Peter Benchley’s personal collection, ‘Jaws’ memorabilia to be auctioned in Lincoln Park
LINCOLN PARK BOROUGH, N.J. (Morris County) — Nearly 300 items from the personal collection of Peter Benchley, the author whose bestselling novel “Jaws” became a Hollywood phenomenon, will be auctioned later this month in Lincoln Park.
Willow Auction House will present “The Peter Benchley Collection: Jaws, A Life of Writing, A Legacy of Stories” at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at 2 Frassetto Way. Online bidding will also be available.
The collection spans Benchley’s life as an author, White House speechwriter, traveler, diver, collector and ocean conservationist. Benchley, who died in 2006, published “Jaws” in 1974.
Proceeds from the auction will benefit WildAid and Beneath the Sea, organizations supporting marine conservation, ocean education and exploration.
Among the items being offered are original “Jaws” production photographs and memorabilia, Benchley’s 1975 “Jaws” one-sheet movie poster, personal typewriters, books, research materials, awards and personal effects.
The collection also includes an original “Jaws” T-shirt given directly to Benchley by the film’s director, Steven Spielberg.
Before becoming a bestselling novelist, Benchley worked as a speechwriter for President Lyndon B. Johnson. The auction includes White House photographs, presentation pieces and personal materials connected to Johnson and first lady Lady Bird Johnson, including signed and inscribed photographs.
Several of those pieces were displayed at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, as part of the 2025 exhibition “From the White House to the Deep Ocean: LBJ, Jaws and Conservation.” Items include Benchley’s White House place card, professional identification and personal desk items.
The auction also highlights Benchley’s family literary and artistic legacy. His father was author and artist Nathaniel Benchley, while his grandfather was writer and humorist Robert Benchley.
Items connected to the family include paintings by Nathaniel Benchley and an original pen-and-ink drawing of the family by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.
Benchley’s collection of historical and artistic material includes a 13th-century French vellum Bible leaf, a royal decree signed by Philip II of Spain, documents associated with Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, and an early copy of “The Massachusetts Spy.”
Benchley’s interest in the ocean is also represented throughout the collection. Maritime artwork includes Christopher Blossom’s “Ship Allerton” and Thomas Hoyne’s “First and Saucy,” each carrying a pre-sale estimate of $6,000 to $8,000, along with other marine paintings, maps, photographs and nautical artifacts.
The collection also includes Benchley’s diving equipment, a Henderson titanium wetsuit, shark teeth, fossils and archaeological artifacts recovered by Peter and Wendy Benchley, including objects associated with Bermuda shipwrecks.
After “Jaws” became a worldwide phenomenon, Benchley grew increasingly concerned about public fear of sharks and devoted much of his later life to educating people about the animals and advocating for marine conservation.
Photographs of Benchley diving with sharks and manta rays, along with his diving gear and marine collections, are among the items documenting that part of his life.
“This collection tells a much bigger story than Jaws,” said Jill Iorio of Willow Auction House. “You see Peter Benchley as a writer, White House speechwriter, traveler, historian, diver and conservationist. There are things from his desk, things he wore, things he collected and even artifacts he recovered underwater. It feels less like an auction and more like walking through the story of his life.”
The auction will begin at 11 a.m. Oct. 29 at Willow Auction House, 2 Frassetto Way in Lincoln Park.
