A Dublin auctioneer selling a typewriter used by Irish author Christy Brown has withdrawn it from sale.
It followed Brown’s sister questioning claims that the Olympia Splendid 99 typewriter was used by the author to write his autobiography, My Left Foot.

His family said he wrote his story in 1954 holding a pencil in his foot and only later turned to the typewriter.

The cerebral palsy sufferer’s story was brought to international attention in Jim Sheridan’s 1989 Oscar-winning film.

Auctioneer James Adam and Sons estimated the typewriter could fetch up to 15,000 euro (£10,100).

The auction house said on Monday that his wife, Mary Brown, confirmed the authenticity and provenance of the typewriter, verifying that it was the one that Christy Brown used to type My Left Foot.

But in a statement on Tuesday, the auction house reacted to the claims made by Brown’s sister, Ann.

The auctioneer said: “Whilst there is no doubt about the provenance of this item for auction, Adam’s has become aware of new information regarding the use of the Olympia Splendid 99 typewriter by the author Christy Brown, which is included in the catalogue of their forthcoming art and literature sale on 3 July.

“Some of the new information is at odds with the history of the item within the vendor’s family, who were for many years very close to Christy and Mary Brown.

“In light of this information, Adam’s has decided to withdraw the typewriter from this sale pending further investigation and the examination of both photographic and documentary sources which we have been promised access to by the vendor.”

The auction house said it continued to believe the typewriter was owned by the author, but wished to clarify the role it played in his writing process.

Posted: 06|27|07 at 8:23 am. Filed under: Auction News.