![Ellison 1986](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/luxury/2021/12/07/35472933_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqdMBdErL2fP5sILxlIXuqDNf11FLKtqwYaxK652uKeQE.jpg?imwidth=680)
Bidding war expected for author Ralph Ellison's wristwatch
The upcoming sale of a watch that belonged to the author of one of the greatest 20th-century American novels, Invisible Man
![Ellison 1986](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/luxury/2021/12/07/35472933_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqdMBdErL2fP5sILxlIXuqDNf11FLKtqwYaxK652uKeQE.jpg?imwidth=680)
While his name may not be as familiar in British literature as George Orwell or DH Lawrence, in the US, Ralph Waldo Ellison is considered every bit as ground-breaking, controversial, and thought-provoking as his English counterparts.
The grandson of slaves, Ellison was born in 1914 in Oklahoma City, where he and his brothers were raised by their mother, following the early death of their father. A talented musician with a love of trumpet and jazz, after majoring in music at Tuskegee Institute, Ellison expected to become a composer and classical performer.
But while spending the summer of 1936 in New York, he met the author Richard Wright and decided not to return to Tuskegee. Instead, he took a job with the New York Federal Writers Program.
Ellison had several essays and short stories published by titles including The New Republic and Saturday Review and continued to write and study authors from Joyce to Dostoevsky and Hemingway during the Great Depression.
But it was while serving as a cook in the US Merchant Marine during the Second World War that Ellison first started to think of writing a novel – an ambition that came to fruition in 1952 with the publication of Invisible Man.
![Invisible Man](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/luxury/2021/12/07/H5K2C3-1_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqO2wBkCq2Mm4bNdLs0EhrY6Cx7b-Q6FcLBM_ipaN5SpA.jpg?imwidth=350)
A milestone in American literature, the National Book Award winning tome is as relevant today as it was 70 years ago. The impassioned novel tells the story of a man invisible “simply because people refuse to see me”.
The nameless protagonist describes his experiences growing up in a segregated black community in the South before moving to New York’s Harlem and becoming trapped in terrifying race riots. The book went beyond the story of one man and described the experience of an entire generation of Black Americans – and still resonates with the experiences of many today.
Despite his subsequent success as an educator and academic, teaching at colleges including the University of Chicago, Yale and New York University – and although he published subsequent collections of essays and lectures – Ellison’s long awaited second novel Juneteenth remained uncompleted at his death in 1994.
With Ellison’s name as pertinent to America’s now as it is to its past, it is not surprising that news of the Philips New York sale of his Omega Speedmaster wristwatch – an item that he wore regularly for three decades – on 12 December, has led to huge interest.
According to Paul Boutros, senior vice president and head of watches Americas for Phillips, “Ralph Ellison’s impact on American culture, to this day, remains profound – not only in the literary field, but also the visual arts. His one, epic novel pushed the envelope in terms of story-telling, using a narrative all his own. It was used as a way to describe the surrealism of American life and most especially the experience of African Americans that persists to this day.”
When it comes to artefacts related to people of note, provenance is everything, and with this piece, that is indisputable. California-based collector Ted Walbye bought the Ellison watch at a small auction house in Long Island City in 2016.
He had stumbled across the e-catalogue less than 24 hours before the sale went live and, although the images were poor, the raised Omega sign on the dial, showed that it had a Calibe 321 movement, which initially piqued his interest.
“The catalogue description was short and simple: ‘Omega Speedmaster Professional with stainless steel band. Provenance: Ralph and Fanny Ellison Charitable Trust’,” says Walbye.
“The morning of the auction I began wondering about the stated provenance. I was aware of an image of Ralph and Fanny Ellison that circulates on the web, in which many collectors believe Ellison is wearing an Omega Speedmaster. In a very short amount of time my interest in obtaining a Calibre 321 Speedmaster gave way to the pursuit of a singular wristwatch that potentially had significant cultural and historical import.”
![Speedmaster Ref. 145.012](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/luxury/2021/12/07/138_002-1_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqAfwcn9-ioHookDyYnjAMrTesRR4pJOGpjt1_XaRpuHA.jpg?imwidth=350)
On 29 December 2020, journalist Michael Clerizo received an email from Walbye, who had read Clerizo’s article in the Wall Street Journal about locating all six Heuer Monaco watches worn by Steve McQueen while filming Le Mans. Since purchasing the Speedmaster, Walbye had gathered photographic evidence that showed Ellison wearing a similar Speedmaster Ref. 145.012 in 1968.
Other images show that he wore it for another 26 years until his death in 1994. Knowing that he was halfway to proving the link, Walbye asked Clerizo to help establish the connection.
“Having collected all the images and knowing its provenance as stated by the auction house, there was no doubt in my mind that the watch I acquired was Ellison’s beloved Speedmaster,” he says “But I had reached a point in my own research where I felt it was time to share the story.”
“Of course, I said yes to Ted because I love doing this kind of research – It's the closest a watch writer gets to being an investigative journalist,” says Clerizo. “Over the next three months Ted and I followed several paths that we thought would lead to definitive proof, but everything we tried was a near miss – although we came tantalisingly close on a few occasions.”
Eventually, Clerizo was able to retrieve an Omega Extract which revealed the importer of the watch: Norman Morris Corp, NYC and, knowing that Ellison’s papers are kept at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, Walbye approached a researcher there who was willing to look for an original receipt for the watch.
No such thing appeared, but the researcher did find insurance policies that listed the Speedmaster complete with its serial number “Bingo! We had the proof,” says Clerizo. “As I said at the time, you don't insure a watch that you don't own."
![Insurance Ellison](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/luxury/2021/12/07/LOC_Ellison_box25_pic_2021-02-04_155536_OS-5_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpg?imwidth=350)
Added interest in the watch comes from the rarity and collectability of the model. “The Speedmaster, even without the provenance of Ellison, is a model that is particularly desirable to Omega collectors,” says Boutros. “Known as a ‘pre-moon’ example, it was produced before 1969, when Speedmasters were the watches chosen by Nasa for the Apollo XI moon landing. The watch is fitted with the highly prized Calibre 321, the movement used in Speedmasters produced from 1957 until 1968.”
Despite the moniker ‘pre-moon’, the ST145.012 is the model which was worn by NASA’s Apollo astronauts and Petros Protopapas, Omega's head of brand heritage, guesses that, “Ralph Ellison might have appreciated this watch for that very reason. As a human being with deep concerns about everyday life on Earth and under the stars, he might really have enjoyed the Speedmaster’s pioneering spirit.”
According to Boutros, “Any 321-based Speedmaster is highly desirable. Preserved in all original, unpolished condition, this watch ticks all the boxes for collectors.” But of course, this example has added interest with Boutros concluding, “Not only do you get a ‘collector-grade’, vintage Speedmaster, you get one with a superb provenance from a remarkable American author with a wonderful story behind it.”
On his reasons for selling, Walbye says: “This has been a once in a lifetime experience: acquiring the watch, truly believing in its historical significance, then doing the hard work of establishing an irrefutable provenance. I’ll always wonder, had the watch been purchased by someone else, would they have understood the cultural importance of Ralph Ellison? I can envision a scenario wherein the connection between Ellison and his Speedmaster could have been lost. Now the history is known. Even though I have the heart of a collector, I’m ready to let the watch go.”
The watch goes to auction with an estimate of $10,000-20,000, but is almost sure to go higher. As for where the watch will end up, Omega has made no secret that it will be bidding with the aim of taking the watch back to its Biel-based museum with Omega CEO and president Raynald Aeschlimann saying: “Still today, Ralph Ellison’s work plays a hugely important role in addressing the social issues and history surrounding American culture. We feel quite proud that the great writer chose to wear our timepiece for so many years. Watches, clocks and time are obvious themes within his novel, Invisible Man, and so this is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate OMEGA’s connection to Mr Ellison, and also bring renewed focus to his life and career.”
![Ellison](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/luxury/2021/12/07/138_006_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq5NwkAa0zpkAns9MHZqY6MCRh7wwNUnKulyaRzmqxzg8.jpg?imwidth=350)
Although Omega’s pockets are deep, competition to keep the piece in the US is strong, with Boutros saying that the most significant interest so far is with American clients. He adds: “We simply hope that the watch goes to a buyer who will appreciate its historical importance, and trust the market will recognise this importance on the day of the auction. If it ends up being purchased by an institution or brand, we would be delighted as perhaps the watch could be exhibited to the public.”
Clerizo goes one step further, saying: “For me Ellison's Invisible Man is one of the highest peaks in American literature. His technique and his style rank with Faulkner, Joyce and Proust.
His subject matter, the experience of Black people in American society and the nature of American racism, is one of the most important topics an American novelist can tackle. Regardless of who comes out on top in the bidding, Omega or a private collector, I hope that the victor will be generous enough to lend the watch to the National Museum of African American History and Culture for at least a part of every year.”
For Protopapas, however, the Omega museum is the perfect home: “Firstly, we would be ensuring that the timepiece is on permanent display, so that any visitor can enjoy it. But most importantly, we have the most prominent experts in watchmaking on hand, to ensure that this well-loved watch is maintained and preserved in the best condition possible for years to come.
We are very proud of our connection to Ralph Ellison and would be honoured to bring this piece back ‘home’ to our collection. Of course, we would obviously consider loaning the piece to [prominent] institutions should they desire it for a temporary exhibition.”