Writing to his sweetheart Barbara Ann Hewitt, a young man then named Robert Zimmerman discussed his dream to sell a million records one day. He would go on to sell 125 million.
The letters were written over a perod of roughly two years in the late 50s by a teenage DylanImage: Nikki Brickett/AP Photo/picture alliance
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A collection of personal letters written by a young Bob Dylan to a high school girlfriend has fetched almost $670,000 (around €650,000) at auction this week.
A renowned Portuguese book shop, the Livraria Lello in Porto, bought the collection of 42 handwritten letters totaling 150 pages. It plans to keep the archive available for Dylan fans and scholars to study, auctioneer RR Auction said in a statement on Friday.
The sale was completed on Thursday, with the letters the centerpiece and most expensive lot among a series of young-Dylan effects and memorabilia sold.
Dylan's high school sweetheart had preserved not just the letters but each handwritten envelopeImage: Nikki Brickett/AP Photo/picture alliance
Letters from 1957-59, as Zimmerman became Dylan
Dylan, a native of Hibbing, Minnesota, wrote the letters to Barbara Ann Hewitt between 1957 and 1959. At the time he was still known as Bob Zimmerman. They provide an insight into a period of his life of which not much is known.
RR Auctions' executive vice president, Bobby Livingstone, said you could see in the letters "the transformation of Bob Zimmerman into Bob Dylan."
Dylan discusses his plans to change his name and his dream of selling a million records in some of the letters. The 81-year-old Nobel Literature Prize laureate has sold roughly 125 million in a career lasting more than six decades.
The Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal, said it would put the letters on public display for all to seeImage: Nikki Brickett/AP Photo/picture alliance
Letters discovered after Hewitt's death
The young musician often expresses his affection for Hewitt, invites her to a Buddy Holly concert, shares fragments of his poetry, and discusses issues ranging from cars to clothes and music.
Hewitt's daughter found the letters after her mother died in 2020. Each letter was accompanied by a handwritten envelope usually including the name Bob.
Over six decades of iconic songs: Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan also left his mark as an activist, an actor and a Nobel Prize winner.
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The protest singer
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan are connected by more than protest against the establishment. The two were once a couple. In 1963 they made a joint appearance at the civil rights march in Washington.
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The actor
Calling Bob Dylan a folk or rock singer would be describing only part of his personality. Dylan is more like a total work of art, a cultural treasure of American society, who is an iconic protest figure and actor, as well. In 1973 he appeared in the movie "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid."
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The activist
When his live touring schedule allows, Dylan has always turned towards benefit performances. In this photo from 1971, he appears with ex-Beatles Ringo Starr and George Harrison, performing in Madison Square Garden for 40,000 people. The concert proceeds of $250,000 went directly to the young country of Bangladesh, torn by civil war.
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The 'never-ending' performer
Bob Dylan remains active on stage. Although his "Never Ending Tour" was interrupted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been in progress since 1988. The 79-year-old also released his 39th studio album in June 2020, the critically-acclaimed "Rough and Rowdy Ways," which came 58 years after the release of his debut album, "Bob Dylan."
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The prize winner
Bob Dylan has two honorary doctorates and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 in recognition of his enormous influence on pop culture. In 2012, US President Barack Obama awarded him the country's highest civil distinction: the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He also became a Nobel Prize laureate in 2016.
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The dealmaker
In December 2020, Universal Music bought the entire back catalog of Bob Dylan's songs, a deal covering more than 600 song copyrights and spanning the singer-songwriter's 60-year career. The music company did not reveal the financial details of what it described as "one of the most important" music publishing agreements of all time, but reports estimate it was a "nine-figure deal."
