University Archives rang in the New Year with a new sale this past Wednesday. Rare Autographs, Books Including Lincoln & Space Exploration showcased over 520 lots of exceptional historical items. Those who stayed with us throughout the marathonic 8-hour-long auction saw UA add another million-dollar sale to the record books. We also tied our all-time highest company record, a 98% sell-through rate, first achieved in January 2022, and then in August 2024.
U.S. Presidents and Early America performed extremely strongly in the January auction, and you can bet that these will be the collecting categories to watch during 2026, America’s bicentennial year. Literature, Business, and Military also garnered a lot of interest. Please see below for some auction highlights arranged by category:
U.S. Presidents
Lot 53 was a Thomas Jefferson signed and personally owned book, Vol. IV of Plutarch’s Morals (London: Printed for W. Taylor, 1718), from Jefferson’s library, and with provenance from U.S. Senate clerk Lewis Henry Machen. Not seen at public auction since 1829, the Jefferson owned volume was signed with a “T” on the “I” leaf on pg. 193, and also featured a 12-word holographic inscription on the first extant page. The presidential volume sold for almost three times its high estimate, exchanging hands for $112,500 including the buyer’s premium.
Early America
Lot 296 was a 3 vol. set of Winthrop Sargent, The Life and Career of Major John André (New York: William Abbatt, 1902), a large paper edition expanded to include about 250 items, ranging from a secretarial letter written on behalf of George Washington and a partial autograph letter signed by Arthur St. Clair, to a document signed by George III as well as engravings, original artwork, broadsides, and other collectibles. The set sold for 30% over its high estimate, or $8,750 including the buyer’s premium.
Military
Lot 377 was a George E. Pickett signed carte de visite showing the Confederate General in uniform, and boldly signed with his rank as “G.E. Pickett / Maj. Gen C.S.A.” PSA/DNA slabbed and graded GEM MT 10, and further certified by a JSA LOA, the very scarce Pickett signed CDV sold for 25% above its high estimate. It exchanged hands for $12,500 including the tip.
Civil Rights
Lot 294 was an exceptionally rare slavery receipt dated December 6, 1859 from Macon, Georgia, confirming the purchase of a 17-year-old enslaved man named Daniel for $1,300. The receipt, which featured a romanticized vignette of an allegorical figure harvesting rice, sold for 10 times its high estimate, or $12,500 including the buyer’s premium.
Business
Lot 275 was a fascinating J.P. Morgan & Company 100pp checkbook from ca. 1908-1918, with many blank checks. With a beginning balance of $1.9 million – or roughly 70 million in 2025 money – the checkbook recorded financial transactions with banks and railroads during a dramatic decade of bank runs, economic panics, imperialistic construction projects, and World War I. It sold for more than 8 times its high estimate, or $10,880 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 275, J.P. Morgan & Company checkbook
Sports
Lot 514 was a Babe Ruth signed PSA/DNA Type II vintage press photograph by baseball photographer Charles M. Conlon, capturing one of the most famous pictures of the “Sultan of Swat” at home plate during his Yankees era. The Ruth signed photo and accompanying miniature Ruth Louisville Slugger baseball bat met its high estimate, selling for $8,750 including the tip.
Literature
Lot 429 was a F. Scott Fitzgerald handwritten postcard written at ca. 1924 at Saint-Raphaël, France, during the exact time and place that the author was writing The Great Gatsby. The friendly letter addressed to a young fellow writer named Horace A. Wade sold for $8,125 including the buyer’s premium, easily topping its high estimate.
Science
Lot 487 was an Albert Einstein typed letter signed in German dated February 10, 1936, and addressed to a Harper & Brothers publicity director regarding Max Born, his fellow physicist and lifelong friend. Harpers would publish Max Born’s The Restless Universe the same year, and perhaps Einstein was asked to provide a character reference for his friend. The letter sold for $5,312 including the buyer’s premium.
Art
Lot 158 was an archive of autographed material exchanged between American art critic James Thrall Soby and some of the most important modern artists of the 20th C. including Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Man Ray, Ben Shahn, Marino Marini, and others, with bonus material from artist spouses Gala Dalí and Marina Marini. The assortment of 30 pieces in English, French, and Italian dating from ca. 1938-1961 sold for well over double its high estimate, or $5,312 including the tip.
These were just some of the few outstanding items offered at our January auction.
We hope you can participate in our upcoming auction planned for February 18, 2026!
