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University Archives: Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books

Auction Reports


Auction Name	Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books	Total Sales (USD)	858,062.50
Auction Date	July 16, 2025 - July 16, 2025	Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)	577,400.00
Sale Number	#71625	High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)	795,700.00
Total Lots	437
Sold Lots	417	Low Estimate of All Lots (USD)	692,000.00
% of Lots Sold	95.42%	High Estimate of All Lots (USD)	961,900.00
Unsold Lots	20	Total Sales as a % of High Est.	89.21%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number	Author Name	Book Title	Year Published	Estimate	Actual Price
62	Abraham Lincoln	Monumental Abraham Lincoln PSA MINT 9 Signed Carte de Visite by Gardner, ca. 1863	[August 9, 1863]	USD 100,000.00 - 150,000.00	USD 112,500.00
63	Lincoln	Lincoln ALS to Youth: "A young man, before the enemy has learned to watch him...votes... shall redeem the county" Evocative of Famous "Work" Letter	November 3, 1859	USD 40,000.00 - 50,000.00	USD 40,625.00
66	Lincoln	Lincoln Presidential ALS Just Days Before Start Of Civil War!	March 29, 1861	USD 15,000.00 - 20,000.00	USD 28,125.00
1	John Adams	John Adams ALS to John Jay's Wife to Introduce Abigail Adams, Mentions Time During Peace Treaty, Adams Glows about Jay, Superb!	November 11, 1788	USD 10,000.00 - 20,000.00	USD 21,250.00
237	David Hunter	Emancipation Proclamation! Union General David Hunter Proclaims Former Slave Free, Only One in Private Hands	August 22, 1862	USD 4,000.00 - 5,000.00	USD 21,250.00
127	G. Washington	G. Washington DS For Invalid Who Fought & Recovered with Black Soldier Prince Jenckes, Large and Attractive Signature Rare Format!	September 1, 1783	USD 18,000.00 - 24,000.00	USD 20,000.00
43	Thomas Jefferson	Thomas Jefferson ALS as President, He Praises "skill and industry," Twice Signed	October 12, 1807	USD 8,000.00 - 10,000.00	USD 17,500.00
65	Lincoln	Lincoln, Slavery Association Writes to the Secretary of State Recommending a Whig Ally from Illinois	June 23, 1849	USD 16,000.00 - 20,000.00	USD 17,500.00
71	Lincoln	Lincoln Boldly Signed Endorsement, Plus 31 Other Notables, Days Before Battle of Baton Rouge	August 1, 1862	USD 7,000.00 - 8,000.00	USD 16,250.00
89	Boston Corbett	Boston Corbett Twice Mentions "Shooting Booth" and Collecting His Reward, Just Weeks After Booth's Capture and Death	May 13, 1865	USD 8,000.00 - 10,000.00	USD 16,250.00
210	Orville Wright	Orville Wright Fantastic Signed First Flight Photo, PSA Authentication	n.d.	USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00	USD 15,000.00
128	George Washington	George Washington PSA NM 7 Signature Dated Same Day Rochambeau's Fleet Arrived In Newport, & Washington Activated Culper Ring Prior To Planned NYC Invasion	July 11, 1780	USD 10,000.00 - 12,000.00	USD 13,750.00
42	Jefferson	Jefferson Slavery-Related ALS Signed 3 Times, Scouting Construction of Slave-Built Mason Island Road & Mason-Owned Plantation, Now Theodore Roosevelt Island!	October 18, 1805	USD 12,000.00 - 20,000.00	USD 12,500.00
404	Mahatma Gandhi	Mahatma Gandhi PSA MINT 9 Double Hindi / English Signature, 7 Months Before Assassination, With Great Provenance & JSA LOA	1947-06-24	USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00	USD 12,500.00
72	Lincoln	Lincoln Grants Admission to Gallery in Congress for Mrs. Lincoln's Friends	March 3, 1865	USD 6,000.00 - 7,000.00	USD 11,250.00
5	John Quincy Adams	John Quincy Adams Honors John Adams and Jefferson Just Weeks after their Death on July 4, 1826 Signed Copyright Claim for D. Webster's Eulogy	August 28, 1826	USD 7,000.00 - 9,000.00	USD 10,625.00
451		Eyewitness to Golden Age of Baseball - Archive of NYT Reporter Roscoe McGowen, Helped Break Color Barrier	various	USD 3,500.00 - 5,000.00	USD 10,625.00
69	Abraham Lincoln	Abraham Lincoln Signed War-Dated Military Appointment of Irish-Born Career Soldier	September 9, 1861	USD 7,000.00 - 9,000.00	USD 10,000.00
67	Abraham Lincoln	Abraham Lincoln Nominates Ohio Quartermaster John J. Elwell as Captain, Plus (4) Brevet Appointments Authorized by Johnson!	ca. 1861-1887	USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00	USD 9,375.00
283	Nathan Ray	Nathan Ray Thomas & Other Loyalists Archive: Letters, Receipts and More from 1758-1822	various	USD 800.00 - 1,000.00	USD 9,375.00
68	Abraham Lincoln	Abraham Lincoln ANS Assisting "wife of a preacher...wants employment"	August 18, 1863	USD 8,000.00 - 10,000.00	USD 8,750.00
442		1952 Bowman Baseball Card Complete Set	ca. 1952	USD 5,500.00 - 7,500.00	USD 8,125.00
308	Marilyn Monroe & Arthur Miller	Marilyn Monroe & Arthur Miller Signed Deed for Connecticut Farmhouse	1957-12-20	USD 5,000.00 - 6,000.00	USD 7,500.00
431	Sigmund Freud	Sigmund Freud ALS Re: Contributing Psychoanalysis Article to Encyclopaedia Britannica, What Would Become the 1926 13th Edition	2025-09-13	USD 5,000.00 - 6,000.00	USD 7,500.00
427		3" Graphite Segment from First Nuclear Reactor, Fermi's CP-I, Encased in Lucite	1942-12-02	USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00	USD 6,875.00

Sotheby's
Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
Available for Immediate Purchase

Sotheby’s: Ian Fleming. Casino Royale, London, 1953. First edition, first printing. $58,610.

Sotheby’s: A.A. Milne, Ernest Howard Shepard. Winnie The Pooh, United Kingdom, 1926. First UK edition. $17,580.

Sotheby’s: Ernest Hemingway. Three Stories And Ten Poems, [Paris], (1923). First edition of Hemingway’s first published book. $75,000.

Sotheby's
Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
Available for Immediate Purchase

Sotheby’s: L. Frank Baum. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, 1900. First edition. $27,500.

Sotheby’s: Man Ray. Photographs By Man Ray 1920 Paris 1934, Hartford, 1934. $7,860.

Sotheby’s: Thomas Pennant. Zoologia Britannica, Augsburg, 1771. $49,125.
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