University Archives held its October auction, Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books, at our company headquarters in Wilton, CT. As we do not accommodate an on-site audience, only University Archives employees physically attended the auction: John Reznikoff, auctioneer; and various staff executing absentee bids, communicating with phone bidders, and clerking the sale. Yet, nearly 700 bidders from 60+ countries were also “in the room” with us virtually, tuning in live on auction day. We’re always glad to welcome participants across multiple online platforms including our website, Invaluable, AuctionZip, and LiveAuctioneers.
Over the course of the 6-hour-long sale, U.S. Presidents, Space, and Military categories performed exceptionally well as usual. Trends to watch? Art and Early America.
Some of the highlights of our October auction included:
U.S. Presidents & Landmarks
Lot 135 was a printed copy of Public Resolution No. 1 of the 65th U.S. Congress declaring war on Imperial Germany, dated April 6, 1917, and signed by President Woodrow Wilson, Vice President Thomas Marshall, and House Speaker Champ Clarke. This remarkable signed war declaration exceeded its high estimate by 30%, garnering $62,500 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 57 was an Abraham Lincoln-owned architecture book, Samuel Sloan’s The Model Architect: A Series of Original Designs for Cottages, Villas, Suburban Residences, Etc. The book was inscribed on the flyleaf as: “Hon. A. Lincoln / President of the United States / With kind regards Of the Author. / Phil’a Nov. 8, 1861.” Widowed First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln gifted the volume to a Chicago carpenter named Munson D. Dean in April 1867, two years after the assassination. The volume sold for 30% over its high estimate, or $8,750 including the tip.
Lot 338 was an elegant Tiffany & Co. engraved invitation to attend the inauguration of the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe’s Island, New York Harbor, on October 28, 1886. This charming example sold for over 200% of its high estimate, or $4,375 including the tip.
Lot 338, Statue of Liberty Inauguration Invitation
Art
Lot 153 was an original Pablo Picasso metal etching plate for “Pour Roby (L’Age de Soleil).” The plate depicts the head of Picasso’s friend Robert J. Godet, whose 1950 self-published book “L’Age de Soleil” featured this and other Picasso prints. The etching plate sold for 20% over its high estimate, or $12,500 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 147 was a Robert Indiana signed original black marker sketch of the pop art theme which made him famous: the stacked letters of the word “LOVE,” with the “O” slightly slanted. The signed drawing sold for over 10 times the high estimate, or $6,080 including the tip!
Civil Rights
Lot 236 was a 1p manuscript document signed with remarkable Civil Rights and Early America content. Petitioner Robert Borden of Tiverton, Massachusetts Bay asked the Court of General Sessions, ca. October 1728, to authorize him to rent out or send to sea his recalcitrant “Indian servant boy named Job” who had run away “near or all out one hundred times.” The document underscoring the enslavement and indentured servitude of indigenous peoples during the colonial period sold for $5,312 including the buyer’s premium, which was over 10 times its high estimate.
Lot 236, Detail, MDS Regarding Runaway Native American Servant
Lot 232 was a first edition presentation copy of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last published book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos Or Community? dedicated to Harper & Row Publishers president Cass Canfield, with MLK’s “respect and admiration.” This important autographed volume sold for over 30% over its high estimate, or $9,375 including the buyer’s premium.
World Leaders
Lot 347 was a Napoleon Bonaparte signed letter in French, dated May 7, 1808, directing a financier to chastise the Governor of Dalmatia (modern day Croatia) for failing to prioritize meeting his soldiers’ payroll. The document is classic Napoleon: brusque, commanding, and pragmatic. The Napoleon signed letter sold for nearly double its high estimate, or $5,937 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 362 was a bilingual English and Hawaiian land grant signed by King Kamehameha III of the Hawaiian Islands, dated September 3, 1847. It granted 1 12/100 acres of land to a native-born Hawaiian named Kamakea in the valley district of Manoa, where many of Oahu’s first sugarcane and coffee plantations were first cultivated. The royal signed document sold for $6,875 including the buyer’s premium, or nearly triple its high estimate.
Military
Lot 344 was a photograph signed by 18 members of the “Band of Brothers”: veterans of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, including commander Dick Winters. The photograph shows the unit celebrating the capture of Adolf Hitler’s “Eagle’s Nest” in the Bavarian Alps. The signed photo sold for $9,375 including the buyer’s premium – a company high record for the same item.
Lot 344, “Band of Brothers” Signed Photo
Science & Space
Lot 420 was an autograph letter signed by R.L. Thompson of Northampton, England, addressed to American inventor Thomas Edison, dated February 15, 1904, inquiring whether Edison believed the next 50 years would see the same rate of scientific progress. Edison’s terse yet affirmative reply – “Yes / Edison” – is found at upper left. The letter sold for more than 4 times its high estimate, or $3,250 including the tip.
Lot 171 was an Apollo 11 First Day of Issue cover signed by all three crew members of the historic space flight, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, PSA/DNA slabbed and graded NM-MT 8. The space collectible exchanged hands for $4,687 including the buyer’s premium, or more than double its high estimate.
These are just some of the fun and fascinating lots that we offered in our October sale.
Our next auction is tentatively planned for November 19, 2025.
We hope you can join us!
