A collection of items owned by celebrated author Peter Benchley are to go on the auction block this month, including a number of Bermuda-linked items.

Willow Auction House in New Jersey is presenting “The Peter Benchley Collection: Jaws, A Life of Writing, A Legacy of Stories” on October 29 with almost 300 articles owned by the late writer up for bids.

The auction house said in a statement: “This intimate collection offers a personal look at Mr Benchley’s life and career, featuring Jaws production photographs and memorabilia, original typewriters, personal books and research materials, awards, photographs, diving suits and personal effects.”

Proceeds from the auction will benefit WildAid, a wildlife charity, and Beneath the Sea, a volunteer membership organisation that promotes marine education and careers.

Mr Benchley, best known for the 1974 novel Jaws, wrote two novels set in Bermuda including The Deep, which was inspired by a chance meeting with Teddy Tucker, a Bermudian naturalist and shipwreck hunter, while writing for National Geographic.

His connection to the island is highlighted by some of the items up for auction including a collection of 14 marine artefacts recovered from Bermuda’s waters by Mr Benchley and his wife, Wendy, in 1969 and 1970 including glass bottle fragments, ceramic pieces and metallic items.

The auction also features several items related to the 1977 film adaptation of The Deep, which was shot in Bermuda with a cast including Nick Nolte, Jacqueline Bisset, Louis Gossett Jr and Robert Shaw.

Along with promotional materials for the hit film, the auction includes a collection of photographs from the film’s production and a box of 27 glass ampoules produced as props for the film.

The auction also includes a variety of different international versions of Beast, a 1991 Bermuda-set novel by the author about a giant squid terrorising the island, and a printed map of Bermuda’s shipwrecks.