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Lion Heart Autographs: A Landmark Offering of Rare & Important Autograph Letters & Manuscripts—Fresh to the Market and Unseen for Decades
Auction Reports
| Auction Name | A Landmark Offering of Rare & Important Autograph Letters & Manuscripts—Fresh to the Market and Unseen for Decades | Total Sales (USD) | 378,627.00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction Date | May 20, 2026 - May 20, 2026 | Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) | 256,875.00 |
| Sale Number | #52026 | High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) | 297,650.00 |
| Total Lots | 284 | ||
| Sold Lots | 195.0 | Low Estimate of All Lots (USD) | 350,725.00 |
| % of Lots Sold | 68.66% | High Estimate of All Lots (USD) | 406,800.00 |
| Unsold Lots | 89 | Total Sales as a % of High Est. | 93.07% |
Top twenty-five by sale price
| Lot Number | Author Name | Book Title | Year Published | Estimate | Actual Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 188 | Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) | Verzweiflung |
ND | USD 42,000.00 - 45,000.00 | USD 82,350.00 |
| 171 | George Washington (1732-1799) | DS safe passage order |
1775 | USD 15,000.00 - 18,000.00 | USD 18,910.00 |
| 66 | Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) | Manuscript DS |
1787 | USD 14,000.00 - 16,000.00 | USD 15,860.00 |
| 41 | Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935) | Cinq Annees de ma Vie |
1901 | USD 12,000.00 - 15,000.00 | USD 14,640.00 |
| 2 | John Adams | DS granting land to John Wilkins Jr. |
1798 | USD 3,500.00 - 4,000.00 | USD 14,030.00 |
| 102 | Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) | DS to Marc Antoine Francois Marie Radon de la Tour |
1787 | USD 10,000.00 - 12,000.00 | USD 14,030.00 |
| 91 | Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) | TLS to Samuel Brent Oliver III |
1962 | USD 12,000.00 - 14,000.00 | USD 10,065.00 |
| 57 | Albert Einstein (1879-1955) | TLS to Lawrence Udell |
1955 | USD 3,250.00 - 3,500.00 | USD 7,625.00 |
| 113 | Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) | ALS to Alleyne Fitzherbert, Baron St. Helens |
1801 | USD 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 | USD 6,405.00 |
| 6 | John Jacob Astor | DS discharging a mortgage debt |
1828 | USD 1,500.00 - 1,600.00 | USD 5,246.00 |
| 85 | Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826); James Madison (1751-1836) | Partially printed vellum DS |
1802 | USD 4,500.00 - 5,000.00 | USD 5,124.00 |
| 222 | Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) | Letter to Karl Klingemann |
1844 | USD 2,600.00 - 2,800.00 | USD 4,880.00 |
| 35 | Charles Darwin (1809-1882) | LS to Dear Sir |
1876 | USD 3,000.00 - 3,500.00 | USD 4,758.00 |
| 266 | Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) | Autograph Musical Quotation Signed from Les vepres siciliennes |
1857 | USD 5,500.00 - 6,000.00 | USD 4,758.00 |
| 210 | Harold “Hal” Flartey | Jazz Archive |
1949-1959 | USD 1,000.00 - 1,200.00 | USD 4,392.00 |
| 86 | Carl Jung (1875-1961) | ALS |
1951 | USD 2,400.00 - 2,600.00 | USD 4,148.00 |
| 92 | Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) | Signed program of the Eighth Annual Address of the National Baptist Laymen's Convention |
1960 | USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 | USD 4,148.00 |
| 219 | Jules Massenet (1842-1912) | Concours de 1861 manuscript |
1861 | USD 500.00 - 600.00 | USD 4,148.00 |
| 247 | Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921) | Manuscript of The Wagnerian Illusion |
1899 | USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 | USD 4,148.00 |
| 44 | Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929) | AMs article on the amnesty bill |
1900 | USD 3,500.00 - 4,000.00 | USD 3,904.00 |
| 4 | Susan B. Anthony | Signed copy of The Duties of Women: A Course of Lectures |
1887 | USD 2,200.00 - 2,400.00 | USD 3,538.00 |
| 220 | Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) | Letter to Karl Klingemann regarding Pervonte |
1834 | USD 3,000.00 - 3,500.00 | USD 3,416.00 |
| 187 | Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) | ALS to an unknown lady |
1877? | USD 2,400.00 - 2,600.00 | USD 3,294.00 |
| 49 | Georges-Marie Picquart (1854-1914) | AL draft letter to the Minister of War |
1899 | USD 4,000.00 - 4,500.00 | USD 3,172.00 |
| 131 | Ayn Rand (1905-1982) | A group of eight paperbacks signed or inscribed by Rand |
N/A | USD 2,400.00 - 2,600.00 | USD 3,172.00 |
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Freeman’s
How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X
June 30Freeman’s, June 30: [Queen Anne's War] Extraordinarily Large Manuscript Petition Signed by a Who's Who of Colonial New York Accomplished to Queen Anne. $8,000/12,000Freeman’s, June 30: [Mormonism] A Unique Manuscript Account of Joseph Smith's Final Words Offered to His Congregation, the Day Before his Violent Death, 1844. $8,000/12,000Freeman’s, June 30: [Baseball] [Mantle, Mickey] Mickey Mantle's First Cover: The Earliest Front-Page Newspaper Image of Mickey Mantle, "Something Good from Joplin". $8,000/12,000Freeman’s, June 30: [Baseball] A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands. $8,000/12,000Freeman’s, June 30: [Declaration of Independence] One of the First Printed Announcements of American Independence, Subscriber Ebenezer Hazard's Copy, in the Exceedingly Rare Original Wrappers, 1776. $10,000/15,000Freeman’s
How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X
June 30Freeman’s, June 30: [American Revolution] Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776! $15,000/25,000Freeman’s, June 30: [War of 1812] "We Have Met the Enemy and They are Ours": The Critical Promotion of a Naval Hero, Oliver Hazard Perry is Appointed Master Commandant in the United States Navy, 1812. $40,000/60,000Freeman’s, June 30: [Star-Spangled Banner] Eyewitness Account of the Shelling of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812, in a Manuscript Logbook from the HMS Trave, Present at the Battles of Baltimore and New Orleans, 1814-16. $60,000/80,000Freeman’s, June 30: [American Revolution] Thomas Jefferson at the Birth of a New Nation: An Important Letter Carried by a Jewish Patriot Communicating the Definitive Treaty of Paris, January 16, 1784. $100,000/200,000Freeman’s, June 30: [Colonial America] [Plymouth Colony] Plymouth Colony Seeks a Royal Charter: A Rare and Important Plymouth Colony Document, 1690/91. $6,000/9,000 -
Sotheby’s
Selections from The Jay T. Snider Collection of Benjamin Franklin
Live Sale 24 JuneSotheby’s, June 24: (Benjamin Franklin). The founding—and funding—of the Pennsylvania Hospital. $150,000 to $200,000.Sotheby’s, June 24: Benjamin Franklin, "the Day of the Declaration of Independence is everywhere annually celebrated”. $80,000 to $120,000.Sotheby’s, June 24: Benjamin Franklin, “probably the most fundamental thing ever done in the field of electricity”. $75,000 to $125,000.Sotheby’s, June 24: Benjamin Franklin. One of Franklin's very earliest surviving letters. $40,000 to $60,000.Sotheby’s, June 24: Roger More and Benjamin Franklin. The only complete copy known of Poor Roger. $25,000 to $35,000.Sotheby’s, June 24: John Jerman. The American Almanack ... for 1731 — the only known copy in private hands. $25,000 to $35,000.