University Archives reached a monumental milestone in December 2024: sales of nearly $1.5 million! Our December 11, 2024 sale, Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books – Just In Time For The Holidays, yielded stupendous results, as did our co-branded sale with Eaton & Brennan Auctions on December 4, 2024, Hit Factory Recording Studios Memorabilia Auction. In addition to the December 11th sale’s being our most profitable to date, University Archives also maintained its industry-topping sell-through rate of 96%. We had 9,000+ approved bidders, many from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and we also welcomed online bidders from South Africa, Singapore, and Hong Kong. It was truly a worldwide event, with over 27,000 lot views on Invaluable.com on December 11th alone.
U.S. Presidential
University Archives’ most dominant collecting category – U.S. Presidential – performed extremely well, outstripping its collective high estimates.
Lot 146 was 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. The Washington signed letter sold for $162,500 including the buyer’s premium. That’s more than double the high estimate!
Lot 146, George Washington LS
Lot 52 was 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. The scarce Harrison signed document exchanged hands for $118,750 including the tip.
Lot 147 was a 1p partly printed partly document co-signed by George Washington as President and Thomas Jefferson as U.S. Secretary of State pertaining to the newly created U.S. Customs Service. The document dated March 21, 1791 appointed Vincent Redman as Inspector of the Revenue for Kinsale on the Yeocomico River, the oldest port on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, and located near Washington’s birthplace. Redman was one of 59 original revenue collectors appointed. The Washington and Jefferson dual signed document sold for $53,125 including the buyer’s premium, selling for 70% over the high estimate.
Lot 84 was 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. The Lincoln signed order sold for $34,375 including the buyer’s premium, surpassing its high estimate by 30%.
Lot 84, Abraham Lincoln DS
Lot 140 was a 1p typed letter signed by President Harry S. Truman on May 9, 1945, just one day after V-E Day and two days after Germany’s unconditional surrender. In this letter addressed to Major General Paul W. Baade, commander of the 35th Division, Truman congratulated him on the “wonderful part they [the troops] have taken in the glorious victory over the Germans.” Baade’s 35th Division had participated in the Allied march to Berlin during the last days of the war. The Truman signed letter sold for $4,687.50 including the tip, or a 60% boost over the high estimate.
Early America
Lot 264 was a 1p partly printed document boldly signed by John Hancock as the Governor of Massachusetts dated July 14, 1788 appointing one William Allen as Major of the 6th Regiment of the 1st Division of the Suffolk County Militia. The document, whimsically framed behind glass above a quill pen, sold for $10,625 including the buyer’s premium, or more than double the high estimate.
Lot 268 was a 1p autograph letter in English signed by Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat turned Revolutionary War hero. In his letter dated October 28, 1831 addressed to an unknown American correspondent, Lafayette opined about France’s Revolution of 1830, and in closing, referred to himself as “an American.” The Lafayette signed letter sold for 90% more than its high estimate, or $13,750 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 456 was a 3pp autograph letter signed by John Marshall dated June 25, 1823, during his tenure as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, regarding his sister’s slaves in Kentucky. In the letter addressed to his nephew Martin P. Marshall, the Chief Justice mentions state-specific laws pertaining to slave-holding. The letter sold for $13,750 including the tip, or more than 20% higher than the high estimate.
Science
Lot 466 was 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. The arresting Einstein signed photograph sold for nearly twice its high estimate, or $17,500 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 466, Albert Einstein SP
World Leaders / Military
Lot 369 was a 2pp document signed by Josef Stalin in blue colored pencil at its conclusion, dated September 15, 1941, during Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of U.S.S.R. The document was signed only one week after Hitler began the Siege of Leningrad. In the document, Stalin ordered the Red Army to protect Moscow, which was Hitler’s third military objective after securing Leningrad and eastern Ukraine. The Stalin signed document sold for $13,750 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 319 was a measuring scale used by Gus Schultz, foreman of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s drafting room and machine shop at Los Alamos, dating from the Manhattan Project-era. The precision tool would have been used to correctly scale atomic bomb components and is believed to be one of the first ever offered at auction. It sold for over double its high estimate, or $2,000 including the buyer’s premium.
Entertainment
Lot 297 was Marilyn Monroe’s Connecticut driver’s license, boldly signed by her as “Marilyn Monroe Miller,” and PSA/DNA slabbed and certified authentic. The ca. July 28, 1958 license lists Monroe’s birthday, height, and address in Roxbury, Connecticut, where she lived with playwright husband Arthur Miller from 1956-1961. The Hollywood starlet relic sold for $43,750 including the buyer’s premium.
Art
Lot 176 was a rare 1p autograph letter in French signed by Pablo Picasso, PSA/DNA encapsulated, certified, and graded GEM MT 10. In this letter dated October 16, 1958 and addressed to Picasso’s close friend, the art collector and financier Max Pellequer, Picasso mentioned a mutual acquaintance – Maurice Loncle, a French art collector of 19th/20th graphic arts. The item sold for 40% more than its high estimate, or $16,250 including the tip.
Lot 160 was a color photograph depicting Salvador Dali working on a sculpture, with an original Dali doodle of Don Quixote below in purple pen incorporating his signature. Dali’s sketch of the literary knight on horseback was dedicated to his lawyer Arnold Grant in November 1975. The Dali signed original artwork sold for nearly 10 times its high estimate, or $23,750 including the buyer’s premium.
These are just some of the spectacular highlights from our December 11, 2024 sale.
Our next sale is tentatively scheduled for January 29, 2025.
We hope you can join us!
