Some Fascinating Looks at History from Stuart Lutz
Orville and Katharine Wright in France, signed by Orville, Wilbur and Katharine.
A year after his election as president, Richard Nixon sent a note of thanks to Roger Lapham, Jr., son of a mayor of San Francisco. This was likely something of a form letter, but is signed "RN." In it, the President states that "I shall do everything I possibly can...to make these years a time of which America as a nation, and we as Americans, can be truly proud." It didn't work out quite as well as the new President hoped. Item 111. $450.
On then eve of the 1960 presidential election, President Harry Truman sent out an appeal to congressmen on behalf of John F. Kennedy. Item 137 is the signed former president's letter to South Carolina Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn. In it, Truman notes that Kennedy "was not my first choice for the presidential nomination." However, he sees the Republicans as backward ("could only be expected to continue an 1896 program and this is 1960"). He asks pointedly, "I wonder if you want another 1929?" He also claims, interestingly, "With Nixon in the White House, there will be a complete breakdown in the domestic and foreign affairs of our Government." Nixon lost, but would be elected eight years later, only to see a breakdown unlike the one Truman probably imagined, but a fulfillment of his prophesy nonetheless. $2,250.
Utah Congressman Abe Murdock was not exactly a progressive on women's rights. In 1942 he penned this letter to Utah State Senator Elise Musser. In speaking out against an equal rights amendment, Congressman Murdock writes, "I have continuously and invariably taken the position with them that, instead of a movement such as they were sponsoring, what this country needed, was a movement in just the opposite direction - a movement which would interest the women of the world in the creation and establishment of ideal homes, in the rearing...of children for life...women like my grandmother." Murdock goes on to predict that if women are allowed to compete equally in business, science, and the professions, traditional America "will be replaced by public nurseries." Item 153. $300.
The website for Stuart Lutz Historic Documents is www.HistoryDocs.com, phone number 973-275-9699.
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.")
