Atlanta, GA — March 30, 2026 — Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery is pleased to present property from the estate of Dr. Goodman Basil Espy III, a distinguished Atlanta physician, humanitarian, and lifelong collector whose remarkable holdings have been celebrated across multiple major auction platforms.
Dr. Espy (1935–2024), known as “G.B.” to family and friends, was widely recognized not only for his medical career, during which he delivered thousands of children and participated in international medical missions, but also for running more than 80 marathons, and for his decades-long passion for collecting objects that embodied history, culture, and storytelling.
Inspired at an early age by his mother’s antiques shop, Dr. Espy developed a deeply personal and wide-ranging collection over the course of his life, guided by curiosity and an appreciation for the narratives behind each object.
A Collection of Remarkable Breadth
Segments of Dr. Espy’s collection have already achieved national recognition through a series of high-profile specialized auctions, including a single-owner sale at Julien’s in 2019 and, more recently, American Greats: Vintage Sports and Hollywood from the Dr. G.B. Espy Collection at Christie’s, including an important Lou Gehrig New York Yankees jersey worn at his final home game at Yankee Stadium in 1939.
Property Offered by Ahlers & Ogletree
Ahlers & Ogletree is honored to present a distinct and complementary group of objects drawn directly from Dr. Espy’s estate. Many of these works remained within his personal environment and have not previously been offered publicly. The offering includes significant memorabilia, from items associated with Marilyn Monroe to rare scientific, historical, and political documents, demonstrating a collector drawn to objects with compelling provenance and cultural resonance. The works offered in this sale reflect a different dimension of Dr. Espy’s collecting interests.
Highlights include an important collection of Art Deco Bakelite radios; signed first editions of Gone With the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird; paintings by William Aiken Walker; antique sterling silver yachting and golf trophies; important signed letters by Albert Einstein, Charles Lindbergh, Jefferson Davis, George Custer, Ty Cobb, and others; and a collection of fine jewelry by Tiffany & Co. Together, these objects provide insight into the broader aesthetic sensibility that defined his home and daily surroundings.
Lots of note include:
A signed and inscribed first edition, first printing, author’s presentation copy of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird with its original dust jacket, estimate $40,000-$50,000
A signed and inscribed first edition, first printing, author’s presentation copy of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, with original dust jacket and accompanying letter from the author, estimate $20,000-$30,000
A TLS by Albert Einstein on Hebrew Literary Foundation letterhead, dated May 31, 1940,
regarding the urgent need to support displaced Jewish scholars from Europe during the
escalation of World War II, estimate $10,000-$20,000
A Babe Ruth signed check dated April 9, 1946, estimate $4,000–$6,000
An ALS by Stonewall Jackson to George Gibson discussing consideration for a military appointment during the Mexican American War, dated October 6, 1847, estimate $3,000-$5,000
.
A Collector’s Philosophy
Throughout his life, Dr. Espy viewed himself not as an owner, but as a steward of history. As he once reflected, his role was to carry objects “from one point in time to another,” with the hope that future custodians would continue that legacy.
That philosophy is evident in the breadth of his collection, one that bridges disciplines, eras, and cultural narratives, united by a shared sense of story and significance.
About Ahlers & Ogletree
Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery is a leading Southeastern auction house specializing in fine art, antiques, decorative arts, jewelry, and estate property. Based in Atlanta, the firm connects regional collections with a global audience of collectors through a robust schedule of live and online auctions.
Dominic Winter Auctioneers Printed Books, Maps & Wisdens, English Bibles 1500-1800 22nd July 2026
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 83 – Westall & Owen. Picturesque Tour of the River Thames, 1st edition, 1828. £2,000-3,000.
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 88 – Blume. Rumphia, Botanicae de plantis Indiae Orientalis, 1835-1848. £2,000-3,000.
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 101 – Michaux. Histoire des arbres forestiers de l'Amérique septentrionale, 1810-1812. £700-1,000.
Dominic Winter Auctioneers Printed Books, Maps & Wisdens, English Bibles 1500-1800 22nd July 2026
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 102 – Miller & Shaw. Cimelia Physica, 1796 [but c. 1816]. £3,000-5,000.
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 104 – Parkinson. Theatrum Botanicum: The Theater of Plants, London: Thomas Cotes, 1640. £800-1,200.
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 159 – Plancius. Orbis Terrarum..., double hemisphere map, 1594-99. £5,000-8,000.
Dominic Winter Auctioneers Printed Books, Maps & Wisdens, English Bibles 1500-1800 22nd July 2026
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 217 – Illuminated Medieval Manuscript. From a Breviary, 14th/15th c. £3,000-4,000.
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 224 – The newe Testament … By Wylliam Tyndall…, 1549. £3,000-5,000.
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 238 – Douay-Rheims Bible. 3 volumes, 1582/1609/1610. £7,000-10,000.
Dominic Winter Auctioneers Printed Books, Maps & Wisdens, English Bibles 1500-1800 22nd July 2026
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 336 – Ashendene Press. A Treatyse of Fysshynge with an Angle, 1903. £1,000-1,500.
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 393 – Sassoon. Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, signed limited edition, 1931. £800-1,200.
Dominic Winter, July 22: Lot 402 – Dylan Thomas. Twenty-Five Poems, 1st edition in d.j., 1936. £400-600.
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Inundation papyrus. P.Michael 4, the ‘Inundation papyrus’, a geographical account of the Nile near Canopus, in Greek, remains of two columns from a manuscript scroll on papyrus, Egypt, second century CE. £12,000-18,000
Forum, July 16: Book of Hours, use of Sarum, manuscript on vellum, 6 full-page miniatures, with famous Middle English inscriptions, Southern Netherlands for the English market, [c.1430]. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Qu'ran, Arabic manuscript on burnished, stencilled, and gold-flecked paper, 447ff., Sultanate Gujarat, Ahmadabad, [after 1411 but no later than 1442]. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Turner (William). A New boke of the natures and properties of all wines that are commonly vsed here in England, rare first edition of the first English book on wine, By William Seres, 1568. £20,000-£30,000
Forum, July 16: Spenser (Edmund). The Faerie Queene. first edition, Printed [by John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, 1590. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Shakespeare (William). The Comedie of Errors, extracted from the first folio, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, 1623. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1953. £40,000-60,000
Forum, July 16: d'Agoty (Jacques-Fabien Gautier). Anatomie de la Tête, first edition, Paris, chez le Sieur Gautier, 1748. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 16: Martial Arts.- Lee (Bruce). 'Praying Mantis style' Kung Fu book, containing numerous annotations, diagrams and graphs in Bruce Lee's hand, c. 1960. £50,000-70,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, rare hand-coloured issue, 1848. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Norie (John William). The Marine Atlas, or Seaman's Complete Pilot for all the principal places in the known world..., 1826. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Mao Tse-tung.- Kim Il-sung.-[Note book for visitors from China to Korea], signed by Mao and Kim, [Beijing, 1954]. £10,000-15,000
Case Auctions 2026 Summer Auction August 1st and 2nd
Case Antiques, Aug. 1: Timberlake, Henry: A DRAUGHT OF THE CHEROKEE COUNTRY on the West Side of the Twenty Four Mountains, Commonly Called "Over the Hills". $18,000 to $22,000.
Case Antiques, Aug. 1: Manuscript orderly book detailing day to day activities of multiple Virginia regiments in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary,1776-1777. $7,000 to $8,000.
Case Antiques, Aug. 1: Cormac McCarthy, The Orchard Keeper, Random House, New York, 1965. Signed 1st Edition. $3,800 to $4,200.
Case Auctions 2026 Summer Auction August 1st and 2nd
Case Antiques, Aug. 1: Battle of Kings Mountain Pamphlet by Isaac Shelby, April 1823, Signed. $1,800 to $2,200.
Case Antiques, Aug. 1: Large Tintype CSA Lt. Col. Thomas Coke Johnson, 19th GA, w/ Southern Cross, Book. $1,400 to $1,800.
Case Antiques, Aug. 1: Rare Civil War Ambrotype, 19th GA Infantry with Johnson Family of GA. $800 to $1,200.
Case Auctions 2026 Summer Auction August 1st and 2nd
Case Antiques, Aug. 1: A signed note written by Thomas Alva Edison to an unknown recipient, in which he shares his thoughts on Guglielmo Marconi, regarded as the inventor of the radio. $800 to $1,200.
Case Antiques, Aug. 1: Rare 1931 TN Grasslands Steeplechase Book, Gallatin. $800 to $1,000.
Case Antiques, Aug. 1: War of 1812 related Broadside, Petersburg Volunteers. $700 to $800.
Case Antiques, Aug. 1: 2 World War I Posters, “Our Colored Fighters” and “No Slacker”. $800 to $1,000.
