John Reznikoff In The News

University Archives is excited to announce its July 16, 2025 sale! Rare Autographs, Books, Lincoln & Space Items will include over 450 lots from collecting categories such as U.S. Presidents, Military (especially Revolutionary War and Civil War), Aviation/Space, Art, Science, and Sports. The savvy collector can take advantage of many chances to bid on never-before-seen and extremely scarce pieces.

U.S. Presidents

Over 30 lots in the auction relate to Abraham Lincoln: his family; his legal career; his presidency; his assassination and its aftermath; and his political and historical legacy. Lincolniana collectors will find autographed material, ephemera, and pictorial representations of Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, Robert Todd Lincoln, Willie Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, Boston Corbett, and David Hunter, head of the Lincoln conspirator military tribunal.

Lot 62 is a vintage sepia-colored carte de visite of Abraham Lincoln, boldly signed by him as “A. Lincoln” along the bottom edge, and PSA/DNA slabbed and graded MINT 9. The portrait of Lincoln was originally taken by Alexander Gardner on August 9, 1863, just one month after the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. This piece was one of six autographed cartes de visite which President Lincoln sent to Mrs. Mary L. Westerman of Pekin, Illinois for a Union Army fundraising event hosted there on October 18, 1864. A pencil inscription on the back of the Lincoln signed CDV suggests that it was later sold for $200, with proceeds presumably benefiting the war effort.

Lot 62, Abraham Lincoln PSA MINT 9 Signed CDV

Everyone recalls Abigail Adams’s injunction to “Remember the ladies.” Lot 1 is a 2pp autograph letter signed by John Adams dated November 11, 1788 and introducing his wife, Abigail Adams, to John Jay’s wife, Sarah Livingstone Jay. Rather remarkably, the two important diplomats’ wives had not met in Europe while Adams and Jay were negotiating the Revolutionary War-ending 1783 Treaty of Paris. Adams wrote wistfully about John Jay, in part: “My most respectful and affectionate Regards to Mr Jay. When and Where I shall ever have the Pleasure to see him again I know not. But I shall never cease to desire it, if we live upon this Earth these hundred years.”

Lot 127 is a partly printed and partly manuscript document dated September 1, 1783, boldly signed by George Washington in his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. This Revolutionary War discharge certificate was issued to one John Slocum of Rhode Island, who belonged to the Corps of Invalids, which operated between 1777-1783. This unit was comprised of wounded, sickly, or aged veterans who performed limited duties, like guard watches. One of Slocum’s fellow invalided corpsmen was Prince Jenckes, a Black veteran amputee; the historical record suggests that, like Jenckes, Slocum was physically disabled while in service.

Lot 127, George Washington Signed Revolutionary War Discharge

Lot 42 is a 1p autograph letter signed three times by President Thomas Jefferson, once as “Th: Jefferson” and twice initialed as “Th: J.” Jefferson wrote this October 18, 1805 letter to General John Mason, commander of the District of Columbia militia, and owner of a plantation on Analostan Island in the Potomac River (now Theodore Roosevelt Island) regarding the planning and construction of a connective causeway, likely built by enslaved labor.

Military

Lot 325 is an autograph letter signed, docketed, or endorsed by five Confederate officers – including Robert E. Lee – which originally served as the transmittal cover for a relic from the Battle of Gettysburg. The letter originally accompanied the regimental flag of the 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers, which on July 1, 1863 had been captured by Lieutenant Frank M. Harney of the 14th North Carolina Infantry. The fatally wounded Harney’s dying wish was that the captured battle flag be sent on to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The flag – along with this very letter – made its way to President Davis between mid-July and mid-August 1863, changing hands no fewer than five times. Davis treasured the flag and it was in his suitcase when he fled Richmond.

Lot 344 is a telegram form engrossed and signed by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, dated July 8, 1864, and addressed to General Robert E. Lee at Petersburg, Virginia. The city of Petersburg – a vital railroad hub just 20 miles south of the Confederate capital at Richmond – was just 3 weeks into the city’s eventual 10-month-long siege. In the urgent message, Davis conveys his concerns about the “nonarrival of arms” and worries that Confederate war plans are no longer confidential. In closing, Davis gives Lee unlimited military authority in conducting the Petersburg campaign.

Lot 344, Jefferson Davis Telegram to Robert E. Lee at Petersburg

Lot 237 is a partly printed and partly manuscript document signed by Union General David Hunter in Port Royal, South Carolina on August 22, 1862, his last day serving as Commander of the Department of the South. The document proclaims that the former enslaved person named Jupiter Jamison is proclaimed “forever free” – along with his wife, children, and mother. Hunter’s dismissal from his post was in part due to his premature emancipation of enslaved people from areas that the Union Army had liberated, months prior to President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and well in advance of the effective date of January 1, 1863. Believed to be the only such copy in private hands!

Entertainment

Lot 308 is a mortgage deed dated December 20, 1957 co-signed by Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe and her then husband, the playwright Arthur Miller, for the farmhouse they owned at 232 Tophet Road, Roxbury, Connecticut. The unlikely couple lived in Roxbury, as well as on Long Island and in New York City, during their 5-year-long marriage.

International

Lot 404 is a French-language postcard signed twice by Mahatma Gandhi, once in English and once in Hindi, dated June 24, 1947, just seven months before Gandhi’s assassination. The signed postcard is PSA/DNA slabbed and graded MINT 9 and comes with provenance in the form of an autograph letter in French signed by Gandhi’s personal secretary, Amrit Kaur.

Art

Lot 141 is a 1p autograph letter in French signed by Pablo Picasso dated August 1, 1953. In this letter to his close friend and financial adviser Max Pellequer, Picasso writes that he is not a professional ceramicist, but rather a secondary one. Picasso studied under Suzanne and Georges Ramié at the Madoura Pottery studio in Vallauris, France after 1947. In the studio space reserved for him there, Picasso later produced thousands of limited-edition and figural pitchers, vases, plates, and bowls.

Lot 141, Pablo Picasso ALS

Sports

Lot 440 is an unused 50-stamp block of commemorative stamps, with black titles omitted, celebrating the centenary of professional baseball in 1969, accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from Professional Stamp Experts. Series U.S. #1381, “Professional Baseball / 1869-1969” in yellow, red, green, and black, celebrates 100 years of the professionalization of America’s favorite pastime, beginning with the first professional baseball team: the Cincinnati Red Stockings.

These are just a few of the sensational items featured in our July sale.

We hope you can join us!

University Archives will hold its next sale on June 4, 2025. Rare Autographs, Books & Space Memorabilia includes over 520 lots of exceptional historical material drawn from multiple collecting categories. June features three strong specialty categories: Abraham Lincoln (17 lots), Space (108 lots), and Literature (41 lots). Sale highlights also include outstanding pieces from Art, Science, Early America, and Military.

U.S. Presidents (Abraham Lincoln, George Washington & Thomas Jefferson)

The June sale comprises fine autographed material by Abraham Lincoln, including signed appointments, signed autograph notes, signature clips, and relics, as well as prints, photographs, ephemera and Lincoln association items. Lot 44 is an Abraham Lincoln autograph note signed, PSA/DNA slabbed and graded an exceptionally rare GEM MT 10. Addressed to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton sometime in 1863, Lincoln’s note is boldly signed as “A. Lincoln” and conveys instructions relating to a battalion in an upcoming battle.

Lot 104 is a Revolutionary War-dated letter twice signed by George Washington, then Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, and addressed to the President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, Joseph Reed, on February 20, 1780. Washington stated Pennsylvania’s quota of required troops – at 4,855, only smaller than Massachusetts’ and Virginia’s – and warned that the Army would collapse if new troops did not arrive soon. The Army had survived a brutal winter-long encampment at Morristown, New Jersey, and morale was low.

Lot 31 is a 6-volume set of books, a copy of Cicero’s Orations in its original Latin, personally owned and signed by Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson discretely initialed “T” on the “I/J” gatherings; and “J” on the “T” gatherings.) This copy of Ciceronis Orationes (Amsterdam: Ex Typographia P & I Blaeu, 1695-1699) was prized by Jefferson, who incorporated many of Cicero’s ideas into the Declaration of Independence. Accompanied by provenance showing when the books were purchased at auction on February 27, 1829.

Lot 73 is an 8” x 10” color photo showing President Ronald Reagan delivering his emphatic “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!” speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, West Germany on June 12, 1987. Reagan’s signature and inscription is PSA/DNA slabbed and graded GEM MT 10. Accompanied by a large (4.5” x 4” x 2.5”) certified fragment of Berlin Wall brick, with COA.

Lot 73, Ronald Reagan SP

Literature

Our upcoming auction will feature a stupendous Literature collection. 40+ lots relate to literary notables such as Ernest Hemingway, Ayn Rand, Jack Kerouac, J.D. Salinger, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain, Margaret Mitchell, Ian Fleming, Robert Frost, Charles Dickens, Emily Brontë, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and A.A. Milne, among others. The sale will include autograph letters and notes signed, typed letters signed, signed books and quotes, signed photographs, and signed artwork and with original drawings.

Lot 460 is a 1p autograph letter signed by J.D. Salinger, addressed to his publishers, Little, Brown, and Company, on May 27, 1961, about one month before the publication of Franny and Zooey. In the letter, Salinger argues that his two short stories should be published under two separate titles instead of the proposed combined title of Franny and Zooey. Salinger, who was a notoriously difficult writer to deal with, half-apologetically writes in the letter, “I honestly don’t enjoy butting in.” Franny and Zooey was released with a combined title and spent 26 weeks on the New York Times best-selling fiction list.

Art

Lot 115 is a gorgeous limited-edition collection of 48,200 original prints and lithographs by 30 international artists including Picasso, Dalí, Chagall, Calder, Braque, Miró, Giacometti, Moore, and Toulouse-Lautrec, to name just a few. Represented are original artworks pulled directly from the artists’ plates in the 1960s and 1970s, many signed in the plate or pencil signed. This gigantic group – the estimated retail value of which exceeds $19 million – was assembled by a preeminent New York collector and presents an unparalleled opportunity for an individual or art gallery to expand their collection.

Lot 115, Detail, Marc Chagall, “Homecoming”

Science

Our June sale includes five lots of Albert Einstein material, including an autograph letter signed, typed letter signed, signed book, and signed booklet in Spanish reproducing one of Einstein’s articles published in an Argentinian periodical. Lot 492 is an archive of German-language correspondence exchanged between Albert Einstein and an unidentified physics enthusiast, ca. 1927-1930. The lead item in the group is a spectacular 1p autograph letter signed by Einstein dated March 6, 1927 containing over 100 words in his hand, and including a hand-drawn sketch of a wheel. Einstein and the correspondent discuss a though experiment in which a wheel is exposed to temperature changes and magnetic forces.

Lot 492, Albert Einstein ALS With Original Drawing

Early America

Lot 304 is a Treasury Department circular dated September 23, 1790 boldly signed by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The circular discussed methods to secure proper documentation on imports and exports (a matter of significance then, as now) of American and foreign shipping. Hamilton searched for means to collect revenue for the federal government, which had recently absorbed all states’ debts, and for means to safeguard the American economy. Just one month earlier, Hamilton’s measure to establish the predecessor of the U.S. Guard was approved by Congress in order to crack down on illegal trade.

Lot 323 is an extremely scarce complete first edition copy of the U.S. Census of 1800. Marshals from 18 states and territories (from Maine to Georgia, Connecticut to Indiana Territory) submitted demographic information about the fledgling nation in the second-ever census. The 1800 census collected information about Americans’ age, sex, race, and emancipation status, and revealed that of over 5 million Americans, nearly 20% of them were enslaved persons.

Military

Lot 393 is a large group of 21 maps depicting the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, ca. 1944-1945, in advance of the Allies’ big push in the Pacific Theatre. Most of the material was prepared by the 64th Engineer Topographic Battalion – the primary cartographic unit in both World War II and the Korean War – for artillery and aircraft use. Included in addition to the maps are booklets of aerial photographs and what appears to be Japanese contraband.

These are just a few of the exceptional items in our June sale.

We hope you can join us!

University Archives will hold its next sale on April 23, 2025.

530+ lots of high-quality historical artifacts from multiple collecting categories will be offered, in addition to the Abraham Lincoln Collection, one of the largest and most important groupings of Lincoln collectibles to cross the auction block in some time. The Collection represents 60+ Lincoln lots, ranging in estimate from $200 – $800,000, with more than 12 items either written by or signed by Lincoln, ranging in estimate from $2,000 to $100,000.

The Abraham Lincoln Collection

The Abraham Lincoln Collection, coinciding with the 160th anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination, includes Lincoln autograph letters signed, autograph legal briefs, signed checks, and signed appointments, all with outstanding political, military, legal, and personal content. The Abraham Lincoln Collection also includes material representing the slain president through the visual arts (photographs, engravings, funerary broadsides, etc.) as well as through ephemera, memorabilia, and relics.

The marquee item of the Abraham Lincoln Collection is Lot 65, an incredibly vivid and lifelike Hesler/Ayres interpositive – or silver gelatin positive transparency on glass – of Lincoln, from Lincoln scholar King Hostick through descent. Alexander Hesler’s collodion negative of Lincoln, Portrait Sitting No. 2, was originally taken in Springfield, Illinois on June 3, 1860, and provided the basis of George B. Ayres’s ca. 1895-1900 interpositive made several decades later. The interpositive was cleaned and extensively restored by the George Eastman House & International Museum of Photography & Film (Rochester, New York) in 2007. The Lincoln portrait is displayed in a custom-built presentation case which, upon opening, backlights the glass photograph so viewers can see an exquisite level of detail not found in comparable print photography.

Lot 65, Abraham Lincoln Hesler/Ayres Interpositive

Lot 69 is a 1p autograph letter signed by Lincoln on November 3, 1859, addressed to Peachy Quinn Harrison, a young area man whom Lincoln had defended just four months earlier in what was Lincoln’s one and only murder trial. Lincoln letters proffering advice – in particular homespun wisdom – are especially prized among collectors, and this ALS urges Peachy to exercise his political rights by supporting a Republican candidate named John M. Palmer. Palmer had been Lincoln’s opposing counsel in Peachy’s murder case, but that did not dissuade Lincoln from acting on his behalf. The next year, Palmer returned the favor and supported Lincoln’s 1860 presidential bid.

Lot 66 is a check signed by Lincoln on June 13, 1859 paying a small sum to law partner William H. Herndon, which is possibly unique. Lincoln checks have been a profitable investment in recent years, with checks dated 1859, the year preceding Lincoln’s presidential nomination, being especially desirable. The same day that Lincoln paid his junior law partner, he bought a $2 brandy bottle from Diller’s Drug Store.

Lot 72 is an autograph album belonging to a Rochester, New York teenage girl named Ida Bowers, whose brother was a Civil War veteran. The album contains 74 important signatures including those of Abraham Lincoln as president, Andrew Johnson as president, and ten cabinet members of both administrations, including Seward, Welles, Fessenden, Usher, Dennison, Browning, McCulloch, and Spinner. The Lincoln and Johnson signatures come with Beckett LOAs.

Science

Lot 503 is a 3pp scientific manuscript in German handwritten by Albert Einstein, relating to his Unified Field Theory from the 1940s. The manuscript contains about 446 words in German and 17 lines of scientific calculations in Einstein’s hand, stating in part (translated): “… I want to try to show that a truly natural choice for field equations exists.” Einstein’s manuscript is extremely desirable, not only because it relates to one of Einstein’s greatest legacies, but also because he published almost nothing during this period.

Lot 503, Detail of Albert Einstein Scientific Manuscript

Lot 494 is a 2pp autograph letter signed by Charles Babbage, dated December 1, 1832, discussing the location of a political meeting. In addition to being one of the leading lights of Britain’s 19th C. scientific movement, Babbage was also a twice-failed Liberal or Whig candidate for the House of Commons. The letter underscores how different history would have been had Babbage won the Finsbury seat instead of focusing on his teaching, theorizing, and inventing!

Lot 495 is a 2pp autograph letter signed by Charles Darwin, dated ca. April 14, 1863, addressed to British botanist Daniel Oliver. In this remarkable letter, Darwin speaks excitedly about Primula flowers, a species whose unusual sexual reproduction processes caught Darwin’s interest. Darwin would later write about Primula in articles and in his 1877 book Different Forms of Flowers.

International & World Leaders

Lot 418 is a 1p autograph letter in Hebrew signed by David Ben-Gurion on May 14, 1948, an amazing crossroads in world history, just one day after signing the Israeli Declaration of Independence, and two days before being elected to serve as the first Prime Minister of Israel. Ben-Gurion’s participation in the momentous events of the founding of a new nation-state inspired these comments to childhood friend Shlomo Lavi, (translated): “When we first arrived here in Palestine, you as Levkovich and I as Grün … we discovered malaria, swamps, and an Ottoman regime rife with corruption. But now … our heart is joyful at the sight of such great progress. The Jewish people have attained the epitome, the very essence of their existence; the State of Israel is born.”

Lot 464 is a 1p autograph letter signed in the third person by Adam Smith, dated December 21, 1786, when the Scottish economist was hard at work on the fifth volume of his influential treatise, The Wealth of Nations. Smith letters are extremely rare, explaining their recent commanding prices at auction. There are fewer than 200 Adam Smith letters extant, some known only through published sources, and many others only in institutions.

Lot 464, Adam Smith 3rd Person Autograph Letter Signed

Literature

Lot 463 is an 8pp autograph manuscript signed by Ayn Rand, ca. mid-June 1962. The manuscript was Rand’s second-ever submission to her weekly Los Angeles Times Sunday column and was published on June 24, 1962. This draft of Rand’s article entitled “War and Peace” exceeds 898 words and contains numerous contemporaneous edits, cross-outs, and rewrites. In it, Rand introduces the term “statism” to speak at length about different types of big government: socialism, communism, fascism, Nazism, and the “welfare state.” She defines what she sees as good and bad government, and, using examples from the past, mostly in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, illustrates the sinister ways that dictatorships operate.

Entertainment

Lot 350 is Marilyn Monroe’s personally owned and heavily annotated film script of Something’s Got To Give, her last film role. Monroe was to portray Ellen Arden, a woman presumed to have died at sea, who returns to find her husband with another woman. Of the 115 mimeographed script pages, Monroe has annotated 41pp, and heavily annotated 12 of these with her thoughts regarding lines, character and motivations, and blocking. Twentieth Century-Fox scrapped the film after Monroe’s death in August 1962.

Lot 350, Marilyn Monroe Annotated Film Script

Art

Lot 179 is a 1p autograph letter in French signed by Paul Gauguin, n.d. but probably during his days as a Paris art student, as he used the street address of his art school, the Académie Colarossi, as his return address. Less conservative than state-sanctioned art schools, the Académie Colarossi accepted female students and teachers, and welcomed many famous international pupils, like Alberto Giacometti, Alphonse Mucha, and Amedeo Modigliani.

These are just a few of the exceptional items in our April sale.

We hope you can join us!

University Archives is thrilled to announce its next 545+ lot sale! Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Books & Memorabilia is a carefully curated selection of outstanding historical items representing the best of U.S. Presidents, Science, Aviation/Space, World Leaders, Civil Rights, Literature, Art, Sports, and so much more. The majority of the lots in this blockbuster sale are unreserved, providing collectors with an exceptional buying opportunity. Scroll through our beautifully illustrated catalog to bookmark your favorite lots!

U.S. Presidents

Lot 74 is a blank ship’s passport boldly signed by President Abraham Lincoln and co-signed by Secretary of State William H. Seward. Both the attractive signatures and the near fine state of the passport blank would make it a great addition to any presidential collection.

Lot 74, Abraham Lincoln Signed Ship’s Papers

Lot 54 is an autograph letter signed by ex-President Thomas Jefferson, PSA/DNA slabbed and graded GEM MT 10. In this letter written at Monticello on October 17, 1816, Jefferson thanks Henry A.S. Dearborn for sending him an English translation of a scientific work by French agronomist Charles Philibert de Lasteyrie. Originally published in 1811, A Treatise on the Culture, Preparation, History and Analysis of Pastel, or Woad examined the various applications of the Isatis tinctoria plant, traditionally used to produce blue dye.

Lot 155 is a document signed by George Washington in Alexandria, Virginia on August 5, 1786 in his capacity as President of the Potomac Company, a concern which expanded the navigability of the Potomac River basin through the construction of canals. Washington signed this receipt for eight barrels of pork costing £32. In provenance provided with the lot, a copy of Washington’s diary reveals that later that night he met with Potomac Company directors and dined at his favorite ordinary, Wises Tavern.

21 lots of the sale [all found in the U.S. Presidents section (Lots 1-169)], are from the Skip Hensel Presidential Collection, an incredible group amassed by the late Harold “Skip” Hensel (1940 – 2024). A presidential historian and a lifelong autograph collector, Hensel was also an important member of the United Autograph Collectors Club, the first club devoted to autograph collectors; the Manuscript Society; and philatelic organizations. The Hensel collection includes White House engravings signed by presidents ranging from Chester Arthur to Bill Clinton, with two additional First Ladies’ signatures for good measure. The marquee item of the 21-lot collection is Lot 164, a White House engraving signed by six presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. This is truly one of the finest collections of its kind ever assembled, and it would be impossible to duplicate. All of the 21 items in the collection are certified by a third party, with the majority being PSA/DNA slabbed and graded between NM-MT 8 and GEM MT 10. We suggest that you pre-qualify as a bidder if you intend to compete for this marvelous collection!

Skip Hensel Presidential Collection

Lot 509 is a lot of Albert Einstein photographs and ephemera, the highlight being Einstein’s “Postage Stamp” portrait after Hermann Landshoff, signed by Einstein and dated 1947, and PSA/DNA slabbed and graded NM 7. The 15-cent U.S. stamp based on Landshoff’s portrait of Einstein was issued in 1979 on the 100th anniversary of the physicist’s birthday. Rounding out the lot is a charming assortment of unpublished family photographs of Einstein and his two constant companions, stepdaughter Margot Löwenthal, and devoted private secretary Helen Dukas.

Aviation/Space

Lot 216 is a vintage French postcard signed by intrepid inventor Wilbur Wright on December 8, 1908, just three weeks before he won the Michelin Cup for breaking distance and duration flight records. The postcard, partly entitled “The Conquest of the Air,” shows the 1907 Wright Flyer next to a launching derrick at Camp d’Auvours, near Le Mans in northwestern France, where Wright completed a series of flying demonstrations in 1908 to entice investors. Wilbur Wright autographs are much rarer than Orville Wright autographs, making them very desirable.

Lot 205 is a vintage color photograph of all the Mercury 7 astronauts in silver space suits and helmets, signed on the mat by: M. Scott Carpenter; L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.; John H. Glenn, Jr.; Virgil I. Grissom; Walter M. Schirra, Jr.; Alan B. Shepard, Jr.; and Donald K. Slayton. Accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity from Zarelli Space Authentication.

Lot 205, Mercury 7 Astronauts SP With Zarelli LOA

World Leaders

Lot 426 is a 1p typed letter signed by Winston Churchill in February 1957, addressed to event organizers for the English-Speaking Union, an international educational charity established in 1918. Churchill regretfully declined an invitation to attend George Washington’s Birthday Ball, sending his best wishes for its success, as well as for the ongoing close collaboration between the United States and the United Kingdom. Churchill was uniquely situated to foster good will between the two nations as he was half-American, half-British.

Art

Lot 184 is an exquisite high-quality photographic print of one of Pierre-August Renoir’s original works of art, Jeune Fille Au Chapeau Jaune [Young Girl in a Yellow Hat], boldly signed by the artist in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, ca. January 10, 1911. Renoir’s signature is certified by the mayor’s signature as well as the mayoral seal.

Lot 187 is a Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup can (with its original contents!), signed twice by Andy Warhol, ca. 1987. Warhol had popularized the ubiquitous soup brand in his artwork to criticize mass consumerism in modern art.

Lot 187, Andy Warhol Twice-Signed Campbell’s Soup Can

Sports

Lot 547 is an extraordinary collection of 34 vintage photos including many Burkes, all handsomely matted and framed, signed by some of the most famous professional baseball players of the 20th C., including James “Cool Papa” Bell; Jerome “Dizzy” Dean; Bob Lemon; Walter “Buck” Leonard; Al Lopez; Mickey Owen; Harold “Pee Wee” Reese; Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto; Enos “Country” Slaughter, and many others.

These are just some of the superb lots in our next auction.

We hope you can join us!

University Archives is ushering in the New Year with a new sale: Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Books & Memorabilia. Over 450 lots of outstanding historical materials will pass the auction block, representing the best of U.S. Presidents, Aviation/Space, Art, Music, Science, Sports, and so much more!

U.S. Presidents

Lot 51 is an autograph letter signed by Thomas Jefferson as President, dated October 14, 1801, appointing Connecticut congressman Gideon Granger as Postmaster General. Granger would serve in this role through the Madison administration, making him the longest-serving Postmaster General to date.

Lot 50 is an exquisite miniature of Thomas Jefferson strongly attributed to Robert Field, paired with an intricate hairwork jewelry locket. On one side is a superbly rendered watercolor portrait of Jefferson, and on the other a braided design of two-toned white and auburn hair.

Lot 50, Thomas Jefferson Miniature with Hair

Lot 81 is an Abraham Lincoln signed check from Springfield, Illinois dated September 28, 1857. Lincoln paid about $14 to Reuben F. Ruth, a local saddle and harness maker, from accounts he had held at the Springfield Marine & Fire Insurance Company since 1853. The same day, Lincoln also paid a furniture dealer, several newspaper publishers, and an antislavery settler.

Lot 129 is a franking signature by George Washington, PSA/DNA slabbed and certified authentic. The cover dated January 5, 1780 was written in Morris Town, New Jersey and addressed to Colonel Stephen Moylan of Colchester, Connecticut, the leader of “Moylan’s Horse,” or the 4th Continental Light Dragoons. Later that year, Moylan’s cavalry was involved in major Revolutionary War engagements at Springfield and Bull’s Ferry.

Art & Music

Lot 273 is Bob Dylan’s lyrics to the 1963 anthem “Blowing In the Wind” handwritten and signed by him at New York’s St. Regis Hotel in 2011. The song features prominently in the just-released Oscar buzzworthy biopic A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet as the 21-year-old folk singer. Accompanied by a COA from Jeff Rosen, Dylan’s manager.

Lot 138 is an astounding collection of 70+ original metal (copper and steel) etching plates and woodblocks, 1887-1975, sourced by a New York art dealer. The group represents 30+ international Modern artists of the highest caliber, including: Pablo Picasso (3), Salvador Dali (5), Marc Chagall (1), Georges Braque (3), Alberto Giacometti (1), Georges Rouault (9), Marcel Duchamp (2), Jean Cocteau (2), Pierre Bonnard (2), Marie Laurencin (7), Leonard Baskin (2), Wilfredo Lam (1), André Derain (3), Raphael Soyer (6), Joseph Stella (4), and many others. Some of the plates and blocks were directly artist-signed, being examples of the artists’ original signatures. The consignor is offering custom matting and framing of select companion prints.

Lot 138, NY Art Dealer Collection of Original Plates & Blocks

Lot 358 is a ca. 1889 wrought-iron architectural artifact salvaged from Paris’s most beloved architectural landmark, the Eiffel Tower. Stairway Section #6, comprised of twelve steps, originally connected the third floor to the tower and was dismantled in 1983 when elevators were installed. The fragment is impressive in size, measuring approximately 13.5 feet x 6.5 feet, and is housed in a special cradle and trailer. Provenance information from 1983-2005 is provided.

Science

Lot 407 is an original plane geometry drawing by Albert Einstein, accompanied by three lines of explanation in his hand, and signed by him as “A.E.” This wonderful item dated ca. May 12, 1952 was Einstein’s attempt to help a 15-year-old high school student named Johanna Mankiewicz from Los Angeles, California who had contacted him regarding an especially baffling external tangent geometry problem. Einstein was frequently contacted either in person or by mail by students of all ages imploring for help with their math homework; here, Einstein coyly offers the steps to the solution but not the answer.

Lot 407, Detail of Albert Einstein Signed Original Drawing

Early America

Lot 246 is an autograph endorsement signed by Benjamin Franklin in his role as 6th President of Pennsylvania, PSA/DNA slabbed and graded NM-MT 8. In this communication dated March 2, 1787, Franklin gave directions to the Commissioners of Bankrupt, a judicial entity formed to resolve legal proceedings related to insolvency. Three months later, from May-September 1787, Franklin served as a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention.

Military

Lot 321 is a PSA/DNA slabbed and certified Type 1 photograph by Robert Sargent, U.S. Coast Guard Chief Photographer’s Mate, who snapped one of the most chilling photographs of World War II. Sargent’s black and white photograph, here entitled “Taxis to Hell – and back – Into the Jaws of Death,” shows members from Company E, 16th Infantry, 1st Division, wading into the icy waters of Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Lot 321, Robert Argent’s D-Day Landing Type 1 Photograph

Lot 311 is a Civil War-dated archive of 300+ handwritten letters exchanged between David Masten of Company E, New York 143rd Infantry, and his wife Ella Masten. Masten was also a musician and later served in the ambulance corps; his recollections of the Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign, the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman’s March to the Sea, and the Carolinas Campaign make for riveting reading.

Business

Lot 201 is a March 13, 1962 Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company stock certificate signed by Warren Buffett, the third-richest man in the world. There are only eight known examples of similar Buffett signed stock certificates, including one in a museum!

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!

University Archives is thrilled to present its last auction of 2024, and perhaps its most impressive sale to date: Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books – Just In Time For The Holidays!  The auction on December 11, 2024 is a great shopping opportunity.  Need holiday gift ideas?  Give your friends and loved ones unique historical gifts this holiday season!  From U.S. Presidents, Early America, and World Leaders, to Art, Music and Literature, from Aviation/Space, Sports and Science, to Militaria, Civil Rights, and Entertainment, our December sale has you covered.  If we receive prompt payment, we will make every effort to ship items before Christmas and Hanukkah.

Many of the marquee items from our December 11, 2024 sale come from an exceptionally large and robust array of U.S. Presidential memorabilia. Military commissions, circulars, ship’s passports, land grants, documents, autograph letters, and typed letters from Washington to Biden – many of them signed as President – will be offered.

U.S. Presidents

Lot 52 is an outstanding ship’s passport signed by the shortest-serving U.S. President, William Henry Harrison, sometime during his month-long presidency. Signed by President Harrison in advance as a blank, it was used by customs officials on April 30, 1841, nearly a full month after Harrison’s death from pneumonia on April 4, 1841, for a New Bedford whaling ship called Agate that foundered off the Cape Verde Islands in a severe storm two years later.

Lot 61 is a circular signed by President Thomas Jefferson dated December 13, 1803 and addressed to an unidentified state governor. It announced the passage of the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, an important measure establishing clearer guidelines for electing a President and Vice President. The amendment was in response to the Election Crisis of 1801, in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr both received the same number of ballots for President, causing a temporary deadlock.

Lot 71 is a 12pp typed chapter from a young John F. Kennedy’s Harvard University senior thesis, with copious manuscript revisions. The chapter entitled “Influence of the Desire for Economy and General Disarmament Conference on British Armaments” was later published as part of Kennedy’s best-selling book Why England Slept. In this heavily edited chapter manuscript, Kennedy argued that the pacifistic mood of the British Parliament, press, and public in 1933 enabled the continuation of Nazi militarization.

Lot 71, John F. Kennedy Hand-Corrected Manuscript

Lot 84 is a draft call signed by President Abraham Lincoln on July 24, 1863 requesting the first part of a conscription quota, a levy of 2,406 troops from the 18th District of Pennsylvania. The draft call was one of the first signed by Lincoln and came just a week after the New York Draft Riots. The Union’s need for additional soldiers was pressing following the Battle of Gettysburg three weeks earlier.

Lot 146 is a 2pp letter signed by President George Washington on October 3, 1789. The circular addressed to Governor of Connecticut Samuel Huntington itemized key pieces of legislation that had been enacted by the 1st session of the 1st U.S. Congress, recently convened from March 4 to September 29, 1789. During this extremely productive session, the U.S. Congress outlined the Judiciary Act, appropriated money for the federal budget, and authorized the federal use of state militias.

Besides U.S. Presidents, our December sale is also strong in Early America, World Leaders, Literature, Aviation/Space, Science, Sports, and Notorious.

Science

Lot 466 is a photograph of Albert Einstein wearing his beloved scruffy leather jacket, probably taken by Lotte Jacobi, and signed by him as “A. Einstein, 1947.” The portrait is shockingly modern in its sensibility, with Einstein staring boldly at the viewer. Einstein presented the signed photograph to Derek J. de Solla Price, the British physicist and historian of science.

Lot 466, Albert Einstein SP

Aviation/Space

Lot 207 is a 7pp autograph letter signed by aviator Charles A. Lindbergh dated March 11, 1937 and addressed to William E. Dodd, U.S. Ambassador to Nazi Germany. In the letter, Lindbergh expresses concerns about the state of European affairs but notes the difficulty of harnessing peace movements. During World War II, Lindbergh’s pro-Nazi stance made him a controversial figure.

Sports

Lot 508 is a rare Star baseball by Spaulding signed on the sweet spot by Yankees slugger Babe Ruth on June 5, 1927, the day he swung two hits and a home run in a game against the Detroit Tigers. Ruth dedicated the signed baseball to vaudeville actress Maud Ryan, a fellow entertainer; earlier in 1927, Ruth was supplementing his income and increasing his celebrity by starring as a vaudeville performer and silent film star. With PSA/DNA LOA.

Early America

Lot 274 is a 4pp autograph letter signed by “Mad Anthony” Wayne dated July 19, 1780 and addressed to Commander-in-Chief George Washington. In it, Wayne outlines his military strategy for clearing out a nest of British and Loyalist supporters in New Jersey, which includes seizing a block house and confiscating much-needed livestock. Washington sent Wayne the troops and cannons he requested, and two days later the Patriots were repelled at the Battle of Bull’s Ferry with three times the number of enemy casualties.

Lot 274, “Mad Anthony” Wayne ALS

World Leaders

Lot 387 is a 3pp autograph letter in Spanish drafted by Fidel Castro on May 27, 1960. In the letter addressed to Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, Castro thanked him for supporting “the revolution” and also for securing the Cuba-Soviet Alliance signed three weeks earlier, on May 8, 1960. Castro’s letter draft underscores how Cuba identified ideologically with the Soviet Union during a period of rapidly deteriorating relations with the United States.

Literature

Lot 432 is an 11pp autograph manuscript signed by Ayn Rand, being the draft of an upcoming editorial. The handwritten manuscript contains abundant corrections and edits in Rand’s hand, and reads in part: “The United States, at present, is a country without political ideology, without any intellectual movement, without direction or goal.” Rand’s manuscript was later published in the “Ayn Rand Column” under the title “Post-Mortem, 1962” in the November 18, 1962 edition of the Los Angeles Times.

Notorious

Lot 218 is a 2pp autograph letter signed by John Dillinger, written from the Allen County Jail in Lima, Ohio on October 1, 1933, just a few days after he was arrested for armed robbery. In the letter addressed to his girlfriend, Mary Longnaker (the sister of his former cellmate), Dillinger told her to live her life, in part: “Darling I won’t write you any more, I want you to forget me for ten years or more is to[o] long for any girl to wait.” Dillinger was busted out of his prison cell a few days later but was shot dead within the year.

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

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!

Lot 62, Abraham Lincoln PSA GEM MT 10 CDV Signed 3 Weeks Before His Death

Estimates: $100,000 – $150,000

Sold for $125,000 including the buyer’s premium