Historical Paper Triumphant Once Again; Prices Soar at Sotheby's!
- by Eric Caren
The stupendous collection of Printed and Manuscript Americana built by Ira and Barbara Lipman grossed just under 12.4 Million dollars at Sotheby's this past month.
It is never a surprise when an early printing of The Declaration of Independence goes through the roof ($504,000), but the numerous broadsides, newspapers, almanacs and other Paper Americana/ Ephemera in this sale, did not disappoint lovers of this once neglected field of collecting:
Following are some additional prices realized:
Lot #2, a 1794 broadsheet relating to the first anti-slavery legislation...$8,820.00
Lot 37, Ames Almanac for the year 1771 with first printing of Benjamin Franklin's famous pre-mortem epitaph...$1,638.00
Lot 69, a newspaper broadside carriers address related to the recent (December 1773) Boston Tea Party...$35,280.00
Lot 70, Nine issues of Niles Weekly Register containing "The Jew Bill" debate...$10,710
Lot 72, The famed Tombstone edition of The Pennsylvania Journal dated 1765 and protesting the hated Stamp Act...$69,300
Lot 78, a 1775 broadside relating to The Battle of Bunker Hill...$13,860.00
Lot 117, a 1778 broadside printed in the middle of The American Revolution and containing an Address by Congress to The United States..
$30,240.00
Lot 147, a run of Dutch printed newsletters from 1651-1690 with early American content...$12,600.00
Lot 165, Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac for 1749...$30,240.00
Lot 192, a 1756 Declaration of War by Great Britain against France (start of The French and Indian War)...$35,280.00
Lot 217, a 1778 broadside related to The Great Britain Peace Commission...$18,400.00
Lot 295, "The Bloody Butchery" broadside dated 1775 with an account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord...$94,500.00
Lot 296, Virginia Gazette newspaper dated 1775 with news of Lexington and Concord...$11,970.00
Lot 302, The first obtainable printing of Lincoln's 1862 Emancipation Proclamation, a broadsheet circular...$403,200.00
Lot 305, NY newspaper dated November 20, 1863 with a printing of The Gettysburg Address...
$10,710.00
Lot 307, New York Herald newspaper containing Lincoln's second Inaugural Address, March 1865...$8,820.00
Lot 309, The iconic reward poster for the capture of the Assassins of Lincoln containing tipped on photographs of J.W. Booth, etc....$214,200.00
Lot 339, First Printing of The Monroe Doctrine, 1823, broadside extra of The National Intelligencer...$75,600.00
Lot 357, Independent Chronicle newspaper dated 1787 with a printing of The North West Ordinance...$2,016.00
and several Davy Crockett almanacs from 1837 through 1840, brought prices ranging from $4,400.00 to $10,710.00 each!
Eric C. Caren, owner of The Caren Archive, has had numerous single owner sales at major auction houses, of "How History Unfolds on Paper." His first collection formed the nucleus of The Newseum.
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950
Sotheby's Book Week 2 June - 9 July
Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.
Leland Little, June 12: The First Illustrated Edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Leland Little, June 12: John Morton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Signed Pennsylvania Land Survey.
Leland Little, June 12: The Scarce Jansson Edition of a Remarkable Early View of London.
Leland Little, June 12: Signed Limited Edition of The Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Leland Little, June 12: Faden’s Important and Scarce Map of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution.
Leland Little, June 12: William J. Tate (NC, 1869-1953), Archive of the "Original host to the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk.”
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Galileo Galilei. Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico, e copernicano. Firenze, 1632
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Saverio Manetti. Storia naturale degli uccelli. Firenze, 1771-76
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Fortunato Depero. Depero futurista. Rovereto, 1927
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Nicolas Visscher. Atlas minor sive totius orbis terrarum contracta delineat ex conatibus. Amsterdam, circa 1649-95
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Andreas Vesalius. Anatomia. Addita nunc. Antiquorum Anatome. Venezia, 1604
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Tristan Tzara and Salvador Dalì. Grains et Issues. Parigi, 1935
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
