University Archives October Sale Results
Nov 5, 2024

University Archives held its October 30, 2024 sale last week. Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books achieved especially strong returns in the U.S. Presidential, Early America, Science, World Leaders, Civil Rights, Religion, and Sports collecting categories. Not only did we maintain our exceptionally high long-time sell-through rate of over 90% (97%), but we also surpassed a company record: the most lot views ever received on Invaluable.com on a sale day, with 31,217 lot views. We are continuing to build a respected world-wide reputation.

U.S. Presidential

Lot 1 was a letters patent document co-signed by John Quincy Adams as President and Henry Clay as U.S. Secretary of State. The document dated August 30, 1826 was matted with a rare John Quincy Adams carte de visite after Mathew Brady. It sold for over double its high estimate, or $2,000 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 20 was a scarce 1p autograph letter signed by James A. Garfield as President, dated June 15, 1881, just two weeks before he was shot by Charles Guiteau. In the letter, Garfield gives directions to a hotel-owner in the “summer colony” of Long Branch, New Jersey, where First Lady Lucretia Garfield was recuperating from a bout of malaria. After the shooting, the fatally wounded Garfield ventured to Long Branch himself, to benefit from the sea air; he died there at Franklyn Cottage in September 1881. This remarkable letter sold for 40% more than its high estimate, or $12,160 including the tip.

Lot 20, James A. Garfield ALS

Lot 121 was an autograph document signed in full by George Washington as “Mr George Washington.” The document dated ca. 1773 pertained to a 1751 land survey of 445 acres that Washington had completed over 20 years earlier for one Richard Seymour on behalf of Washington’s older half-brother Lawrence Washington. Washington’s endorsement certified that he waived all claims to the original land ownership through either his half-brother or younger full brother Charles Washington. The document relating to Washington’s first humble career – as a backwoods land surveyor – exchanged hands for more than the high estimate: $18,750 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 122 was a provisional discharge certificate signed by George Washington in his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, dated June 7, 1783, and issued to Jonathan Titus, Jr., a Private in the 2nd New York Regiment. The document granted Titus Jr. a furlough and provisional discharge after 6 ½ years’ military service, part of which was spent at his father’s side. Jonathan Titus, Sr. and Jonathan Titus, Jr. fought together at engagements at Saratoga, Valley Forge, Monmouth, and Stony Point. The Washington signed document sold for 40% over its high estimate, or $20,000 including the tip.

Early America

Lot 253 was a printed U.S. Treasury circular, dated August 27, 1792, and boldly signed by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. In it, Hamilton outlined a new way to transmit “Abstracts of Licenses” for exports. Just a few months earlier, Hamilton had deftly handled the Panic of 1792, successfully preventing a nation-wide recession. The Hamilton signed document sold to an ecstatic phone bidder for 40% more than the high estimate, or $10,625 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 256 was a partly printed and partly manuscript pay order boldly signed by John Jay and directed to Benjamin Franklin, dated June 15, 1779. Jay instructed Franklin to remit 31,000 Livres Tournois to French playwright Caron de Beaumarchais. Famous for his comedic farces The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, Beaumarchais was also a secret agent who served as a liaison between the Americans and French prior to their official 1778 alliance. In this way, de Beaumarchais facilitated the transfer of French arms and supplies to the Continentals. This spectacular Revolutionary War-dated pay order exchanged between two of the era’s most influential Founding Fathers sold for 250% more than its high estimate, or $12,500 including the tip.

Science

Lot 447 was a 3pp autograph letter in German signed by Albert Einstein in which the scientist explores both his Unified Field Theory and General Relativity. This exceptionally long scientific letter addressed to Einstein’s friend and fellow physicist Cornelius Lanczos includes a total of twelve equations in Einstein’s hand. It also features unexpectedly comedic content, as when Einstein refers to Freud, another of the greats of twentieth-century science, as an “old man” whose “‘father complex’ … can so easily take hold … [in] an alarmingly unstable situation…” The letter sold online for over its low estimate, garnering $53,125 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 447, Albert Einstein ALS With Equations

World Leaders

Lot 392 was a 1p autograph letter in Gujarati twice signed by Mohandas Gandhi in what is the earliest example of an ALS we’ve ever seen. Gandhi wrote his older brother Laxmidas from South Africa on January 22, 1889 inquiring about mutual acquaintances. Gandhi signs the letter formally at the conclusion as “Mohandas Karamchand Pranam” and also signs it as “Gandhi” when writing out part of his brother’s name. This early letter sold for 20% more than its high estimate, or $10,625 including the buyer’s premium.

Civil Rights

Lot 219 was a British halfpenny made of Middlesex copper, ca. 1790s, depicting one of the most recognizable of all anti-slavery images and slogans: a shackled enslaved person asking “AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER?” The coin catalogued GB D&H-1038b sold for over five times its high estimate, or $5,312.50 including the buyer’s premium.

Religion

Lot 223 was a 1p autograph letter signed by Charles Wesley, the famed Methodist hymnodist, dated January 24, 1753, in which he regretfully declined an invitation from Ebenezer Blackwell, a wealthy London banker. Blackwell had recently converted to Methodism and financed much of the ministries of the Wesley brothers (including John) and George Whitefield. The letter sold for 20% over its high estimate, or $4,687.50 including the tip.

Sports

Lot 489 was an entrance ticket boldly signed by Babe Ruth and PSA/DNA graded GEM MT 10. The ticket granted admission to the Rhode Island Independent Amateur Softball Championships held in East Providence, Rhode Island from September 2-7, 1941. Guest stars Babe Ruth and Ted Williams both participated in crowd-drawing baseball-hitting demonstrations. Ruth had played for the Red Sox minor league team the Providence Grays nearly 30 years before. The signed ticket sold for double its high estimate, or $12,500 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 489, Babe Ruth Signed Ticket

Lot 491 was an archive of sports correspondence courses featuring autograph endorsements signed by the “Father of Basketball Coaching” Forrest C. “Phog” Allen, ca. 1935. The archive includes a 12th ed. hardcover copy of Allen’s foundational text, My Basket-ball Bible (1934) as well as printed curriculum handouts and graded assignments. The lot sold for well over the high estimate, or $7,500 including the tip.

Our next sale is tentatively scheduled for December 11, 2024.

We hope you can join us!

University Archives October 30, 2024 sale now online!
Oct 14, 2024

Visit our website, www.universityarchives.com, for more information, or check out our sale catalog here.

University Archives is thrilled to announce its upcoming sale, Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books, an auction of over 485 lots, on October 30, 2024. One of the marquee items is Lot 89, a highly unique and once-in-a-lifetime set of presidential signatures from George Washington to Barack Obama, all signed as President, from 1789 to 2010. This museum-quality collection comes from a Dallas, Texas gentleman and joins a great volume of exception presidential autographed material from other consignors. A timely assortment up for auction just a few weeks ahead of the 2024 United States presidential election! Outstanding items of historical interest from the Science, World Leaders, Civil Rights, Religion, Art & Music, Aviation & Space, History & Military, and Sports categories will also pass the auction block.

Lot 89, Presidential Collection

U.S. Presidential

Lot 89 is a complete set of presidential signatures from Washington to Obama, consisting of autograph letters signed, typed letters signed, and signed letters, together with a variety of signed documents, all signed as President. There are very few complete sets of Presidential autographs signed as President, mainly due to the scarcity of William Henry Harrison pieces, as he served just one month in office. Many of these sets reside in institutions and will never be offered to the public. It is likely that fewer than a dozen such sets likely exist in private hands, this one being one of the very best. In this way, a set of Presidential autographs signed as President is thus scarcer than a set of autographs from the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. The original set was curated by a collector whose passion for history and preservation also inspired him to assemble an equally phenomenal Signers set. We suggest that you pre-qualify as a bidder if you intend to compete for this marvelous collection.

Lot 20 is a scarce 1p autograph letter signed by James A. Garfield as President, dated June 15, 1881, just two weeks before he was shot by Charles Guiteau. In the letter, Garfield gives directions to a hotel-owner in the “summer colony” of Long Branch, New Jersey, where First Lady Lucretia Garfield was recuperating from a bout of malaria. After the shooting, the fatally wounded Garfield spent several painful months in Washington before eventually venturing to Long Branch himself, to benefit from the sea air. He died there at Franklyn Cottage in September 1881.

Lot 121 is an autograph document signed in full by George Washington as “Mr George Washington.” The document dated ca. 1773 pertained to a 1751 land survey of 445 acres that Washington had completed over 20 years earlier for one Richard Seymour on behalf of Washington’s older half-brother Lawrence Washington. Washington’s endorsement certified that he waived all claims to the original land ownership through either his half-brother or younger full brother Charles Washington.

Lot 110 is an 8pp advance press copy of a printed speech draft signed by President Harry S. Truman, ca. October 30, 1945. In this important postwar speech, Truman laid out his administration’s position on “reconversion” – the transition from a wartime economy to a peacetime one. Japan’s surrender and war’s end meant that the U.S. economy now faced a painful process jockeyed by both Labor and Industry interests. Truman urged the American people to harness the spirit of collaboration formed during World War II to meet the day’s challenges.

Lot 58 is a military commission signed by President Abraham Lincoln promoting a Connecticut native named Orson H. Hart to the rank of Captain and Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers in Daniel Sickles’s newly mustered “Excelsior Brigade” of primarily New York-based volunteers.

Science

The October sale features autographed letters, photographs, and sketches related to Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, Carl Jung, Guglielmo Marconi, Samuel F.B. Morse, Vinton Cerf, and Robert Goddard. Lot 447 is a 3pp autograph letter in German signed by Albert Einstein in which the scientist explores both his Unified Field Theory and General Relativity. This exceptionally long scientific letter addressed to Einstein’s friend and fellow physicist Cornelius Lanczos includes a total of twelve equations in Einstein’s hand. It also features unexpectedly comedic content, as when Einstein refers to Freud, another of the greats of twentieth-century science, as an “old man” whose “‘father complex’ … can so easily take hold … [in] an alarmingly unstable situation…”

Lot 447, Albert Einstein ALS

World Leaders

Winston Churchill, Louis XIII, Josef Stalin, Mohandas Gandhi, Fidel Castro, and Che Guevara are just a few of the World Leaders represented in our upcoming sale. Lot 392 is a 1p autograph letter in Gujarati twice signed by Mohandas Gandhi in what is the earliest example of an ALS we’ve ever seen. Gandhi wrote his older brother Laxmidas from South Africa on January 22, 1889 inquiring about mutual acquaintances. Gandhi signs the letter formally at the conclusion as “Mohandas Karamchand Pranam” and also signs it as “Gandhi” when writing out part of his brother’s name.

Lot 403 is a 1p manuscript document in Russian boldly signed by Josef Stalin, then a member of the Revolutionary Committee, dated September 9, [1920], and pertaining to military preparedness during the ongoing Polish-Soviet War. Stalin discusses artillery and troop movements in the days leading up to the decisive Battle of Neman River, which the Soviets lost to the Poles after a 10-day battle, marking the onset of the end of the war. Just one year later, Stalin reaffirmed his reputation as a skillful military advisor when he orchestrated the Soviet invasion of Georgia. This was one of the first steps towards consolidating Stalin’s power until he became the era’s top Soviet official. 

Art & Music

Lot 134 is an autograph letter in French signed by Pablo Picasso, PSA/DNA graded GEM MT 10, on the reverse of a postcard depicting “Paix” [“Peace”], a reproduction of the original color lithograph that Picasso produced for a peace conference held in Stockholm, Sweden in July 1958. Picasso mentions his second wife Jacqueline as well as his children in this June 20, 1960 letter to his patron and art collector Max Pellequer.

Lot 294 is a contract signed by both John Lennon and Yoko Ono Lennon, dated September 11, 1975, relating to their production company, Bag Productions, which the couple had established in the late 1960s and which later produced the 1971 solo album “Imagine.” The contract outlines terms of ownership of a large quantity of signed and unsigned lithographs, album covers, and colophon pages.

History & Military

Lot 205 is a massive archive of 18 autograph letters signed by Hawaiian missionaries, ca. 1846-1849, comprising 56pp. The correspondence written by members of the 8th Company of Missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions includes vivid descriptions of a surfboard and surfing, complete with pen sketches; volcanic eruptions and coastal topography; interactions between Whites and indigenous Hawaiians; and other topics of religious and human interest. The majority of the letters were penned by Dr. Seth Lathrop Andrews, a medical missionary from Putney, Vermont headquartered in Kailua, Hawaii.

Lot 205, Hawaiian Missionaries Archive

Lot 332 is a Civil War-dated 1p autograph letter signed by Brigadier General George Custer on April 6, 1864. Custer congratulated Captain R.R. Moffatt for his new “saber shield” design for cavalry weapons, stating: “I am firm in the belief that the possession of it by our cavalry would give confidence and increases courage to those wearing it.” Of course, nothing better represents Custer than his bravado on the battlefield; he firmly believed that a fringed saber sash or innovative military equipment could bolster a warrior’s confidence.

These are just a few of the wonderful items in our next auction. Please see our fully illustrated catalog for more information. We hope you can join us!

Nikola Tesla TLS

University Archives September 18, 2024 Sale Results
Sep 19, 2024

Wilton, Connecticut – University Archives held its September 18, 2024 auction yesterday. Over the course of seven hours, 544 lots crossed the auction block at breakneck speed. We received thousands of online bids across multiple auction platforms, as well as numerous absentee and phone bids from the United States and overseas. Our industry-topping sell-through rate of 97% went unchallenged despite the large sale size. U.S. Presidential, Science, Space, Military, and Literature yielded the most outstanding returns of the day. Items deaccessioned from the Forbes collection and consigned by the Manuscript Society elicited special interest.

See sale results

University Archives September 18, 2024 sale now online!
Sep 3, 2024

University Archives is delighted to announce its next sale: Rare Signed Autographs, Manuscripts, Books & Memorabilia. The September 18, 2024 auction will include 545+ lots of outstanding historical documents, rare books, celebrity autographs, photographs, original artwork, relics, and sports memorabilia. U.S. Presidential, Science/Technology, Military, Literature, Sports, and Space/Aviation are the collecting categories to watch!

We are proud to include items consigned by the Manuscript Society in this auction. These items come from the estate of well-known manuscript dealers Forest G. & Forest H. Sweet and Julia Sweet Newman. Forest G. Sweet was an early leader of the Manuscript Society as well as a rare book scholar. The proceeds from your purchase of these items will benefit the work of the Manuscript Society. You can learn more about them, and become a member of the Manuscript Society, at www.manuscript.org.

Teddy Roosevelt signed photo
Lot 107, Theodore Roosevelt signed presentation photo to Pope Pius X

To view our full illustrated catalog:

https://www.universityarchives.com/auction-catalog/Rare-Signed-Autographs,-Manuscripts,-Books-&-Memorabilia_JOND6M4VWF/

John Reznikoff Serves As “Chief Authenticator” In Emmy-Nominated Netflix Series, “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch,” Season 2
Oct 15, 2024

John Reznikoff appears in most episodes of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch, Season 2, which dropped on June 12, 2024. Reznikoff feels honored to serve as “Chief Authenticator” at Goldin Auctions (Runnymede, NJ).

In Episode 2, “Rookie Moves,” Goldin Auctions founder and namesake Ken Goldin says about John Reznikoff: “He is the world’s leading expert and most admired individual in his business.”

See the video clip here

See the trailer on YouTube

John Reznikoff, Leading Questioned Document Examiner
Oct 15, 2024

John Reznikoff is considered by many to be the leading expert on Questioned Document Examination and related valuation.

Reznikoff served as the defense expert in the famous “Hotel California” lyrics case and his side prevailed.

He recently won his client a $17 million judgment in Devengoechea v. Boliviarian Republic of Venezuela.

Case history of Ricardo Devengoechea v. Boliviarian Republic of Venezuela (2024)

Reznikoff has also served as an expert witness in the following cases:

Case history of United States Securities & Exchange Commission v. Collector’s Coffee Inc. (2023)

Case history of David Bailey v. Interbay Funding, LLC, et al. (2020)

Case history of Charlotte Meyers, et al. v. Jennifer Meyers, et al. (2017)

Case history of George E. Pickett V v. American Ordnance Preservation Association, et al. (1999)

John Reznikoff’s Expert Testimony “significantly contributed to the success of a crucial court case… over a $3 million dispute”
Oct 15, 2024

Stephen B. Sawtelle, President of SBS Star, Inc. of North Haven, Connecticut, recommended John Reznikoff’s services as an expert witness. Reznikoff’s clear and deft presentation of his professional opinion ensured a favorable ruling in the $3 million court case.

Sawtelle praised not only Reznikoff’s professionalism, but also his compassion, writing in part, “For these reasons, I unreservedly recommend Mr. John Reznikoff to anyone seeking an expert in handwriting analysis. His expertise, coupled with his professional integrity and personal empathy, make an invaluable asset in any legal challenge.”

Click here to see Sawtelle’s letter in its entirety

Reznikoff Prevails As Expert Witness in Case Regarding Lincoln Endorsement
Oct 15, 2024

John Reznikoff recently provided expert testimony in a fraud case involving a printed Abraham Lincoln pass in the case of Richard Thorner v. Randy Welch et al., resolved in Allentown, Pennsylvania courts in 2021.

Reznikoff’s undisputed knowledge of Lincoln’s handwriting, combined with his use of cutting-edge forensic technology, provided incontrovertible evidence against the defendants, and proved invaluable in securing a successful prosecution, according to Manchester, New Hampshire Attorney at law Richard Thorner.

“As a practicing attorney of nearly 33 years, I have rarely encountered an expert witness who so readily grasped both the task and goal at hand, but who also significantly contributed to the overall case strategy,” Thorner wrote in this testimonial letter dated May 11, 2022.

“He [Reznikoff] was methodical, quick-thinking, poised, and most importantly, persuasive. As the result of his involvement, I was able to successfully prosecute my case to a satisfactory conclusion,” Thorner continued.

Click here to see Thorner’s letter in its entirety

Rare Autographs, Photographs, Books PLUS PSA Slabbed – June Auction
Jun 19, 2023

University Archives is thrilled to announce its next sale on June 28, 2023: Rare Autographs, Photographs, Books Plus PSA Slabbed. The 410+-lot sale is an outstanding opportunity to acquire exceptional autographed material from the Civil Rights, Art, Business, U.S. Presidential, Science, International, and Military collecting categories, and more. University Archives regulars will recall our January 2022 and November 2022 sales, which featured significant subgroupings of PSA/DNA and CAG encapsulated relics. Our June 2023 sale, back by popular demand, will feature over 170 lots of highly desirable slabbed pieces, many graded, from every imaginable collecting category.

Civil Rights

Our June sale offers a tremendously varied selection of historical items, with one of our strongest categories being Civil Rights history. Lot 110 is a 2pp typed letter signed by Martin Luther King, Jr. on Dexter Avenue Baptist Church stationery dated November 13, 1958. At that time, MLK, Jr. was recuperating from a recent unsuccessful assassination attempt, while simultaneously trying to plan and budget for a 10-day side trip to the Soviet Union in early 1959. One of the reasons why MLK, Jr. wanted to visit was to observe firsthand Soviet attitudes towards people of color: “As a Negro I have special concern with the influence that Soviet theory and practice have had upon the millions of colored peoples who populate the less industrially developed areas of the world…” His reasons for wanting to go, outlined in this remarkable letter, show how ambitious his plans were.

Art

Lot 79 is a rare Walt Disney signed sketch of Mickey Mouse; while Disney had created the beloved cartoon character in the 1920s, by the 1940s, he very infrequently drew Mickey himself. Included in the lot is a wonderful sheet with additional autographs and sketches from Walt Disney Studios employees, among them the animators of Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck, Bacchus, and J. Thaddeus Toad. Disney and staff drew and signed the sketches during a 1941 goodwill trip to South America which resulted in their animated pictures Saludos Amigos (1943) and Three Cabelleros (1945). Accompanied by a Phil Sears COA.

Business

Lot 310 is a 1p typed letter boldly signed by Steve Jobs, PSA/DNA slabbed and graded GEM Mint 10. Jobs, then in his role as Acting Vice President of Marketing at NeXT, Inc., his experimental Redwood City, California start-up, addressed the December 7, 1989 job offer to David Nagy, an Apple product manager. Jobs’s offer of employment prominently features one of his hallmark Jobs-isms: the enthusiastic superlative “insanely great.” Accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity from David Nagy (who turned down Jobs’s offer.)

U.S. Presidential

Lot 368 is a vintage Warner Brothers’ press photo of a young Ronald Reagan in football gear, boldly signed by him as “Win one for the Gipper / Ronald Reagan,” PSA/DNA slabbed and graded GEM Mint 10. Reagan’s inscription referred to one of his most famous movie roles in the 1940 Warner Brothers’ picture “Knute Rockne, All-American.” Reagan played George Gipp, the Notre Dame All-American football player who tragically died of complications of pneumonia shortly after securing a victory over Northwestern. “Gipper” stuck with Reagan all the way to the White House.

Lot 334 is a 1p autograph letter signed by Abraham Lincoln, PSA/DNA slabbed and authenticated. Lincoln penned the March 27, 1858 letter to Jackson Grimshaw, the opposing counsel of a Missouri/Illinois land dispute case, in part: “You see I ask you to admit more points for me, than I admit for you…” Admitting points was an important component of legal cases because it often expedited a mutually agreed upon resolution between the two sides. Judging from this letter, it is easy to see how Lincoln, just two years away from winning the presidency, would soon bring such shrewd strategy to the political arena.

Science

Lot 228 is a 1p typed letter in German signed by Albert Einstein and dated April 23, 1932 recounting to a fellow physicist how the former’s “latest results in general relativity,” and recent work collaboration with Dutch astronomer William de Sitter, had changed Einstein’s “position on the cosmological problem,” or how to most accurately envision and scientifically characterize the universe.

Lot 229 is a 1p autograph letter in German signed by Sigmund Freud on personal stationery, dated January 10, 1937. The letter addressed to a genealogist (and also a distant relative of Freud’s), contains highly unusual content relating to Freud’s maternal Russian Jewish family. Freud was remarkably reticent about his personal life, but he admitted in the letter, “I am finding a large number of respectable persons in there,” meaning his family tree. Freud’s ancestry forced him to flee the following year, in 1938; four of Freud’s sisters who remained were murdered during the Holocaust.

International

Lot 201 is a letter boldly signed by Peter the Great, one of the most coveted of royal autographs, and ex-Charles Sigety. The letter in Russian Cyrillic is dated October 18, 1710 and was addressed Frederick I, King of Prussia and Elector of Brandenberg, the tsar’s future ally in an anti-Swedish coalition during the Great Northern War. On the surface of the letter, Peter I congratulated Frederick on the birth of a grandson; but the subtext is clear: Peter was sending personal greetings in order to maintain good diplomatic relations with his neighbor and military ally.

Military

Lot 179 is a 1p typed letter signed by George S. Patton, Jr., accompanied by Patton’s own ribbon bar and U.S. collar insignia, sent on August 5, 1923 to a San Francisco military collector. Patton, then a major, was one year away from graduating from the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas when he wrote in part: “I am not real famous…I am a Fighting soldier…”

Lot 162 is a pair of handwritten letters from Civil War nurse Clara Barton, one signed and one unsigned, describing events during the Siege of Petersburg. The 5pp autograph letter dated July 1, 1864 and the 1p autograph letter signed dated July 13, 1864 include great military content. In one section, Barton writes that she is “sitting in the midst of fourteen lines of tents, all filled with used up, cut up and worn out, men…” In addition to war injuries and battle fatigue, the men are malnourished; Barton writes how much the soldiers appreciate fresh butter and hard-boiled eggs.

Literature

Lot 208 is a remarkably lengthy, 26pp autograph letter signed by Samuel Clemens, dated December 1893. The letter paints a loving, intimate portrait of Clemens’ relationship with his wife Livy and their three daughters Susy, Clara, and Jean. Other important literary and business topics range from Twain’s request of Bram Stoker of a Henry Irving photograph for Livy; and more worrying details about Twain’s heavy investment in Paige’s typesetting machine, which would soon lead to his bankruptcy.

Early American

Lot 121 is a correct copy of John Binns’ 1819 engraving of the Declaration of Independence, which faithfully reproduces the text at center, and is complete with a facsimile signature of John Quincy Adams.

These are just a few of the amazing lots that will be offered in our June sale. We hope you can join us!

Rare Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia – May Auction
May 12, 2023

University Archives is thrilled to announce its next sale on May 31, 2023: Rare Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia. Major collecting categories of the 380+-lot sale include Music, Science, & U.S. Presidential, with outstanding autographed material from Ludwig van Beethoven to George Gershwin; from Albert Einstein and Max Planck to Thomas A. Edison; and from George Washington to Joe Biden. Exceptional items of Civil Rights, Military, Entertainment, Literature, and Sports memorabilia will also pass the auction block. Our lavishly illustrated catalog is up and ready for viewing/bidding!

MUSIC

Ludwig van Beethoven commands an extensive Music category which also includes George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Motown/R & B, and Woodstock. Beethoven autographed material is extremely scarce, and this undated autograph letter in German signed by him as “Beethoven” also features excellent musical content relating to his only opera, “Fidelio,” a love story about a wife disguised as a man rescuing her husband from a political prison. Beethoven’s letter was addressed to Friedrich Sebastian Mayer, the baritone singer who played Don Pizarro the prison governor in the first two productions of “Fidelio.”

SCIENCE

Besides Planck, Edison, Morse, and even Henry Heimlich and L. Ron Hubbard, we have three interesting lots related to Albert Einstein in our May sale. One of these is a remarkable script from the mid-1940s NBC television series “Your World Tomorrow” signed by him as “A. Einstein” on the front cover. In the pilot episode, “The Atom,” Einstein’s discovery of his equation E=MC2  is dramatized through dialogue between “Einstein” and two fictional characters. The series was slated to air in May 1946, less than one year after U.S. forces dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are very few examples of Einstein’s inscribing his famous formula in something other than a book and or in something likewise manufactured, and an Einstein handwritten example of the formula recently fetched over $1.2 million at auction!

U.S. PRESIDENTIAL

Our May sale features U.S. Presidents from George Washington through Joe Biden, with Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, and Reagan items being especially well-represented.

George Washington boldly signed an October 21, 1799 letter addressed to a Revolutionary War veteran named Captain Abraham Shepherd in the former’s capacity as Commander-in-Chief of Federal Armies under the Adams administration. Washington assumed command of the military after his second presidential term ended, and he would serve until his death two months after this letter was written, in December 1799.

John Adams wrote an incredible autograph letter signed dated March 31, 1801 addressed to Isaiah Thomas, Jr., the Worcester printer of the old Boston Patriot weekly, “Massachusetts Spy.” In it, Adams inquires whether Massachusetts is being overrun by the “moral and political opinions of Virginia” in a veiled reference to recently ascendant Thomas Jefferson and other Virginia Democrats.

Abraham Lincoln penned a Civil War-dated autograph note regarding a brigade surgeon’s appointment in the Excelsior Brigade. This battle unit had been plagued by political in-fighting between disgraced former New York Congressman Daniel Sickles, and his nemesis, New York Governor Edwin Morgan. Lincoln’s note implicitly acknowledges the strained political climate, and was signed on January 13, 1862, the very day he forwarded his presidential nomination of Edwin Stanton as U.S. Secretary of War.

MARVELOUS MISCELLANY

Civil Rights

Martin Luther King, Jr., Booker T. Washington, and the Black Power Movement headline our Civil Rights category. Martin Luther King, Jr. signed a typed letter on “Southern Christian Leadership Conference” stationery on January 18, 1966 concerning the use of the “N” word. To the inquiring man from Haddonfield, New Jersey, King wrote: “The word ‘n–r’ carries with it a meaning deeply rooted in the debilitating racist caste ordering of our society’s slavery epoch and segregation era.” King explained that he favored the term “dark skinned American” to approach the question of nomenclature as objectively as possible, while emphasizing the shared values of American citizens regardless of race.

Military

Collectors of Military and Naval will be pleased with abundant autographed material from the Revolutionary War, Napoleonic Wars, Civil War, and World War II. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson wrote a 1p autograph letter signed to a neighbor on June 29, 1861, when he was commanding the 1st Brigade of the Confederate Army of the Shenandoah. Earlier that Spring, Jackson had conducted multiple raids against the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, one of the Union Army’s principal supply arteries, destroying tracks and bridges, and confiscating locomotives.

An archive of World War II-dated correspondence from Charles Sweeney, pilot of “Bockscar,” paints a vivid portrait of Air Force life before and after the dropping of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sweeney participated in the Hiroshima raid (in an auxiliary plane, “The Great Artiste”) and dropped “Fat Man” from “Bockscar” over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

Entertainment

The May sale features wonderful material relating to Harry Houdini, Marilyn Monroe, the Marx Brothers, and others from the 19th/20th centuries. A 3pp autograph letter signed by Beatrice Houdini on mourning stationery dated November 9, 1926 provides a moving account of her husband’s death less than two weeks earlier, on October 31st. The letter was uncovered in Germany and to the best of our knowledge has never been published. Houdini’s widow describes the exact circumstances of Houdini’s unexpected death from a ruptured appendix, lamenting, “The world has lost a Genius, but I have lost my Man.”

Literature

Literature forms a major subcategory of the May sale, with over 40 lots dedicated to authors like James Joyce, Bram Stoker, George Bernard Shaw, Graham Greene, Henry Miller, and Stephen Crane. Of these, a great percentage includes a single-owner collection of autographed material from Beatniks Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Neal Cassady.

James Joyce signed a limited edition first edition copy of “Finnegans Wake” (1939). Considered one of the most difficult books in the English language, “Finnegans Wake” was much more ambitious in literary aims than even Joyce’s subversive “Ulysses” (1922). The partly uncut and unopened book appears to be unread, and is in near pristine condition.

Allen Ginsberg signed a June 8, 1960 typescript draft of annotated notes that would later become part of “Magic Psalm,” a poem featured in “Kaddish and Other Poems” published by City Lights Bookstore in February 1961. The manuscript was inspired by Ginsberg’s experimentation with hallucinogenic ayahuasca during recent travels in Peru.

Sports

Highly collectible May sports memorabilia from baseball and boxing includes signed photos, autographed baseballs, game-worn apparel, and vintage posters and other ephemera from the likes of Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio, and Muhammad Ali. An archive of six game-worn baseball helmets and jerseys from the Baltimore Orioles, ca. 1990-2016, comes with grading and authentication from JSA and Mears.

We hope you can join us on May 31, 2023. Please view our catalog for further details!