Jack Kerouac’s 37 metre-long, first draft scroll of On the Road to be auctioned

The typewritten draft of On the Road, which was later revised and published in 1957. Photograph: Christie's

Jack Kerouac’s original typescript scroll for On the Road – the 37 metre (121ft) long roll of paper on which he typed his defining Beat novel in a three-week burst – will go under the hammer at Christie’s in March, with a sale estimate of £1.8m to £2.9m ($2.5m to $4m).

The scroll is one of the centrepieces of the Jim Irsay Collection, one of the most extensive private collections of music, literary, film and sports memorabilia ever assembled.