This Must Be the Place (14 page)
Can’t sleep – worried about you. Can you just give me one word? So I know you haven’t been tied up by a crazy person or fallen into the Seine or run away with the circus or got your hair tangled in a rotating fan and are pinned to the spot, in much pain? I am happy to come to your rescue if any of these things have occurred but I may need coordinates.
Tx
[Wells to Lindstrom] 22/02/92
Not fallen into Seine, never been tempted by circus life, hair fine although out of control. Rather like me, it would seem. Have thrown caution to the winds and booked flight to New York. Will be with you tomorrow morning. We can discuss coordinates then.
Cx
[Lindstrom to Wells] 22/02/92
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LOT 18
FRAMED PRINT OF CLOUD FORMATIONS
Entitled
Wolkenformen
and taken from a textbook. Shows illustrations of twelve different types of cloud. Oak frame, glass. Some signs of scratching on the front. Lower left corner shows small split in wood. Writing on the back:
For C, my silver lining, with love, Txxx.
NB: ‘Cloud’ was Lindstrom’s nickname for Wells. Lot includes photograph of Wells, with cigarette and dog, sitting in the Manhattan apartment she shared with Lindstrom, circa 1993; print can be seen on the wall behind her.
LOT 18
LOT 19
TWO PIECES OF CORAL
Kept by Wells on her desk.
Red organ pipe coral
(Tubipora musica)
and blue coral
(Heliopora coerulea)
, both native to the Indian Ocean. Provenance and significance to Wells unknown.
LOT 19
LOT 20
FIVE FLOPPY DISCS
Used by Wells to save various drafts of the script for
When the Rain Didn’t Fall
, the film she co-wrote with Lindstrom in 1992. All covers show notations, labelling and corrections in Wells’s handwriting.
LOT 20
LOT 21
TISSUE WITH LIPSTICK BLOT
Made by Wells. From the set of
When the Rain Didn’t Fall
, shot in late 1992.
LOT 21
LOT 22
NINE MAGAZINES
Most featuring Wells on the cover. Dated 1992–3. All are signed ‘
To Derek
’, by Wells.
LOT 22
LOT 23
ASHTRAY IN THE SHAPE OF A STAR
Aluminium, dates from 1940s. Included in lot is a photograph of Wells and Lindstrom on set, looking at a monitor together; Lindstrom has his arm around Wells; Wells is holding a cigarette and the ashtray in one hand.
LOT 23
LOT 24
MAKE-UP BAG BELONGING TO WELLS
Kimono design, gold leather loop,small inkstain to interior.
Contents are as follows: one large hairpin, seven small hairpins, two blue and white spotted hairclips, kilt pin, green Bakelite bracelet, small plastic dinosaur, enamel butterfly brooch,beetle cast in resin, two elastic hair-bands, Chinese enamel bangle, double shell, one plastic doll’s hand, one clear plastic button, one tortoiseshell button with four holes, one navy button with anchor design, one blue silk-covered button in paisley pattern.
LOT 24
LOT 25
GREY SILK DRESS
Embellished with red and orange beading, worn by Wells at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. Lot includes photographs of her arriving at the screening with Lindstrom. It was their first official appearance as a couple.
LOT 25
LOT 26
PAIR OF SNEAKERS
In red lightning-flash print, size 39, worn by Wells in the early 1990s. Some signs of wear to sole and canvas upper. Included in lot is paparazzi shot of Wells, torn from the page of a magazine, which shows her wearing the shoes, running across a road in New York.
LOT 26
LOT 27
GREETINGS CARD
To Claudette Wells from her brother, Lucas Wells, dated 12 November 1993. Image shows a girl being towed by a younger boy on a bicycle past the Eiffel Tower in 1943:
Le Remorqueur du Champ de Mars
(The Tug Boat of the Champ de Mars), Robert Doisneau. Some signs of wear and damage – large central crease where it has been kept folded.
Text reads:
C, It is the most surreal experience watching your life explode from my position here across the Atlantic. I feel a bit like an astronomer traking [sic] the course of a comet and just hoping it doesn’t crash. Please just know this: you can come here any time. The house is ready (sort of) for visitors. Come, come, come. Wear a gorilla suit or similar so no one harasses you on the plane. Can you travel under an assumed name? Lx