Amy Winehouse’s personal book collection is going under the hammer at auction valued at £80,000
Amy Winehouse’s personal book library has been auctioned on Catawiki.
The late singer – who passed away in 2011 at the age of 27 – was an avid reader and owned a collection of 230 books, which are on sale on the European market through Sunday.
The collection has been carefully selected ‘to preserve the context and integrity of each volume’.
It contains books dating back to her school days with stamps from the various schools she attended.
There are also personal notes from her teenage years, such as an inscription from Amy’s “first serious boyfriend,” the reported inspiration for her song Stronger Than Me.
For sale: Amy Winehouse’s personal library of books is up for auction on Catawiki
Experts estimate this precious collection at between €80,000 and €90,000.
Mark Harrison, Book Expert at Catawiki says: ‘We are thrilled that the Amy Winehouse Library is being auctioned on Catawiki.
This personal library shows much more than Amy’s cherished love of books and literature, but many fragments of her daily life that not many people have witnessed.
“Many of the books show signs of her love, containing coffee and tea stains, lipstick stains, unfinished song letters, scribbles, and extensive personal notes.
“Her library reflects what she was like as a person: fierce and passionate.”
It comes as a biopic based on the singer’s life currently being filmed called Back To Black and starring Marisa Abela as Amy.
Amy’s father Mitch Winehouse defended the controversial casting choice for the biopic – after many argued that Marisa and Amy aren’t enough alike.
Dad Mitch disagrees with the backlash when he shared this week that Marisa is a “great choice,” admitting it doesn’t matter if they “don’t look exactly alike.”
Chat with TMZ on the new release about his daughter, Mitch said, “Marisa is Marisa and Amy is Amy…so it doesn’t matter if they aren’t mirror images.” Marisa is a great choice for the part.’
He continued that Eddie Marsan, who plays Mitch, doesn’t exactly look like him either, noting, “there’s too much emphasis on looks.”
“Because there are plenty of Hollywood examples of actors who don’t look like their real characters.”
But while the casting has her parent’s seal of approval, Amy’s friends aren’t so convinced either.
One of them told The Mail on Sunday that they are unhappy with Marisa’s casting because, despite the near-perfect wig she wears and the identical tattoos, she doesn’t think she looks like the Rehab singer.
They also contrast Roedean-educated Abela’s social background with London-born Winehouse, who was known for her streetwise persona.
“Nobody consulted us about Amy,” the friend said.
How can it be authentic and accurate if they don’t know the real Amy or the truth about what happened in her last years? We are against this and we are angry. Amy was absolutely striking.’
Amy’s friends are also furious with the biopic’s makers for not consulting them about the star’s life. will be inaccurate.
Auction: The late singer – who died in 2011 at the age of 27 – was an avid reader and owned a collection of 230 books, which are on sale on the European market until Sunday
Despite it being almost 12 years since Amy was found unconscious in her townhouse in Camden, North London, in July 2011, her bereaved friends still think it’s early to make a film like this.
Sources on the set of Back To Black – directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and named after Ms Winehouse’s 2006 hit album – say shooting will only take 10 weeks.
An insider said: “It all feels very fast, almost a bit of breaking and grabbing.”
Many have also questioned the film being made as a whole, accusing the project of “exploiting the singer’s legacy” and “cashing in on her trauma,” with some urging people to “just let her rest.”