BOSTON, MASS.— An archive originating from the estate of author Mario Puzo sold for $625,000, according to Boston-based, RR Auction. Online bidding for the firm’s literary rarities auction began on February 11 and concluded on February 18 at 6 pm. At 7 pm, a live auction of the Mario Puzo archive took place at the company’s Boston Gallery.

Mario Puzo’s 1965 Olympia typewriter with manuscripts and versions of both Godfather I and Godfather II screenplays.

The monumental, 45-box archive spans 50 years, ten books and nine screenplays and feature the author’s handwritten novel and script work on The Godfather. It went to a private collector and will not only remain in America but also as an intact archive.

“We worked with the Puzo family and it was very important that the archive stay together,” said Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction.

The Godfather I material includes thousands of pages, notes and drafts of a multitude of versions of both the novel manuscript and the film screenplay, and sheds light on never-before-released information regarding Puzo’s character, scene and dialogue development, as well as his collaboration with director Francis Ford Coppola.

Included is an original 744-page typed working draft manuscript for The Godfather novel (then titled “Mafia”) featuring a plethora of important handwritten amendations by the novelist. In addition is the presence of six large oak tag storyboards outlining the lengthy nine-section novel.

All in all, there are nine partial copies of the Godfather I script in various stages of completion, many of which have important notations in Puzo’s own hand; present is a beautiful handwritten piece of Vito dialogue where the author himself pens, “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

“It’s is a rare glimpse into the mind of the author of two of the most iconic films of the Twentieth Century,” said Livingston. “The archive covers his entire literary career and provides extraordinary insight into his artistry. We are honored to have been selected by Puzo’s estate and couldn’t be more thrilled with the results of the sale.”

Expertly organized within 45 banker’s boxes, this collection surveys the lifework of Puzo on a scale never-before-seen, and is highlighted by the book-to-screen progression of the work that defined his career.

For information, www.rrauction.com or 800-937-3880.