Bonhams to sell manuscript by Alan Turing

NEW YORK, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A 56-page manuscript containing notes handwritten by famed British mathematician Alan Turing will hit the auction block in New York April 13.

Bonhams Fine Books & Manuscripts is handling the sale of the document in which Turing works on the foundations of mathematical notation and computer science.

The notebook is expected to sell for at least seven figures and a portion of the proceeds from Bonhams and the vendor are intended to be donated to charity, the auction house said.

"Alan Turing was parsimonious with his words and everything from his pen has special value. This notebook shines extra light on how, even when he was enmeshed in great world events, he remained committed to free-thinking work in pure mathematics," Turing scholar Andrew Hodges said in a statement.

"It is almost certainly the only extensive autograph manuscript by Turing in existence, and has never been seen in public," said a news release announcing the sale.

"From internal evidence, it dates from 1942 when he was working at Bletchley Park to break the German Enigma Code, and provides remarkable insight into the thought process of a genius. As he writes in his distinctive hand: 'The Leibniz notation I find extremely difficult to understand in spite of it having been the one I understood the best once! It certainly implies that some relation between x and y has been laid down eg, y=x2+3x...'

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It was among the papers left by Turing in his will to his close friend and fellow mathematician, Robin Gandy. Turing committed suicide in 1954 as a consequence of the hormone treatment to 'cure' his homosexuality, which he was undergoing as an alternative to imprisonment."

Turing's life and contributions are depicted in the Oscar-nominated film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley. It is based on Hodges' book Alan Turing: The Enigma.

"Alan Turing was a war hero, who broke the Enigma code helping to bring an end to World War II, the father of modern computing science, and a gay icon who lived in a time of intolerance and tragically committed suicide as a result. His impact on our everyday lives is enormous, and the thought of being able to hold a manuscript that was written by him is thrilling," Cumberbatch said.

"This manuscript dates from the time when Turing was engaged in the crucial task of breaking the Enigma Code. Its mathematical content gives an extraordinary insight into the working mind of one of the greatest luminaries of the 20th century. This is quite simply one of the most extraordinary pieces I have ever had the privilege to handle," said Cassandra Hatton, senior specialist in fine books and manuscripts and the history of science at Bonhams.