Auction house Sotheby’s is set to auction off a rare manuscript that contains the first known use of the term “metaverse.” The manuscript is a draft of Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash, which is credited with introducing the concept of the metaverse to popular culture.
The manuscript, which is a signed copy of the book, is estimated to fetch between $60,000 and $100,000 at the auction. It is being presented by Boston-based bookseller, The Taylor Collection.
The manuscript includes Stephenson’s handwritten notes, revisions, and annotations, as well as the first use of the phrase “metaverse.” The metaverse is a virtual reality environment that Stephenson envisioned as a “consensual hallucination” that could be accessed by people all over the world.
The auction will take place on May 14 and is expected to attract a lot of interest from book collectors and tech enthusiasts.
