News & History

University Archives held its mid-summer sale this past week. Rare Autographs, Books, Lincoln & Space Items attracted bidders from multiple online platforms, as well as many absentee and phone bidders. Substantial interest in Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln autographed items resulted in intensely competitive bidding. Once again, our Space category performed extremely well, putting us on the radar of enthusiastic European collectors. In general, the overage in this sale was incredible; we are so pleased for our many consignors. Another dazzling array of historically significant items will be offered in our late-summer sale, tentatively scheduled for August 27, 2025.

U.S. Presidents

Over 30 lots in the sale related to Abraham Lincoln: his family, his legal career, his presidency, his assassination and its aftermath, and his political and historical legacy. Lincolniana collectors delighted in the 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 66 was a 1p autograph letter signed by Abraham Lincoln dated March 29, 1861, just a few weeks after Lincoln assumed the presidency. In it, Lincoln requested that Hiram Barney – his nominee for the lucrative post of Collector of Customs for the District of New York – come to Washington, D.C. Lincoln wanted to discuss the “New-York card” – the slate of highly coveted political appointments in New York City. The Lincoln ALS surpassed its high estimate, selling for $28,125 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 66, Abraham Lincoln ALS

Lot 71 was an autograph endorsement by Abraham Lincoln dated August 1, 1862 approving a wartime petition. 31 prominent New Yorkers – including Union General Daniel E. Sickles and newspaper editor Horace Greeley – urged Lincoln to appoint one Lewis Leland, a hotel clerk at the Metropolitan Hotel, as an emergency Commissary of Subsistence. The presidential approval co-signed by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton sold for $16,250 including the tip, which was 40% above its high estimate.

Lot 89 was a 4pp autograph letter signed by Boston Corbett, the Union officer dubbed “Lincoln’s Avenger.” Corbett wrote this letter to a friend on May 13, 1865, just a few weeks after Corbett had fatally shot John Wilkes Booth in a barn in Port Royal, Virginia. The letter contains no fewer than three references to Booth. Corbett boasts about appearing at a Sanitation Commission Fair with the Booth-slaying revolver, and speculates about when he will receive the reward. This remarkable letter easily surpassed its high estimate. It sold for $16,250 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 43 was a 1p autograph letter signed by Thomas Jefferson dated August 30, 1807. The president wrote to James Oldham, a master carpenter from Monticello, requesting a deferment of payment. Jefferson, who had commissioned both cabinet furniture as well as structural additions at Monticello, sweetened the delay with flattery, writing in part: “I learn always with real pleasure that you meet with the employment which your skill & industry merit.” The letter sold for 40% above its high estimate, or $17,500 including the buyer’s premium.

Military

Lot 283 was a riveting archive of 54 items relating to two prominent Loyalists, Nathan Ray Thomas of Marshfield, Massachusetts and William Lawrence of Newtown, Long Island. The collection containing 20 letters, 33 receipts, and one contemporary newspaper, ca. 1758-1822. The most interesting material was dated 1783-1784, and treated the political refugees’ emigration to Nova Scotia. The lot sold for over 7 times its high estimate, or $9,375 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 237 was 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 proclaimed 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. The only copy of a Hunter-signed manumission document believed to be in private hands sold for over 3 times its high estimate, or $20,000 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 237, David Hunter DS

Early America

Lot 273 was a rare free frank signed by Patrick Henry as “P. Henry.” The postal cover was addressed to James McGavock, an Irish-born Patriot and signer of the January 20, 1775 Fincastle Resolutions, which affirmed a boycott of British goods. McGavock – along with other Patriots in western Virginia – proclaimed that they were “resolutely determined never to surrender… to any power upon earth, but at the expense of (their) lives.” This was two months before Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech! The desirable Revolutionary War collectible sold for 3 times its high estimate, or $5,625 including the commission.

Science

Lot 427 was a 3” long segment of graphite which once secured a uranium sample in Enrico Fermi’s nuclear reactor Chicago Pile-I. CP-I was the site of the first human-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, first tested in early December 1942. The Atomic Age relic – with associations to the war-ending Manhattan Project – exchanged hands for well over its high estimate, or $7,040 including the buyer’s premium.

Space/Aviation

Lot 155 was a fantastic collection of 25 photographs – including 20 NASA red-number photographs – documenting the Apollo VIII space mission. The 16 pre-flight, 9 in-flight, and 2 Earthrise photographs were highly coveted. The lot sold for 10 times its high estimate, or $5,000 including the tip.

Lot 155, Detail, Apollo VIII Archive

Lot 210 was a vintage photograph depicting First Flight boldly signed by Orville Wright and PSA/DNA slabbed and certified authentic. The encapsulated autograph sold for three times its high estimate, or $15,000 including the commission.

Sports

Lot 442 was a complete set of 1952 Bowman baseball cards, of which six cards were PSA/DNA slabbed and graded. Among the notable players featured in this series (many before they reached superstar status), are Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial. Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Leo Durocher, Stan Musial, Pee Wee Reese, Robin Roberts, Warren Spahn, and Casey Stengel. The collection sold for an impressive $8,125 including the tip.

Lot 451 was an archive belonging to legendary sportswriter Roscoe McGowen. Among the 250 items of the collection, ca. 1925-1962, were 100 photographs, 38 original reporter’s passes, and 58 scorebooks, many with play-by-play diagrams. McGowen covered the Brooklyn Dodgers for many years and reported on Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in May 1947. This fascinating collection sold for 40% above its high estimate, or $10,625 including the buyer’s premium.

Art

Lot 296 was a printed program announcing the dedication of the Walt Disney Elementary School in Disney’s hometown of Marceline, Mississippi on October 16, 1960. The program boldly signed by the artist was treasured by the family of a former longtime teacher. It crossed the auction block for well over double its high estimate, selling for $5,937.50 including the buyer’s premium.

Our next sale is scheduled for August 27, 2025.

We hope you can join us!

University Archives held its latest sale, Rare Autographs, Books & Space Memorabilia, on June 4, 2025. The online-only auction attracted over 8,000 approved bidders who presented almost 3,000 bids for 524 lots of outstanding historical material. In-house absentee bids, phone bids, and bids from multiple internet bidding platforms were executed over the course of the 7-hour-long sale. We speculate that our large Space category (108 lots) and finely curated Literature category (41 lots) increased international interest, especially from Europe. While Americans dominated bidding, collectors from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, Canada, Italy, Hong Kong, Slovakia, and Austria, among other nations, also participated. The June sale was yet another million-dollar sale, and our third in 2025. We achieved $1,168,141 in total proceeds.

Sale highlights came from the following categories: U.S. Presidents, Space, Science, Art, and Entertainment.

U.S. Presidents

Lot 17 was an elegant blue and white moon flask teapot with a striking openwork center, 10” tall, once presented to President Gerald R. Ford from Chinese dignitaries, probably during Ford’s December 1975 state visit. The exchange of gifts like this went a long way to thawing Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China. From the Collection of President Gerald R. Ford via his son Jack Ford. The teapot sold for almost 2.5 times its high estimate, or $2,750 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 17, Chinese Teapot Gifted to President Gerald R. Ford

Lot 33 was a free franked cover penned by Thomas Jefferson as President, postmarked from Washington, D.C. on June 12, [1807]. The letter once contained therein, dated June 11, 1807, was written to a Danville, Kentucky man named John Norvell who had asked President Jefferson to recommend reading materials to expand his own “sound political knowledge.” President Jefferson advised Norvell to seek out certain books and essays but by no means to rely on the contemporary press. The cover signed “free Th: Jefferson Pr. US” sold for over its high estimate, or for $7,500 including the tip.

Lot 46 was a Civil War-dated diplomatic appointment signed by President Abraham Lincoln with a full signature and co-signed by Secretary of State William H. Seward. The document appointed an Ohio state politician named James Monroe to the position of U.S. Consul at Rio de Janeiro, a role he would fulfill until the Johnson administration. The Lincoln signed appointment sold for $11,250 including the buyer’s premium.

Space

Lot 190 was a large fragment of Kapton Mylar foil from the Command Module Columbia recovered after the Apollo 11 space mission, ca. 1969. At 6.25” x 8” and of an unusual forked shape, the foil makes for dramatic display. It comes with provenance from NASA employee Bill Whipkey in 1970, and with a Certificate of Authenticity from space expert Sandy Clarkson of The Right Stuff Space, Inc. The space-flown relic sold for nearly 4 times its high estimate, or $9,375 including the buyer’s premium. That’s $187 per square inch!

Lot 202 was a NASA red number color photograph showing Commander Neil Armstrong on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. The very rare photograph – the only view taken of Armstrong on the lunar surface – sold for $13,750 including the buyer’s premium, or 11 times its high estimate!

Lot 202, NASA Red Number Photograph of Neil Armstrong

Science

Lot 487 was a Thomas A. Edison, Inc. manufactured self-winding stock ticker, Model 32-A, n.d. but probably dating ca. 1915-1929, engraved on the base as “M’F’D By / T.A. Edison Inc. / 9370.” The brass workings and cast-iron cylindrical base of the device measure approximately 7.5” in diameter and 11” high. Although this was one technology that Edison did not invent, his automation of the existing device enabled synchronization of stock prices across the booming American stock exchange. The machine sold for 150% over its high estimate, exchanging hands for $8,320 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 494 was a limited-edition copy of Albert Einstein: Philosopher Scientist (Evanston: The Library of Living Philosophers, Inc., 1949) signed and dated by its subject as “Albert Einstein 49” on the limitation page. The well-known historian of science Abraham Pais considered this volume – which included a 100pp chapter by Einstein as well as 25 essays on Einstein by fellow scientists – as the “closest Einstein ever came to writing an autobiography.” Einstein joked that these reflections reminded him of a funeral oration. The Einstein signed book sold for its high estimate, achieving $10,000 including the tip.

Art

Lot 121 was a Walt Disney signed presentation dye transfer print of Mickey Mouse produced for Mickey’s 25th birthday in 1953. The dye transfer print consists of three vibrantly colored layers (yellow, magenta, and cyan) applied sequentially to one emulsion layer for an eye-popping almost three-dimensional effect. The Disney signed print sold for almost twice its high estimate, or $9,375 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 121, Walt Disney Signed Mickey Mouse Dye Transfer Print

Lot 128 was an autograph letter in French signed by Pablo Picasso, dated July 20, 1961, and addressed to Max Pellequer, Picasso’s close friend and financial advisor. The rare letter in Picasso’s hand was PSA/DNA slabbed and graded GEM MT 10 and exceeded the high estimate, garnering $6,875 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 137 was a pair of items relating to the Statue of Liberty. These included a 4” x 1” copper segment from the Statue of Liberty, engraved (translated) as: “Copper fragment from the colossal Statue of Liberty executed by A. Bartholdi, 1875-1883, remembrance from a visit to the worksite.” This represents probably one of the only authentic Statue of Liberty relics ever offered in the United States, and the first of its kind for University Archives. The copper piece was artfully displayed next to a lovely postcard of the Statue of Liberty signed and inscribed by its creator, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. The Statue of Liberty display sold for $10,625 including the buyer’s premium, which was over its high estimate.

Lot 140 was a copy of The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975) boldly signed on the half-title page by Warhol, who also added a hand-drawn sketch of a Campbell’s Onion Soup can. The Warhol signed book with original drawing sold for well over 3 times its high estimate, or $5,120 including the tip.

Entertainment

Lot 340 was a fetching beaded glass necklace, 24” in length, once personally owned and worn by Marilyn Monroe, from the October 1999 Christie’s sale auctioning off the Hollywood actress’s personal property. The beads have faceted surfaces which reflect light and color, and the necklace comes with the original auction tag. The Monroe owned necklace sold for over 150% of its high estimate, or $20,480 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 340, Marilyn Monroe Personally Owned & Worn Necklace

These are just a few of the superb auction items from our June sale.

Our next sale is tentatively scheduled for July 16, 2025. We hope you can join us!

University Archives welcomed both regulars and newcomers to its April sale, Rare Autographs, Books & Photos; Abraham Lincoln Collection. The Abraham Lincoln Collection, comprised of 60+ lots sandwiched in the middle of the U.S. Presidents section, generated intense interest among phone, absentee, and live online bidders. Lincoln autographed material – and especially relics like hair, fabric, wood, and wallpaper, etc. – showed very strong results. Economic uncertainty has not yet touched the autograph industry, where aggressive collecting is still taking place in all major categories. April marked yet another $1-million sale at University Archives.

Select sale highlights included:

Abraham Lincoln & Other U.S. Presidents

Lot 71 was a military appointment dated March 10, 1863 signed by President Abraham Lincoln appointing one William H. Forbes as Commissary of Subsistence of Volunteers. Forbes had fought in the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam and was captured by Mosby’s Rangers during the Action at Mount Zion Church about one year later, in July 1864, resulting in six months’ internment as a prisoner of war. The boldly signed document sold for 40% over its high estimate, or $18,750 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 73 was a document dated July 11, 1862 signed by President Abraham Lincoln with a very rare and very fine full signature. Lincoln appointed John A. Graham as interim Register of the Treasury on the day he also tagged Major General Henry W. Halleck as General-in-Chief of the Union Army. The beautifully autographed document exchanged hands for more than 3 times its high estimate, or $28,250 including the tip.

Lot 73, Abraham Lincoln DS

Lot 74 was a collection of 32pp manuscript pages, ca. May 30, 1867, being the testimony of Thomas T. Eckert, a Civil War-era military telegraph operator who later served as Assistant Secretary of War. Eckert had been called as one of 89 witnesses before a Congressional Committee investigating President Andrew Johnson in the latter’s first impeachment trial in January 1867. In this remarkable testimony, Eckert discussed what he knew about John Wilkes Booth’s diary, his burial, his co-conspirator Lewis Powell, and the existence of a semi-mythical Confederate cypher. The lot sold for double its high estimate, or $17,500 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 102 was an autograph letter signed by one Norton Galloway, a Civil War veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, on February 14, 1902. Galloway’s account proves his ownership of the authentic Derringer pistol used by John Wilkes Booth during Lincoln’s assassination, tracing a line of custody to the Port Tobacco, Virginia ferryman who was gifted the weapon. Truly a sleeper in the sale, this unique account sold for more than 16 times the high estimate, or $10,710 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 26 was a 2pp letter signed by President James A. Garfield on April 29, 1881, less than three months before his fatal shooting, on “Executive Mansion” stationery. Garfield wrote to an appointee tapped to serve as Third Assistant Postmaster who later declined the appointment during the aftermath of the “Star-Route Scandal,” which revealed corruption in the U.S. Postal Service. It sold for 50% over its high estimate, or $18,750 including the tip.

World Leaders

Lot 437 was a manuscript document in Cyrillic dated October 7, 1722 and signed by Tsar Peter I, congratulating fellow European monarch Frederick Wilhelm I of Prussia on the birth of a son, Augustus Wilhelm. The document stated (translated) in part: “… We bless your Royal House on the birth of this prince… With the wish that you may be graced with further well-being to Our greatest satisfaction and the prospering of your Royal House…” The royal autograph garnered $20,480 including the buyer’s premium, with a hammer price above the high estimate.

Science/Space

Lot 505 was a typed letter in German signed by Albert Einstein on March 1, 1935, the year he renounced his German citizenship and officially applied for permanent American residency. In this letter addressed to Jesse Mendheim, Einstein excoriated the German anti-Semitic weekly magazine Der Stürmer, published by Julius Streicher, who would later be tried at Nuremberg and executed. Einstein said: “It would be very beneficial if my collection [of such magazines] could be used to inform non-Jewish circles here about the true nature of the Hitler regime. In my opinion, not enough is being done in this regard.” This extraordinary letter sold for almost double its high estimate, or $21,250 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 505, Albert Einstein TLS

Lot 220 was a copy of the July 25, 1969 issue of Time Magazine showing Neil Armstrong on the front cover assertively signed by the “Man on the Moon” at right. The Apollo XI space mission had just concluded on July 24, 1969, after 8 days in Space. The lot sold for over double its high estimate, or $3,000 including the buyer’s premium.

Early America

Lot 303 was a Revolutionary War-dated document signed by John Hancock on May 13, 1782 appointing one Seth Webber as a carpenter aboard the Massachusetts State Navy schooner Tartar. The ship captured French and British prizes during its career as a privateer and, less than one year later, fought a naval skirmish against the British frigate Belisarius, leaving three British dead. The document sold for $18,750 including the buyer’s premium, or for 20% above its high estimate.

Lot 474 was a Texian Loan certificate dated January 11, 1836 co-signed by three commissioners including Stephen F. Austin, who would die within the year. The certificate granted 640 acres to a Cincinnati real estate investor as a way to fund the ongoing Texan Revolution and encourage immigration from the United States to Texas. The document exceeded its high estimate, selling for $6,250 including the tip.

Entertainment

Lot 351 was an autograph note signed by Marilyn Monroe in Osaka, Japan, ca. February 1954, during an overseas trip entertaining U.S. troops stationed in Korea. Monroe thanked airman Hilda “Bugs” Benning, the roommate of Monroe’s military escort Ollie Palmer, for having loaned her his leather bomber jacket on a frigid excursion to a U.S. airbase. The warm and lovely signed note sold for $12,500 including the buyer’s premium.

Literature

Lot 456 was a first edition presentation copy of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essays: Second Series (Boston: James Munroe, 1844), signed and dedicated by the author to his close friend and financial adviser Abel Adams. The volume containing “Experience” and “Nature” sold for 20% above its high estimate, or $6,250 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 459 was a 2pp autograph letter signed by Margaret Mitchell on April 1, 1939 while hiding out in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mitchell wrote her editor at Macmillan, Harold S. Latham, that she and husband John Marsh were “not registered under our own names. [A] distasteful practice… necessary when traveling if we want to get any peace and rest.” Seven months later, the Civil War blockbuster Gone With The Wind premiered in Atlanta, Georgia. The lot sold for over 40% over its high estimate, or $8,750 including the buyer’s premium.

Marvelous Miscellany (Business, Military, Sports)

Lot 269 was a McDonald’s gift certificate, ca. 1981, signed by entrepreneur Ray Kroc, which topped its high estimate by over 80%. This piece of classic Americana sold for $5,000 including the tip.

Lot 406 was a United States Military Academy yearbook, ca. 1903, signed by 94 cadets including Douglas MacArthur, future Pacific Theater commander, and U.S. Grant III, grandson of ex-president Ulysses S. Grant. The album with Pach Bros. portrait photos is a who’s who of future World War I and World War II military personnel. It crossed the auction block above its high estimate, achieving $4,687 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 522 was a photograph of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, taken ca. 1949, co-signed by the two rival players and PSA/DNA certified. This attractive piece of baseball memorabilia sold for over its high estimate, or for $812 including the tip.

These were just a few of the sensational lots in our April sale.

Our next sale is tentatively scheduled for June 4, 2025.

We hope you can join us!

University Archives welcomed online, absentee, and phone bidders to its Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Books & Memorabilia auction yesterday. Our sale catalog received over 26,600 lot views on auction day alone, and substantial bidding volume reflected this. Over 3,300 absentee bids were executed either online or by UA staff, and 96% of our sale items sold. Thus continues our streak of maintaining a sell-through rate of 90% or above for the last 29 consecutive auctions since September 2021. We averaged 471 lots per sale for these 29 sales, and a mean sell-through rate of 98%. No one can top our sales record in the autograph and manuscript industry!

U.S. Presidents

Lot 74 was a blank ship’s passport boldly signed by Abraham Lincoln as President and co-signed by Secretary of State William H. Seward. The successful buyer decided that both the attractive signatures and the near fine state of the passport blank made it a great addition to their presidential collection. The Lincoln signed passport blank sold for 40% higher than the high estimate, or $23,750 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 75 was a Civil War-dated military appointment signed by Abraham Lincoln as President and co-signed by Secretary of War Simon Cameron, promoting an Irish-born career soldier named Leslie Smith as a Second Lieutenant. Cameron’s autograph on such documents is uncommon since he only served ten months as Secretary of War. The Lincoln signed document sold for more than double its high estimate, or $23,750 including the tip.

Lot 164 came from the Skip Hensel Presidential Collection and was a White House engraving signed by six presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. A phone bidder snatched up this piece for $16,250 including the buyer’s premium – or 40% above its high estimate – for good reason: if the buyer can add the presidential signatures of Obama, Trump, and Biden to the original six presidents’ signatures, its value will likely increase tenfold!

Lot 164, Six Presidents Signed White House Engraving

Lot 146 was a 1p typed letter signed by Harry S. Truman on April 12, 1945, the date of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death and of Truman’s subsequent swearing-in. Addressed to his friend Roy H. Webb of Kansas City, this letter is only one of three Truman signed letters dated April 12th that have come to auction in the last 25 years, and the only one to have been signed by Truman with his full name. The Truman signed letter exchanged hands for $16,250 including the tip, exceeding its high estimate.

Lot 54 was 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 thanked Henry A.S. Dearborn for sending him an English translation of a scientific work by French agronomist Charles Philibert de Lasteyrie about the Isatis tinctoria plant, traditionally used to produce blue dye. The Jefferson ALS sold for 25% above the high estimate, or $15,000 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 2 was a 1p autograph letter signed by John Quincy Adams on November 6, 1814 in Ghent, Belgium, where he was attempting to negotiate War of 1812-ending peace talks with Great Britain. Adams wrote in part: “Our negotiation is spinning out and unless our Government brings it to a close, will be a mere chancery suit…” This wonderfully candid letter with great political content garnered 20% more than its high estimate, or $15,000 including the tip.

Lot 157 was a first printing of a pamphlet entitled “The Will of General George Washington: To Which is Annexed, A Schedule of His Property, Directed to be Sold” (Alexandria: Record of the County Court of Fairfax, 1800). The document reproduced George Washington’s last will and testament, finalized by the former president in July 1799, only six months before his death in December 1799. This remarkable piece of presidential ephemera sold for nearly double the high estimate, or $9,375 including the buyer’s premium.

Civil Rights

Lot 251 was a later printing of Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958), boldly signed on the front loose endpaper by King and presented to Doug Gilbert, a Duke University divinity student and Civil Rights activist. Sourced directly from the recipient’s family, the King signed book sold for almost twice its high estimate, or $9,375 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 251, Martin Luther King, Jr. Signed Book

Military

Lot 409 was an archive of 12 letters (59pp) by British Admiral Alexander Cochrane, 1804-1814, mentioning monumental events from the War of 1812 including the burning of Washington, D.C. In a 3pp autograph letter signed dated September 19, 1814, Cochrane wrote flippantly: “… This day Congress meets[.] What will Jamie Madison say for suffering their house [the White House] to be burned during their Recess.” The extraordinary archive achieved three times its high estimate, or $7,500 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 416 was a collection of 12 photographs featuring 13 autographs from the “Band of Brothers,” as members of E Company, 506th Infantry Regiment, 21st Airborne Division were called in the 2001 HBO miniseries of the same name. The popularity of World War II-era collectibles right now is probably the reason why the archive sold for 10 times its high estimate, or $6,250 including the tip.

Lot 416, “Band of Brothers” Signed Photos

World Leaders

Lot 425 was a 1p typed letter signed by Winston Churchill dated May 6, 1939, just four months prior to Britain’s declaration of war against Nazi Germany. In this letter to Major David Percy Davies, his editor at “News of the World,” Churchill wrote that his forthcoming article about the British Admiralty must not comment too explicitly on the British Navy’s role during wartime, showing a prudence called for by current events. The Churchill signed letter sold for $6,250 including the buyer’s premium, or well over its high estimate.

Lot 484 was a 1p document in Russian initialed in red colored pencil by Josef Stalin. In an effort to curtail “contamination” by state enemies – like White Guard (anti-communists), Kulaks (wealthy peasants), and Trotskyists (adherents of Stalin’s despised political enemy, Leon Trotsky), Stalin authorized the increase of military personnel in the Molotov region. Just six days earlier, in late May 1940, Stalin had tried (and failed) to orchestrate Trotsky’s assassination. Stalin’s henchmen would succeed three months later in Mexico City. The Stalin signed document sold for $6,875 including the tip.

These were just some of the incredible lots in our March 2025 sale. Our next sale is tentatively scheduled for April 23, 2025.

We hope you can join us!

University Archives welcomed in the New Year with a $1-million sale yesterday! That makes two consecutive months that University Archives has achieved sales exceeding $1 million (our back-to-back sales in December 2024, the December 11, 2024 sale at University Archives, and our December 4, 2024 co-branded sale with Eaton & Brennan Auctions, generated nearly $1.5 million combined.) Over 7,000 approved bidders on multiple bidding platforms vied for items in our January sale, Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Books & Memorabilia. Bidders from the United States, Australia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom dominated online bidding by country of origin, but we also received bids from Finland, Hong Kong, and Mexico! And our buyers found much to buy: 96% of items offered in our January sale sold.

Just a few of the estimate-crushing highlights from our January sale include:

Art

Lot 138 was 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 Dalí (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. After an intense flurry of online bidding in the weeks before the auction, the lot finally sold to a phone bidder for $112,500 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 138, NY Art Dealer Lot of Plates & Woodblocks

U.S. Presidents & First Ladies

Lot 52 was an autograph letter by Thomas Jefferson as President signed not once, not twice, but four times, including a rare full signature. In this letter dated February 17, 1809, President Jefferson asked for the assistance of his grandson and namesake, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, in securing a newspaper subscription. The President’s signatures appear in four different ways: as “Jefferson” in addressing his grandson; as “Thomas Jefferson” within the text; as “Th: Jefferson” at the conclusion of the letter; and as “Thos. J.” in the docketing verso. This remarkably well-autographed presidential missive passed the auction block for 300% of the high estimate, or $34,375 including the tip.

Lot 129 was 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. The Washington frank exchanged hands for 40% above the high estimate, or $25,000 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 129, George Washington Franking Signature

Lot 89 was a brown leather purse belonging to Mary Todd Lincoln back in Illinois. The relatively plain handbag, with a front pocket secured by two brass turn-locks and a central pocket secured by a push-button lock, was gifted to one of Lincoln’s Springfield, Illinois acquaintances. The item was accompanied by a handwritten note of provenance reading: “This hand bag was the original property of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. When they ‘packed up’ to start for Washington, she gave it to Miss Langford in Springfield. I got it directly from Miss Langford. Miss Langford exchanged this bag with Mr. George G. Hartinaw [?] for some jewelry in Milwaukee & I bought it from him in 1910. John E. Burton.” The future First Lady’s fashion accessory sold for well over three times its high estimate, or $17,500 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 81 was an Abraham Lincoln signed check from Springfield, Illinois dated September 28, 1857. Lincoln paid about $14 to Reuben F. Ruth, a local saddle and harnessmaker, 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. The lot sold for its estimate, or $31,250 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 37 was a check signed by James A. Garfield as President, accompanied by provenance from his son, James R. Garfield, more than 50 years after the former’s assassination. President Garfield authorized the payment of William “Billy” T. Crump, White House steward, for “Incidental expenses and cook hire.” The check, PSA/DNA slabbed and graded MINT 9, is only one of two known examples of a President Garfield signed check. It sold for more than double the high estimate, or $21,250 including the tip, handily trouncing Christie’s 1999 other signed check record of $10,000.

Lot 37, James Garfield As President Signed Check

Military

Lot 336 was a book series supplement of thirteen World War I maps personally owned by a young George S. Patton. The red cloth slipcase is twice signed by Patton: the first time on the front cover, as “G S Patton Jr”; and the second time on the spine as “Patton.” The maps, which show various stages of the March 1918 German Offensive, are neatly housed in an accordion folder with numbered tabs for easy retrieval. This treasure of militaria sold for double the high estimate, or $7,500 including the buyer’s premium.

Lot 305 was a 3”-long graphite segment from Chicago Pile-1, Enrico Fermi’s nuclear reactor, displayed in a highly collectible Lucite case with engraved plaque. This graphite pin was one of many holding Uranium deposits in place within the reactor. Fermi successfully initiated the first human-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction within CP-1 on December 2, 1942. The relic sold for over the high estimate, or $5,312.50 including the buyer’s premium.

Business

Lot 209 was a great piece of Americana: a ca. 1981 booklet of McDonald’s gift certificates, the first one in the packet boldly signed by Ray Kroc, the entrepreneur who helped turn the fast-food restaurant into an iconic billion-dollar business. It sold for $7,500 including the buyer’s premium, or over 10 times the high estimate!

Lot 209, Ray Kroc Signed McDonald’s Gift Certificate

These are just some of the memorable highlights from our January 29, 2025 sale.

Our next sale is tentatively scheduled for March 12, 2025.

We hope you can join us!

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. Presidents

University Archives’ most dominant collecting category – U.S. Presidents – 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!