John Reznikoff in the News

University Archives Last Auction of 2024 Now Live & Open for Bidding!

Nov 22, 2024

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!

University Archives October Sale Results

Nov 5, 2024

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

U.S. Presidents

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

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

Lot 20, James A. Garfield ALS

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

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

Early America

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

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

Science

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

Lot 447, Albert Einstein ALS With Equations

World Leaders

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

Civil Rights

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

Religion

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

Sports

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

Lot 489, Babe Ruth Signed Ticket

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

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

We hope you can join us!

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

Oct 15, 2024

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

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

See the video clip here

See the trailer on YouTube

University Archives October 30, 2024 sale now online!

Oct 14, 2024

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

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

Lot 89, Presidential Collection

U.S. Presidential

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

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

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

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

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

Science

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

Lot 447, Albert Einstein ALS

World Leaders

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

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

Art & Music

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

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

History & Military

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

Lot 205, Hawaiian Missionaries Archive

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

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

Nikola Tesla TLS

University Archives September 18, 2024 Sale Results

Sep 19, 2024

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

See sale results

University Archives September 18, 2024 sale now online!

Sep 3, 2024

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

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

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

To view our full illustrated catalog:

September 18, 2024 sale catalog

Rare Autographs, Photographs, Books PLUS PSA Slabbed – June Auction

Jun 19, 2023

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

Civil Rights

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

Art

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

Business

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

U.S. Presidential

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

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

Science

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

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

International

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

Military

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

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

Literature

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

Early American

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

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

Rare Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia – May Auction

May 12, 2023

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

MUSIC

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

SCIENCE

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

U.S. PRESIDENTIAL

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

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

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

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

MARVELOUS MISCELLANY

Civil Rights

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

Military

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

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

Entertainment

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

Literature

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

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

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

Sports

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

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

Rare Signed Manuscripts, Books, Photos & Relics, Signers of the Declaration, & Sports – April Auction

Apr 3, 2023

University Archives is thrilled to announce its next online-only sale, Rare Signed Manuscripts, Books, Photos & Relics, Signers of the Declaration, & Sports, on April 19, 2023, the 248th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington & Concord. We are embracing the revolutionary spirit by offering 55+ lots of material autographed by Declaration of Independence signers. Other items include historical documents and relics, rare books, oversized vintage photographs, and memorabilia highlighting the best in U.S. Presidential, Early America, Science, Sports, Aviation & Space, International & Judaica, Literature, Art, Music, & Entertainment. Make sure you don’t miss this tremendous collecting and buying opportunity!

U.S. Presidential & First Ladies

Our April sale represents U.S. Presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden, including multiple lots dedicated to Abraham Lincoln (9); Harry S. Truman (9); John F. Kennedy (8); and Jimmy Carter (8). Heeding Abigail Adams’ 1776 entreaty to her husband to “remember the ladies,” we also have a large collection of First Lady autographed material ranging from as early as Caroline Harrison to as recent as Hillary Clinton.

Abraham Lincoln penned a cheerful note to an unidentified young man, probably his eldest son Robert, on the cusp of the November 8, 1864 presidential election. Lincoln wrote: “Bravo! my good boy. Whether Mr. L. shall be re-elected or not, he feels sure that you will stick to the cause of the country.” Lincoln’s use of the third person is unusual, though not without precedent. The jubilant tone of Lincoln’s note belies the fact that he fully expected to lose the 1864 election to George B. McClellan.

Sitting President George Washington and future president Thomas Jefferson boldly signed 3-language ship’s papers for a Martinique-bound schooner on June 6, 1794. The combination of such signatures on a document like this is outstanding, as is the size of each massive signature: 4” for Washington’s and 2.5” for Jefferson’s.

Speaking of oversized, a vintage Ewing & Harris gelatin silver photograph of Teddy Roosevelt signed by the president in the last few months of his second term is truly gargantuan, framed measuring 15.5” x 23” overall. Ex-Krainik Gallery of Vintage Photographs, Ex-Christie’s.

Declaration of Independence Signers

55+ lots of our April sale feature autographed material by Declaration of Independence signers, including John & Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, and super rare signer Arthur Middleton. Some signers are represented by multiple lots.

Lot 221 is one of two superb Benjamin Franklin signed items in our April sale. The elegant autograph note signed is dated June 15, 1748, the same year Franklin turned down a colonelcy and instead enlisted in the Pennsylvania militia. The letter, which is likely military in nature, is believed to be addressed to Andrew Pepperrell, the son of Sir William Pepperrell, commander of British Army forces at Louisburg.

Lot 234 is a scarce Revolutionary War-dated autograph letter signed by Francis Lightfoot Lee, signed as “Honble Francis Lightfoot Lee esq.”

Science

Science & Technology continue to perform extremely well. Thomas Edison signed a contract in ca. 1880 Bolivia for a light bulb design first successfully tested in the United States on October 21, 1879. Edison’s international patents often duplicated existing U.S. patents and protected the inventor’s interests abroad.

Albert Einstein signed and inscribed a charming photograph of himself dressed in yachting clothes to Dr. Max Heimann in December 1935. The photo testifies to the physicist’s intractable love of sailing, which often led him into near catastrophe, like running aground and nearly drowning. Accompanied by a PSA/DNA Letter of Authenticity.

Richard Feynman’s personally owned copy of John C. Slater’s “Introduction to Chemical Physics” (1939) was gifted to him by his future wife Arline Greenbaum, who has signed on the front loose endpaper as “Putzie.” Feynman has extensively annotated the book.

Sports

Our April sale offers collectors exceptional sports memorabilia relating to boxing, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Lot 406 is a vintage photograph of early baseball legends Babe Ruth, Connie Mack, John McGraw, Gabby Street, Christy Walsh, and Nick Altrock signed by them along the bottom. The photo was taken at the 1931 World Series game between the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Lot 405 is a first edition, first printing hardcover copy of Jackie Robinson’s biography, “Wait Till Next Year,” which he cowrote with important Black journalist Carl T. Rowan, dedicated to him on the front loose end paper. Robinson’s inscription dated May 25, 1960 reads in part: “To Carl with best wishes and thanks for all you did to help [make] ‘Wait Till Next Year’ a success. Your participation helped us very much…” Rowan covered current events relating to the Civil Rights movement, and later became the first Black syndicated columnist in America.

Lot 413 is a bloodied and battered white Montreal Canadiens jersey belonging to Bob Gainey, worn by him during the 1978-1979 NHL season, playoffs, and Stanley Cup finals, graded MEARS A10. The jersey is described as showing “heavy use” and shows washed out bloodstains, stick and slash marks, board and friction burn holes, as well as approximately 80 team-sewn fabric repairs. Perfect for the die-hard hockey fan!

We hope you can join us on April 19, 2023. Please view our lavishly illustrated and keyword-searchable catalog for further details!

Rare Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia – March 15, 2023

Mar 14, 2023

University Archives is proud to announce its next 410+-lot sale, Rare Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia, on March 15, 2023. The auction features an exceptional array of U.S. Presidential material from Washington to Obama; unique Science material from Einstein, Hooke, Feynman, and others; and a marvelous miscellany encompassing Early American, Art, International, and Sports collecting categories. Whether you are looking for important historical documents, rare books, original artwork, early photography, or autographed sports memorabilia, University Archives has you covered!

U.S. Presidential

Lot 105 is an autograph album signed by three current and future U.S. Presidents–Lincoln, Grant, and Garfield–and collected by a Civil War veteran from Peoria, Illinois. The extraordinary album is further enhanced by its provenance, an 1896 local newspaper article describing the collector’s son’s recollections of when Lincoln signed the album in Washington, D.C. in 1862. Among the details the then 8-year-old shared was how Lincoln “plac[ed] his foot on the seat of a chair and rest[ed] the book on his knee while marking the signature.” The album also contains approximately 140 additional signatures of mostly Civil War-era military personnel, politicians, and other notables.

Lot 1 is a scarce John Adams autograph letter signed while president addressed to Treasury Secretary Oliver Wolcott, Jr. alluding to America’s middling position in the international marketplace. “If you find any usefull hints in it, you know how to make use of them better than your humble servant,” Adams wrote to Wolcott. Adams’ letter was written in response to a bold cover letter from a Baltimore man who claimed he knew how to make the United States more competitive against its rivals England, France, and Portugal.

A remarkable Bill Clinton archive, Lot 14, includes over 30 pieces of correspondence exchanged between the future president and a faithful campaign staffer named Gloria O’Donnell from Clinton’s time as Arkansas governor through his second presidential term.

Science

We have five powerhouse Albert Einstein lots in our March sale which should spark significant interest. Lot 384 is a typed letter signed by Einstein explaining his monumental scientific formula, E = mc2. The formula, which Einstein articulated after conducting research into the theory of relativity, ultimately led to the development of nuclear weapons, an unintended catastrophic result of his research. Einstein deeply regretted the link between his “formula…[and] energy which can be freed by nuclear reactions.”

Also crossing the auction block is Lot 386, an extremely rare document signed by British polymath Robert Hooke relating to the Great Fire of London of 1666. In addition to being one of the greatest scientists of Early Modern Europe, Hooke also served as a Surveyor of the City of London and settled many claims following the conflagration.

Marvelous Miscellany – Early American, Art, International, Sports, Etc.

Lot 223 relates to Paul Revere’s purchase of 4 chaldrons (over 5 net tons!) of coal to fuel his metal-working furnaces in 1787, the same year the U.S. Constitution was signed. Revere signed the receipt issued by a Boston merchant and included a 9-word endorsement in his hand. With remarkable provenance from Revere’s great-great-grandson!

Lot 244 is a colorful Walt Disney signed Sante Fe & Disneyland Railroad and monorail pass issued to NYC transit authority director Sidney H. Bingham ca. 1959, granting him free access to the railway for five years as an “honorary Vice-President.” The Sante Fe & Disneyland Railroad was inaugurated at Disneyland in Anaheim, California in 1955, while the high-tech, German-designed monorail opened in 1959 in conjunction with the rededication of Tomorrowland.

Lot 330 is an elegant manuscript document in Latin signed by French monarch Louis VII at Senlis in 1177, with an interesting connection to the Crusades. The document granting property rights was witnessed/signed by two future French Crusaders, Raoul I, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and Theobald V, Count of Blois, who were both killed during the Siege of Acre fourteen years later. With outstanding provenance from a Dutch manuscript collector, ex-Charles Hamilton.

Lot 417 is an official baseball signed by 26 New York Yankees players including Thurman Munson during the 1975 season. 20+ lots in the auction are sports collectibles (baseball, boxing, and gymnastics) including autographs, vintage photographs and newspapers, as well as signed or game-worn apparel.

We hope you can join us on March 15, 2023. Please view our lavishly illustrated and keyword-searchable catalog for further details!