President John F. Kennedy had a sharp mind and a sharp eye, and that saved him from this potential diplomatic blunder. On July 22, 1963, his secretary typed up a thank you note to Irish President Eamon de Valera, who had hosted Kennedy during a visit and given him a gift. However, the secretary had made one notable, if understandable, faux pas. Instead of typing in the first name "Eamon," the secretary must have assumed the Irish President had the more American first name "Damon." In the place for his signature, Kennedy wrote a large "Wrong!!" put an "X" by the name and wrote an "E" over the "D," and then signed it "JFK." In the letter, Kennedy also mentions his wife's disappointment that she was not able to visit. Jackie Kennedy was pregnant at the time, and gave premature birth a couple of weeks later to son Patrick, who died at just two days of age. Item 18. $10,000.
Here is a most unusual Teddy Roosevelt letter. It was written on May 7, 1901, when Roosevelt was serving as vice-president. The recipient was Horace Deming, who served on a commission while Roosevelt was governor of New York. Roosevelt's successor, Benjamin O'Dell, refused to pay him. Roosevelt had been pushed into the vice-presidency by New York Republican leaders who wished to get the reformist governor out of their state. It was figured this would amount to kicking him upstairs, making him irrelevant. And obviously, for a while it did. Roosevelt had already written two letters to Governor O'Dell asking Deming be paid, which O'Dell ignored. Evidently, Deming requested that T.R. write a third, but this time Roosevelt, embarrassed by his lack of influence, declined. Roosevelt said that he was "...chagrined at the to me inexplicable refusal to give you anything..." However, he notes that "...it certainly ought not to be necessary for an ex-Governor to have to repeat and explain his position in a matter of this kind twice..." A third time would have been totally humiliating, so Roosevelt refused. This was an extremely difficult time for Roosevelt, an active man now placed in a role of irrelevancy, but all that would change drastically in four and one-half months when President McKinley was assassinated and he would succeed to the most powerful office in the land. Item 33. $7,500.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
