Joyce’s Death Mask, Letters to be Auctioned

A plaster death mask of James Joyce and five of the Irish writer’s last letters go on sale this month at Sotheby’s art auction house, which says the objects could fetch more than $34,000.

Joyce died in Zurich, Switzerland, on Jan. 13, 1941. The mask was made the next day by Paul Speck, a sculptor.

The letters, dated from October to December, 1940, were written to a family friend and her son. They have not been published and Sotheby’s has not identified the seller.

The auctions will take place July 22-23.