University Archives held its early summer sale, Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Books, & Space Memorabilia, on June 26, 2024. Auctioneer and company founder John Reznikoff expertly parried bids from online platforms, absentee bidders, and phone bidders between our 10 AM start time and sale close at 5:15 PM EDT. UA continued its long-held industry-topping sell-through record (96% in June). Intense competition generated through aggressive pre-sale marketing translated into estimate-exceeding sale prices. 96% of the items sold at our sale passed the auction block for almost 50% above the low estimate. Our June sale saw a continuation of the surge in interest in Aviation / Space and World War II militaria that we first observed in late Spring. U.S. Presidential and rare books also secured eye-popping prices. Some sale highlights include:
U.S. Presidential
Lot 62 was a haunting item of presidential memorabilia: a carte de visite of Abraham Lincoln signed by him as President as “A. Lincoln” along the bottom, and PSA/DNA graded GEM MT 10. The carte de visite was presented to a well-wisher on March 25, 1865, less than three weeks before Lincoln’s assassination, perhaps making it one of the last photographs that Lincoln ever signed. It sold for $125,000 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 43 was 5pp autograph letter signed by former First Lady Jackie Kennedy dated November 13, [1968] and addressed to her old friend and religious counselor, Cardinal Richard Cushing, Archbishop of Boston. In this raw and confiding letter, Kennedy thanked Cushing for defending her decision to remarry, but confessed that she would “always be completely loyal to the Kennedys.” The letter sold for over its high estimate, for $5,312.50 including the tip.
Science, Aviation & Space
Lot 421 was a 68pp typed manuscript in German by philanthropist doctor Albert Schweitzer, with copious handwritten edits. Schweitzer later delivered this as a lecture, “The Problem of Ethics in Higher Development of Human Thought,” at the French Academy of Science, and it dated from the period when Schweitzer was under consideration for the Nobel Peace Prize. It sold for over 4 times its high estimate, or $9,375 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 381 was a print entitled “Atomic Warfare Is Born” boldly signed by Colonel Paul Tibbets, the commander of Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress which dropped Little Boy over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The Tibbets signed print exchanged hands for $3,328 including the buyer’s premium, which was over 6 times its high estimate.
Lot 381, Tibbets signed print
Lot 182 was an Orville Wright signed check handsomely displayed in a black suede mat. The humble check paying for groceries dated from the period in which Orville lived with his surviving sibling Katharine in Oakwood, Ohio. It sold for 40% over its high estimate, or $1,375 including the tip.
Art & Literature
Lot 286 was an original Walt Disney Studios animation cel, inscribed and signed by Walt Disney on the Guthrie Courvoisier stamped mat. The painted celluloid image of Mickey Mouse was used during the production of the 1952 short film Pluto’s Christmas Party. It sold for over its high estimate, for $8,960 including the tip. Three other Disney related items in the June sale - including a super rare Walt Disney Productions 1931 Christmas card - also performed extremely well.
Lot 444 was an incredibly scarce Author’s Edition of Walt Whitman’s poetry collection Leaves of Grass signed by him on the title page. This 1882 edition published in Whitman’s hometown of Camden, New Jersey contained the poet’s controversial “sexuality odes” recently declared obscene by the Boston District Attorney. The Whitman signed book sold for over 9 times its high estimate, or $46,875 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 444, Walt Whitman signed book
Marvelous Miscellany (Early America, Sports, Medieval, International, Etc.)
Lot 244 was a 1p manuscript document co-signed by Henry Lee and William A. Washington, descendants of two of the most illustrious families of Virginia. The document dated July 8, 1796 outlined the terms of sale for 3,000 bushels of barley. The convergence of the two signers - both Revolutionary War cavalry officers, one the father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, the other the step-nephew of the first president – increased its desirability. It sold for 500% over its high estimate, or $4,375 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 488 was a limited-edition New York Yankees replica jersey of DiMaggio’s original 1941 All-Star pinstripe uniform, signed by Joe DiMaggio, and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from JSA. It sold for 40% over its high estimate, or $3,250 including the tip.
Lot 488, Joe DiMaggio signed limited-edition jersey
Lot 216 was a 4pp manuscript in old French from the Pénitence d’Adam, an early Christian retelling of Adam’s story from the Old Testament. Beautifully inscribed in an English clerical hand on vellum, the manuscript sold for over 15 times its high estimate, or $7,500 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 399 was a 7” x 5” x 2.5” piece of concrete from the Berlin Wall, ca. 1961-1989, accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from Volker Pawlowski, the only legitimate seller of Berlin Wall artifacts. The concrete fragment partly daubed in red and blue paint sold for over 5 times its high estimate, or $2,750 including the tip.
Our next sale is tentatively scheduled for August 7, 2024. We hope to see you there!