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Early American: Early American History Auction

Auction Reports

Auction Name Early American History Auction Total Sales (USD) 329,175.00
Auction Date April 18, 2026 - April 18, 2026 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 314,780.00
Sale Number #41826 High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 435,890.00
Total Lots 156
Sold Lots 142.0 Low Estimate of All Lots (USD) 374,480.00
% of Lots Sold 91.03% High Estimate of All Lots (USD) 515,590.00
Unsold Lots 14 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 63.84%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Top Sale Price Lots
Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
13 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, July 13th, 1787 Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania Land Sale Deed Signed B Franklin as Supreme Executive Council's President

1787 USD 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD 27,500.00
14 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, July 13th, 1787 Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania Land Sale Deed Signed B Franklin as Supreme Executive Council's President

1787 USD 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD 25,000.00
17 SAMUEL FRAUNCES

SAMUEL FRAUNCES, Spy, Tavern Keeper, George Washington's Household Steward Rare 1794 Signed Document

1794 USD 22,000.00 - 28,000.00 USD 20,000.00
124

September 28, 1775 Broadside Headed, TO ALL TRUE WHIGS / to all true FRIENDS OF LIBERTY... New York

1775 USD 20,000.00 - 25,000.00 USD 20,000.00
69

July 8, 1775, Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, Revolutionary War, Rare Paul Revere Engraved Colonial Note, Six Shillings, PCGS graded Very Fine-25.

1775 USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD 10,625.00
60

January 9, 1782, Georgia Colonial Currency to receive Current State Money as Specie at the Sales of Confiscated Estates, Remainder, Gem Crisp Unc.

1782 USD 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD 7,500.00
67

January 15, 1741/42 Colonial Currency, Massachusetts Bay, Copperplate Engraved Unique PROOF 20 Shillings New Tenor, The Newman Plate Note, PCGS Unc-60

1741/42 USD 10,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD 7,187.50
40 JAMES OTIS

1765 THE RIGHTS OF THE BRITISH COLONIES Asserted and proved. by JAMES OTIS, Esq; BOSTON, New-England,

1765 USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD 6,875.00
4 JOHN BRADFORD

1776 JOHN BRADFORD ALS to JOHN HANCOCK Five American Privateers Engage British Naval Ships at Boston

1776 USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD 6,250.00
66

Colonial Currency, August 1, 1740 (Massachusetts) Silver Bank, We jointly and severally promise to pay Isaac Winslow., 15 Shillings, Ex. Ford-Boyd.

1740 USD 10,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD 6,250.00
95

March 1793, Delaware + Schuylkill Canal. Navigation Company, Three Dollars, Private Company Note, The Newman Plate Note, Choice Crisp Uncirculated.

1793 USD 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD 6,250.00
138 John Marshall

(GEORGE WASHINGTON), THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, First Edition by John Marshall, Complete Five Volume Set, Plus Atlas, Philadelphia, (1804-1807) VF

1804-1807 USD 5,500.00 - 7,500.00 USD 6,250.00
105

1767 South Carolina Colonial Currency 20 Pounds Engraved Public Bearer Note for Taxes until Sept. 29th, 1772 Signed by Charles Pinckney Sr., Very Good

1767 USD 7,500.00 - 9,500.00 USD 5,625.00
50 after Benjamin West

1776 The Death of General Wolfe, Engraved Print after Benjamin West, engraved by William Wollett, VF

1776 USD 4,500.00 - 5,500.00 USD 5,312.50
54

Continental Currency, April 11th, 1778 YORKTOWN Issue, Five Dollars, Fr. CC-72, Extremely Fine.

1778 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 5,312.50
56

September 27, 1785, (Indents of 1782-1787) Continental Congress Federal Indent Bearer Certificate, One Dollar and Eighteen ninetieths of a Dollar, EF

1785 USD 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD 5,312.50
22

Declaration of Independence Signer JOHN HART Signed Scarce February 20th, 1776 New Jersey Three Pounds Colonial Currency Revolutionary War issue Note

1776 USD 1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD 5,000.00
70

June 28, 1776, Colony of New Hampshire Colonial Currency, Four Pence, Due Date of January 26, 1788, High Quality PCGS graded Choice Very Fine-35.

1776 USD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD 5,000.00
147 AMOS DOOLITTLE

1806 AMOS DOOLITTLE Rare Engraved American Religious Engraving: An Epitome of Ecclesiastical History

1806 USD 5,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 5,000.00
68

June 20, 1744, Province of ye Massachusetts Bay Colonial Currency Contemporary Counterfeit Note 20 Shillings Ex: Ford-Boyd, PCGS graded Choice Fine-15

1744 USD 7,500.00 - 9,500.00 USD 4,687.50
20 JOHN BRADFORD

1776 Historic Content JOHN BRADFORD Boston Naval Agent ALS to JOHN HANCOCK, Docket in Hancock's Hand

1776 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 4,375.00
9

1757 Important Indian Treaty Dispatch from Colonel George Croghan one of the most Influential Figures on the American Frontier, Adversary of Washingon

1757 USD 4,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 3,750.00
71

Colonial Currency, NH. June 28, 1776 15d PMG F-12

1776 USD 1,800.00 - 2,400.00 USD 3,750.00
59

June 8th, 1777, Georgia, 5 Dollars, Rattlesnake vignette, Rare Type with Black in, this Bearer Issue being Payable in CONTINENTAL Currency, Very Fine.

1777 USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 3,250.00
75

Colonial Currency, Exceedingly Rare May 12, 1755 New York Ten Shillings Only 200 Issued and to be Redeemed by November 1762, PCGS Banknote graded Choice Fine-15.

1755 USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 3,250.00
  • Sotheby’s
    Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone
    25 June – July 7
    Sotheby’s, July 7: Ludwig van Beethoven. Autograph sketches for the overture "Die Weihe des Hauses", op.124, [1822], UNPUBLISHED. £150,000 to £200,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 7: Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 7: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, 1855, first edition, first issue, original green cloth, the Doheny copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 7: Binding—Sangorski & Sutcliffe—Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat, London, 1872, third edition, in a magnificent jewelled Peacock binding. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 7: George Eliot. Middlemarch, Edinburgh and London, 1871, first edition in the original parts. £20,000 to £30,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    The Private Library:
    Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
    July 9, 2026
    Forum, July 9: Hassall (Joan) A large collection of over 300 original woodblocks of engravings for various books, v.d., with Hassall's engraver's glass water-globe (Qty) - Est. £10,000-15,000
    Forum, July 9: Eragny Press.- [Bradley (Katherine Harris) & Edith Emma Cooper], "Michael Field." Whym Chow, Flame of Love, one of only 27 copies, inscribed by Bradley, the rarest book from the press, 1914. - Est. £3,000-4,000
    Forum, July 9: [Moore (Thomas Sturge)] [Wood Engravings], 71 wood-engravings printed by David Chambers from the original blocks, the only set on Japanese Hosho paper, from an edition of 5 sets, [1970]. - Est. £3,000-4,000
    Forum Auctions
    The Private Library:
    Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
    July 9, 2026
    Forum, July 9: La Fontaine (Jean de) Contes et Nouvelles en vers, 2 vol., engraved plates after Eisen, fine early 19th century blue morocco, gilt, by Bradel l'ainé, Amsterdam [Paris], 1762. - Est. £2,000-3,000
    Forum, July 9: Erotica.- Prostitution.- Pretty Women of Paris (The); Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults..., [Paris], privately printed at the Press of the Prefecture de Police, 1883. - Est. £3,000-4,000
    Forum, July 9: Vale Press.- Ricketts (Charles) & Lucien Pissarro. De la Typographie et de l'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée…, [one of 216 copies], bound in dark blue morocco tooled in gilt, by Sarah T.Prideaux, 1898. - Est. £1,000-1,500
    Forum Auctions
    The Private Library:
    Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
    July 9, 2026
    Forum, July 9: Martin (John) Illustrations of the Bible, complete set of 20 mezzotints, good impressions, rarely found in early states, [c.1831-1835]. - Est. £1,000-1,500
    Forum, July 9: Golden Cockerel Press.- Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ (The), one of 500 copies, Mary Gill's copy, Waltham St. Lawrence, 1931 with a signed proof of engraving on japon numbered 10/10 (2) - Est. £5,000-7,000
    Forum, July 9: Boccaccio (Giovanni) The Decameron, 3 vol., vol.1 extra-illustrated by John Buckland Wright with c.150 erotic original drawings in pen & ink and pencil, 1886 [extra-illustrated c.1940]. - Est. £10,000-15,000
    Forum Auctions
    The Private Library:
    Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
    July 9, 2026
    Forum, July 9: Cox (Morris) Collection of Gogmagog Press Books, 35 vol., rare complete collection of printed books issued by the press, limited editions, most signed by Cox, 1957-83. - Est. £10,000-15,000
    Forum, July 9: Wynkyn de Worde.- [Terentius Afer (Publius)] [Comedie...], [Paris, Josse Badius: sold in London by Wynkyn de Worde, & others], [15 July 1504]. - Est. £4,000-6,000
    Forum, July 9: Mosley (James) Ornamented Types. Twenty-Three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée, 2 vol., one of 10 copies for presentation, from an edition of 210, 1992-93. - Est. £1,000-2,000
  • Forum Auctions
    The 10th Anniversary Sale
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    July 16, 2026
    Forum, July 16: Inundation papyrus. P.Michael 4, the ‘Inundation papyrus’, a geographical account of the Nile near Canopus, in Greek, remains of two columns from a manuscript scroll on papyrus, Egypt, second century CE. £12,000-18,000
    Forum, July 16: Book of Hours, use of Sarum, manuscript on vellum, 6 full-page miniatures, with famous Middle English inscriptions, Southern Netherlands for the English market, [c.1430]. £30,000-50,000
    Forum, July 16: Qu'ran, Arabic manuscript on burnished, stencilled, and gold-flecked paper, 447ff., Sultanate Gujarat, Ahmadabad, [after 1411 but no later than 1442]. £15,000-20,000
    Forum Auctions
    The 10th Anniversary Sale
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    July 16, 2026
    Forum, July 16: Turner (William). A New boke of the natures and properties of all wines that are commonly vsed here in England, rare first edition of the first English book on wine, By William Seres, 1568. £20,000-£30,000
    Forum, July 16: Spenser (Edmund). The Faerie Queene. first edition, Printed [by John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, 1590. £30,000-40,000
    Forum, July 16: Shakespeare (William). The Comedie of Errors, extracted from the first folio, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, 1623. £15,000-20,000
    Forum Auctions
    The 10th Anniversary Sale
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    July 16, 2026
    Forum, July 16: Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1953. £40,000-60,000
    Forum, July 16: d'Agoty (Jacques-Fabien Gautier). Anatomie de la Tête, first edition, Paris, chez le Sieur Gautier, 1748. £10,000-15,000
    Forum, July 16: Martial Arts.- Lee (Bruce). 'Praying Mantis style' Kung Fu book, containing numerous annotations, diagrams and graphs in Bruce Lee's hand, c. 1960. £50,000-70,000
    Forum Auctions
    The 10th Anniversary Sale
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    July 16, 2026
    Forum, July 16: Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, rare hand-coloured issue, 1848. £30,000-40,000
    Forum, July 16: Norie (John William). The Marine Atlas, or Seaman's Complete Pilot for all the principal places in the known world..., 1826. £30,000-50,000
    Forum, July 16: Mao Tse-tung.- Kim Il-sung.-[Note book for visitors from China to Korea], signed by Mao and Kim, [Beijing, 1954]. £10,000-15,000