Turing treasure trove rescued from attic goes under the hammer

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Precious scientific papers once belonging to wartime codebreaking genius Alan Turing – rescued from an attic clear-out where they faced destruction – are set to fetch a fortune at auction next month.

The incredible archive, tipped to rake in tens of thousands, includes a rare signed copy of Turing's 1939 PhD dissertation, Systems Of Logic Based On Ordinals [PDF]. Experts reckon this manuscript alone could go for between £40,000 and £60,000 (c $54-$81,000).

Also among the finds is Turing's legendary 1937 paper, On Computable Numbers [PDF] – dubbed the first-ever "programming manual" and introducing the world-changing concept of a universal computing machine.

The papers, originally gifted by Turing's mother Ethel to his mathematician pal Norman Routledge, vanished from public view and were stashed forgotten in a family loft after his death.

As one of Routledge's nieces tells it in The Independent: "When he died in 2013, two of his sisters had the unenviable task of sorting through and emptying the contents.

"There were lots of personal papers which one sister carted away and stored in her loft. The papers lay dormant until she moved into a care home almost a decade later.

"Her daughters came across the papers and considered shredding everything. Fortunately, they checked with Norman's nieces and nephews because he'd always been a presence in our lives.

"Norman was an amazing man who showed genuine interest in everyone he came into contact with. His family were very important to him. He kept in regular contact and was interested in what each one was doing.

"We finally had an opportunity to see Norman's papers when the family hosted a 'Routledge Reunion' weekend in November 2024."

These "offprints" – papers produced in small quantities for circulation among fellow academics – were hauled to the gathering in a carrier bag, where the significance of the historical hoard was finally realized.

Among other gems in the lot are letters from famed novelist E.M. Forster and Turing's final published work, The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis from 1952, which describes how patterns in nature, such as stripes and spirals, can arise naturally from a homogeneous, uniform state.

"One cousin felt the Turing and Forster papers might be of interest to collectors," the niece said, thus the trove ended up with Rare Book Auctions in Lichfield, Staffordshire, which is now managing the sale.

Rare Book Auctions director Jim Spencer described the manuscripts as "the most important archive I've ever handled," adding: "Nothing could've prepared me for what I was about to find in that carrier bag."

"These seemingly plain papers – perfectly preserved in the muted colors of their unadorned, academic wrappers – represent the foundations of computer science and modern digital computing," he said.

"Literature has always been my forte, not mathematics, so the past few months of intensively researching and cataloging these papers has left me feeling that Alan Turing was superhuman."

A heartfelt letter from Turing's mother is also included, describing how she spotted her son's genius early, despite school bullies and skeptics. "I have today sent by registered post 13 of Alan's off-prints," it reads. "I have had some requests to write a biography of Alan... I have masses of material because from the time he was about 6 I spotted a winner – despite many detractors at school – and kept many papers about him."

Spencer said: "This fascinating letter is a golden thread that neatly ties up and seals the authenticity of everything being offered."

The Alan Turing Papers auction hits the block on June 17, open to bidders worldwide desperate for a slice of computing history. ®

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