ORTON (JOE)
Adler Universal 40 manual typewriter, bought by Joe Orton in April 1967, and used to write What the Butler Saw and Up Against It, stamped with serial number 'A810 08501 (Form 2)', paper seller's label of Low's Typewriter Company Limited, London (City, West End and Croydon phone numbers), seemingly in working order but in need of cleaning, oiling, and ribbon replacement, c.530 x 440mm. overall, with original slightly tatty fabric cover stamped 'Ma 30' on reverse, [manufactured c.1965]
Footnotes:
'I'VE FINISHED TYPING WHAT THE BUTLER SAW' - JOE ORTON'S LAST TYPEWRITER, bought four months before his violent death at the hands of Kenneth Halliwell, and used to complete his final and possibly finest play, the provocative parody of societal attitudes to sexual assault, What the Butler Saw. As his diary entry for Tuesday 4 April 1967 records, he and Halliwell 'went into the West End this morning. I bought a new typewriter. It cost eighty-odd pounds.... Argument over the fact that I bought two typewriter ribbons for 15s and normally only pay 7s 6d for them'.

Orton had already started writing What the Butler Saw the previous December, but the final version was not typed until July 1967, after he returned from his third trip to Tangier with Halliwell and Kenneth Williams: 'I've finished typing What the Butler Saw. Yesterday Kenneth read the script and was enthusiastic – he made several important suggestions which I'm carrying out' (Orton Diary, 11 July 1967). That same day Orton 'started typing the copies to be given to Peggy', and by the end of the month he was in discussions about the first production. However his optimism was of course short-lived - ten days later later he was dead, never having seen the play performed. When the play was finally put on, in March 1969, the opening night was a critical and commercial disaster, although one can't help thinking that Orton would have enjoyed the angry and disruptive reaction of the audience: 'Shouts of 'Filth!', 'Rubbish!', 'Find another play!' bombarded the actors as they struggled bravely through the lines', while actor Stanley Baxter recalls 'it became clear that it was militant hate that had been organized.... It was a battle royal.... The gallery wanted to jump on the stage and kill us all. The occasion had the exhilaration of a fight' (quoted in John Lahr, Prick up Your Ears).

Orton also used his Adler that year to type The Ruffian on the Stair and The Erpingham Camp for the stage double bill Crimes of Passion, along with some of his 'Edna Welthorpe' letters, and others written to Kenneth Williams. He also typed his screenplay for the projected Beatles film, Up Against It. He had already met with Paul McCartney to discuss the project, and although the screenplay was rejected by Brian Epstein after some delay, it was picked up by producer Oscar Lewenstein, who engaged Richard Lester as director, with Mick Jagger and Ian McKellen proposed for two of the leads. A meeting was arranged between Orton, Lewenstein and Orton at Twickenham Studios for what turned out to be the fateful day of 9 August, and it was Orton's driver who arrived that morning to discover the bodies of Orton and Halliwell.

Adler began manufacturing typewriters in 1898, and their machines have always been known for their innovative design and build quality. Initially they were aimed at printers and businesses, but as the century progressed, the firm began to manufacture domestic use models, such as the Universal, which were popular due to their precision and reliability, not least with writers. In 2015 Maya Angelou's electric Adler was sold at auction following her death, and now forms part of the Steve Soboroff collection, along with the typewriter belonging to E.M. Forster, sold in these rooms on 19 March 2014 (lot 193). Our typewriter was not Orton's first Adler - for his first six plays he used an Adler Tippa, the machine which led to his and Halliwell's arrest and six-month imprisonment when a librarian at Islington managed to show that letters from Orton were written on the same typewriter as the infamous defaced library books.

Exhibited: 'Ortonesque; Joe Orton 1933-1967', Leicester's New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, March 3 - May 7 2007, retrospective exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of Orton's death, featuring a collection of his personal belongings; 'Malicious Damage: The Life and Crimes of Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell in Islington', Islington Museum, 14 October 2011 – 25 February 2012 (alongside the defaced books).

The examples of Orton's typing illustrated are not included in the lot. Images supplied courtesy of the Orton Collection at the University of Leicester, MS 237/3/7/2 © Orton Estate.

Provenance: Joe Orton, 1967; sold on behalf of The Orton Estate.