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Sothebys: Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana

Auction Reports


Auction Name	Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana	Total Sales (USD)	2,851,150.00
Auction Date	January 27, 2026 - January 27, 2026	Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)	2,320,000.00
Sale Number	#N12016	High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)	3,400,000.00
Total Lots	15
Sold Lots	9.0	Low Estimate of All Lots (USD)	4,130,000.00
% of Lots Sold	60.00%	High Estimate of All Lots (USD)	6,130,000.00
Unsold Lots	6	Total Sales as a % of High Est.	46.51%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number	Author Name	Book Title	Year Published	Estimate	Actual Price
514	Washington, George	An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of three of the most consequential figures of the American Revolution: George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin	28 December 1778	USD 1,000,000.00 - 1,500,000.00	USD 1,016,000.00
511	Virginia House of Delegates	The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights	[1776]	USD 350,000.00 - 500,000.00	USD 406,400.00
504	(Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay)	Bushrod Washington's Federalist, praised by George Washington as a "work [that] will merit the notice of Posterity"	1788	USD 120,000.00 - 150,000.00	USD 317,500.00
508	Lincoln, Abraham	The President thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated."	6 September 1864	USD 200,000.00 - 300,000.00	USD 241,300.00
513	Washington, George	The commander in chief orders that Redcoat prisoners be treated "with humanity, and Let them have no reason to Complain of our Copying the brutal example of the Brittish Army"	8 January 1777	USD 80,000.00 - 100,000.00	USD 215,900.00
506	Lincoln, Abraham	The President's letter to John Key---sent just four days after he issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation	26 September 1862	USD 200,000.00 - 300,000.00	USD 203,200.00
510	Smith, John	The General History of Virginia... 1624	1624	USD 150,000.00 - 200,000.00	USD 190,500.00
515	[World War II -- 21st Army Group]	An important archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to the German surrender	1943-1945	USD 150,000.00 - 250,000.00	USD 139,700.00
509	McKenney, Thomas L., and James Hall	History of the Indian Tribes of North America, a royal subscriber's copy	1838 [Vol. 1], 1838, 1844	USD 70,000.00 - 100,000.00	USD 120,650.00

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 11. Blaeu's Superb World Map on a Polar Projection (1695) Est. $5,500 - $7,000

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 36. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 49. One of the First Lunar Globes to Show the Far Side of the Moon (1963) Est. $1,000 - $1,300

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 5. The First World Map with Lavish Allegorical Vignettes of the Continents (1594) Est. $15,000 - $17,000

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 55. Anti-British Propaganda Map with Churchill as an Octopus (1942) Est. $2,000 - $2,300

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 197. One of the Most Influential Maps of Westward Expansion (1846) Est. $9,500 - $12,000

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 10. Scarce Pitt Edition of Carte-a-Figures Map of the World (1680) Est. $9,500 - $11,000

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 220. A Fine, Early Rendering of San Francisco (1874) Est. $2,200 - $2,500

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 707. Hand-Colored Image of the Presentation of Jesus with Gilt Highlights (1450) Est. $1,600 - $1,900

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 80. One of the Most Important Maps Perpetuating the Myth of the Island of California (1680) Est. $3,250 - $4,000

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 725. Homann's Atlas Featuring 26 Folio-Sized Maps in Original Color (1715) Est. $4,500 - $5,500

Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 169. One of the Earliest Maps to Show Philadelphia (1695) Est. $4,750 - $6,000