughes’ Silver Reed which sold for £3,569. Plath’s was sold amongst other incredible items including her underlined thesaurus for £13,975, her cookbook, including it’s sweet “Ted likes this” reminder next to a recipe for breaded veal slices, went for her £4443 and her wallet with ID card for £8,888, but most notably, her signed prepublication copy of ‘The Bell Jar’ went for a whopping £89,017. Plath’s fans go hard. As they should. Her legacy lives on and we’re feeling inspired to continue Ten Towers’ writings from typewriters. Mint green only. Totally illogical but oh so stylish and that’s all that matters. Channelling our inner Sylvia.
