'The Godfather' Author's Papers Sell at Auction For $625,000

BOSTON, Mass. (AP) — An archive of author Mario Puzo's papers that includes multiple drafts of "The Godfather" novel and movie screenplay has sold at auction for $625,000.

RR Auction of Boston announced that the 45-box archive sold Thursday to a bidder from the U.S. who wishes to remain anonymous.

"The Godfather" material included thousands of pages, notes and drafts from multiple versions of both the novel manuscript and the screenplay. The papers shed light on Puzo's character, scene and dialogue development, as well as his collaboration with Bay Area director Francis Ford Coppola, who brought the fictional Italian-American mob family's story to the screen.

Many of the drafts are marked with Puzo's own handwriting. Puzo's children put the collection up for auction.

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