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University Archives: Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, and Books

Auction Reports

Auction Name Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, and Books Total Sales (USD) 636,362.85
Auction Date September 30, 2020 - September 30, 2020 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 535,470.00
Sale Number #93020 High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 653,470.00
Total Lots 357
Sold Lots 325 Low Estimate of All Lots (USD) 789,470.00
% of Lots Sold 91.04% High Estimate of All Lots (USD) 1,018,120.00
Unsold Lots 32 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 62.50%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
250

Edgar Allan Poe Signed Receipt for Printing of "The Raven" An Exceptional Literary Rarity

April 16, 1845 USD 60,000.00 - 70,000.00 USD 75,000.00
226

Sir Isaac Newton Superb Important Autograph Manuscript: Heresy, Expounding Religious Views that Colored His Scientific Works Including Principia!

C. 1700 USD 50,000.00 - 60,000.00 USD 50,000.00
58

Superb Albert Einstein Photo, Among the Finest Known

Ca. 1927 USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 USD 22,500.00
61

Albert Einstein ALS Re: Unified Field Theory, Complete with 12 Formulas & Lines of Calculations in His Hand, & Unpublished!

May 2, 1950 USD 24,000.00 - 26,000.00 USD 22,500.00
62

Albert Einstein Signed Copy of 2 Important Works Incl. His Doctoral Thesis, "A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions" -- Extraordinarily Rare!

Ca. 1950 USD 30,000.00 - 40,000.00 USD 19,000.00
46

Charles Darwin ALS Referring to his Mentor, Scottish Geologist Sir Charles Lyell, as "the old master, to whom I am so deeply indebted under a scientific point of view"

November 20, 1881 USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 USD 16,250.00
71

Benjamin Franklin Signed Document, Gorgeously Presented

May 9, 1786 USD 8,000.00 - 9,000.00 USD 12,500.00
113

Thomas Jefferson ALS to His Future VP Clinton, About “A man of literature and a genuine republican”

June 1, 1793 USD 13,000.00 - 14,000.00 USD 11,875.00
193

President-Elect Lincoln Gets Back-Channel Update from Fort Sumter

January 24, 1861 USD 10,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD 10,000.00
304

Walter Schirra Complete Set of His Flight Log Books, From Fighter Pilot to Space Program

Mid 20th Century USD 8,000.00 - 9,000.00 USD 10,000.00
340

George Washington Approves Purchase of Leather and Sugar for Potomac Company. Fantastic DS

June 13, 1786 USD 4,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 9,375.00
114

Thomas Jefferson Superb Signed Act of Congress, Fabulous Display

October 24, 1791 USD 7,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD 8,750.00
344

George Washington Signed Soc. of Cincinnati Doc Nominating Harvard Alum & Veteran of Battles of Lexington & Concord, Bunker Hill, Trenton, Princeton & Saratoga--MONUMENTAL Display!

May 5, 1784 USD 7,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD 8,750.00
57

Einstein Appreciates a Birthday Gift that Causes Him to Recall – and Sketch – a Childhood Dexterity Game, "Pigs into the Sty"

March 22, 1947 USD 12,000.00 - 14,000.00 USD 7,500.00
52

Declaration of Independence Printed on Cambric 1821

ca. 1821 USD 6,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD 6,875.00
183

Jack Kerouac's Personally Owned Monumental Porcelain Statue of Guanyin, Nearly 28" High

20th Century USD 1,000.00 - 1,200.00 USD 6,875.00
195

Abraham Lincoln Signed Civil War-Dated Appointment Displayed with Rare Engraving

February 21, 1862 USD 4,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 6,875.00
59

Albert Einstein TLS Re: Reflections on the 200th Anniversary of Sir Isaac Newton's Death

March 19, 1927 USD 5,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 6,250.00
112

Thomas Jefferson & James Madison Signed Scalloped Ship's Passport

Ca. 1801-1809 USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 5,937.50
33

"Damn the torpedoes..." Riveting 24pp ALS of Admiral Farragut's Steward Describing the "Battle of Mobile Bay"

August 5, 1864 USD 6,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD 5,625.00
77

James Garfield Signed Check as President, One of Only Two Known, Ex-Sang

June 16, 1881 USD 8,000.00 - 9,000.00 USD 5,625.00
327

Harry S. Truman Signed Super Rare Stock Certificate

July 15, 1930 USD 2,000.00 - 2,400.00 USD 5,625.00
60

Albert Einstein ALS & Snapshot on Hamburg-American Line Postcard

Ca. 1931-1932 USD 4,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 5,312.50
12

Humphrey Bogart Signed Deal Re: Maltese Falcon and Treasure of Sierra Madre

December 20, 1954 USD 4,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 5,000.00
234

Lee Harvey Oswald ALS to His Mother from Russia, Warren Commission Evidence

October 22, 1959 USD 6,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD 5,000.00
  • Gonnelli
    Auction 51
    Antique prints, paintings and maps
    May 14st 2024
    Gonnelli: Leonard Bramer, The descent from the cross, 1634. Starting price 3200€
    Gonnelli: Gustav Hjalmar de Morner Karel, Rome’s Carnival, 1820. Starting price 1000€
    Gonnelli: Various Authors, Mater Dolorosa, 1700. Starting price 200€
    Gonnelli: Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Carcere Oscura, 1790. Starting price 180€
    Gonnelli: Jan Brueghel, Marine fauna view, 1620 ca. Starting price 28000€
    Gonnelli: Ippolito Scarsella, Mary and Christ with Sant Rocco and Arch-Angel Michele,1615. Starting price 8000€
    Gonnelli: Hans Sebald Beham, Adam and Eve, 1543. Starting price 600€
    Gonnelli: Francesco Burani, Baccanale, 1630. Starting Price 280€
    Gonnelli: Giuseppe Maria Mitelli, Plance from Ventiquattr’ore, 1675. Starting price 800€
    Gonnelli: Giuseppe Angeli, Livorno’s Plan, 1793. Starting price 240€
    Gonnelli: XIV Century Artist, Capital “N” letter, 1350 ca. Starting price 340€
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Isaac Newton on chemistry and matter, and alchemy, Autograph Manuscript, "A Key to Snyders," 3 pp, after 1674. $100,000 - $150,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Exceptionally rare first printing of Plato's Timaeus. Florence, 1484. $50,000 - $80,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: On the Philosophy of Self-Interest: Adam Smith's copy of Helvetius's De l'homme, Paris, 1773. $40,000 - $60,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: "Magical Calendar of Tycho Brahe" - very rare hermetic broadside. Engraved by Merian for De Bry. c.1618. $30,000 - $50,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Author's presentation issue of Einstein's proof of Relativity, "Erklärung der Perihelbewegung des Merkur aus der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie." 1915. $30,000 - $50,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: First Latin edition of Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed. Paris, 1520. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: De Broglie manuscript on the nature of matter in quantum physics, 3 pp, 1954. $20,000 - $30,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Tesla autograph letter signed on electricty and electromagnetic theory. 1894. $20,000 - $30,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Heinrich Hertz scientific manuscript on his mentor Hermann Von Helmholtz, 1891. $20,000 - $30,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: The greatest illustrated work in Alchemy: Micheal Maier's Atalanta Fugiens. Oppenheim, 1618. $30,000 - $50,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Illustrated Alchemical manuscript, a Mysterium Magnum of the Rosicurcians, 18th-century. $30,000 - $50,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Rare Largest Paper Presentation Copy of Newton's Principia, London, 1726. The third and most influential edition. $60,000 - $90,000
  • Doyle, May 1: Thomas Jefferson expresses fears of "a war of extermination" in Saint-Dominigue. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An exceptional presentation copy of Fitzgerald's last book, in the first issue dust jacket. $25,000 to $35,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The rare first signed edition of Dorian Gray. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The Prayer Book of Jehan Bernachier. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, May 1: Van Dyck's Icones Principum Virorum Doctorum. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The magnificent Cranach Hamlet in the deluxe binding by Dõrfner. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, May 1: A remarkable unpublished manuscript of a voyage to South America in 1759-1764. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, May 1: Bouchette's monumental and rare wall map of Lower Canada. $12,000 to $18,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An rare original 1837 abolitionist woodblock. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An important manuscript breviary in Middle Dutch. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An extraordinary Old Testament manuscript, circa 1250. $20,000 to $30,000.
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