Item 29 is a most interesting letter to New York Herald publisher James Gordon Bennett from President Abraham Lincoln on September 28, 1861. The Secretary of the Navy had denied permission to one of the Herald's reporters to accompany Lincoln on a trip down the Potomac. Lincoln tells the publisher that he has declined giving the reporter permission as he does not know why the naval Secretary denied approval and does not want to overrule him without knowing his reasons. Lincoln goes on to assuage any fears the pro-Lincoln publisher might have, but in a way that might sound like a bit of a warning, though it probably was not so intended: "I write to assure you that the Administration will not discriminate against the Herald, especially while it sustains us so generously, and the cause of the Country so ably as it has been doing..." $45,000.

Item 59 is a photograph of the flying Wright family, taken the only time the three siblings sailed together. Shown are brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright, with their sister Katherine in between. It would have been taken in May of 1909 as the three were returning from France. It is signed by Orville, and likely at a later date (Wilber died just three years later, but Orville lived until 1948). $2,000.

You may reach Joe Rubinfine at 321-455-1666 or Joerubinfine@mindspring.com.