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University Archives: Rare Autographs, Manuscripts and Books

Auction Reports

Auction Name Rare Autographs, Manuscripts and Books Total Sales (USD) 649,652.05
Auction Date March 12, 2025 - March 12, 2025 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 399,600.00
Sale Number #31225 High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 523,900.00
Total Lots 532
Sold Lots 512 Low Estimate of All Lots (USD) 438,500.00
% of Lots Sold 96.24% High Estimate of All Lots (USD) 574,500.00
Unsold Lots 20 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 113.08%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
74

Abraham Lincoln Signed Blank Ship's Papers, Very Attractive Signature!

n.d. USD 10,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD 23,750.00
75

Abraham Lincoln Signed War-Dated Military Appointment of Irish-Born Career Soldier

September 9, 1861 USD 7,000.00 - 9,000.00 USD 23,750.00
146

Rare Harry Truman TLS on Day of FDR's Death, 1 of 3 Known!

1945-04-12 USD 8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD 16,250.00
164

6 Presidents Signed WH Engraving, Incredibly Rare, Most As Presidents, With JSA

20th century USD 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD 16,250.00
290

Brit Sends News "Burgoynes Army at the time of the Capitulation" and Campbells Mistreatment in Jail, Fantastic Content 1777

February 14, 1777; November 25, 1777 USD 1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD 16,250.00
2

JQ Adams Superb Content Treaty of Ghent Talks, "Our negotiation is spinning out..."

November 6, 1814 USD 8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD 15,000.00
54

Thomas Jefferson ALS With Excellent Content, PSA GEM MT 10!

October 17, 1816 USD 7,000.00 - 9,000.00 USD 15,000.00
472

J.D. Salinger Writing Authentically About Sex, TLS Re: Leaving Home To Escape His Mother, Rooting Out Phoniness like Holden Caulfield

February 29, [1972] USD 10,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD 15,000.00
155

G. Washington Endorsed Potomac Co. Document, Later Dined at the Famous Wises Tavern That Night!

August 5, 1786 USD 8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD 11,875.00
156

"George Washington" Signature, Hair Strands & Cloak Fragment - Handsome Presidential Display With Great Provenance!

n.d. USD 8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD 11,250.00
157

First Printing of "The Will of General George Washington", Belonging to William Thayer

ca. 1800 USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 9,375.00
251

Martin Luther King Jr. Signed "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story"

n.d. USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 9,375.00
34

President Ford on "political assassination activities" of Foreign Leaders, asks Sen. Baker to Suppress a Report on the CIA's Involvement

1975-10-31 USD 8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD 8,125.00
184

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Signed Photograph of "Young Girl in a Yellow Hat" - Certified by Mayor!

ca. January 10, 1911 USD 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD 7,500.00
216

Wilbur Wright Signed Postcard, "La Conquete de l'Air," Depicting Le Mans Aviation Demonstration Dated 3 Weeks Before Winning Michelin Cup

2008-12-08 USD 7,500.00 - 10,000.00 USD 7,500.00
409

Burning of Washington! War of 1812 Archive by British Adm. Cochrane 12 letters 59 pages

ca. 1804-1814 USD 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 USD 7,500.00
37

Gerald Ford Signed Ltd. Ed. 40th Anniversary of JFK Assassination Report, Last Surviving Member of Warren Commission

April-May 2004 USD 300.00 - 400.00 USD 6,875.00
197

All 3 Apollo XI Astronauts Signed Official Red Number NASA Photo!

n.d. USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 6,875.00
205

Mercury 7 Astronauts! Superb & Iconic Signed Photograph, With Zarelli LOA

n.d. USD 5,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 6,875.00
427

Winston Churchill War-Dated TLS to Editor of WWII Tribute Anthology, Inspiration for British Resistance Against Germany!

1943-04-27 USD 3,500.00 - 4,500.00 USD 6,875.00
439

Josef Stalin DS Re: "Contamination by Trotskyists" Right After His First Trotsky Assassination Attempt - Superb!

1940-05-30 USD 4,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 6,875.00
416

Fantastic Band of Brothers Lot of 12 Signed Photos, 13 Autographs! Winters, Nixon III, Talbert, & More

n.d. USD 400.00 - 500.00 USD 6,250.00
425

Winston Churchill TLS: "I should be a little shy about writing on the British Navy's role in time of war..."

1939-05-06 USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 6,250.00
436

Charles II Hunts For His Father's Killers! 1660 Broadside Calling For Arrest of Regicides Edward Whalley & William Goffe, New England Fugitives

ca. 1660 USD 5,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 6,250.00
285

John Jay Letter Written to Wife While Negotiating the Jay Treaty: "There is room for hope..."

July 6, 1794 USD 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD 5,937.50
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
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