University Archives August 7, 2024 Biggest Sale Ever, Ties Previous Record Sell-Through Rate
University Archives made history yesterday by holding its biggest auction yet, and by tying its industry-topping record sell-through rate of 98%, previously set in January 2022. 572 lots passed the auction block between the 10 AM start time and sign-off at 5:30 PM. Our hourly average was a sprightly 76 lots an hour. Bidding was furious and non-stop. We accommodated bidding from multiple online platforms, absentee bidders, and phone bidders from the United States and Europe. Participating online bidders came from the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada, as well as Malta, Ukraine, and the U.A.E.
We debuted University Archives mobile apps via Invaluable on Apple and Android devices in late July, and bidders from Italy, Sweden, Argentina, and Uzbekistan have already taken advantage of this convenient way to place bids on the go! All of our August auction returns were solid, but the Americana, Science & Aviation, U.S. Presidential, International, and Art & Music collecting categories were standouts. Sale highlights can be found below; other results can be viewed on our website.
Americana
One of the most interesting lots in the sale was a letter written by the future hero of the Alamo, Davy Crockett, showing that American politics has always been contentious. Lot 521 was a 2pp autograph letter signed by Crockett, then a U.S. Congressman from Tennessee, dated April 9, 1834, and addressed to a Maine publisher. Crockett, once a booster of Andrew Jackson, now criticized the president’s flagrant executive overreach, writing in part: “… Andrew Jackson shall Wield both sword and purse. His will is to be the law of the land. If this is what is called republicanism, good God deliver us from all such doctrines.” The letter topped its high estimate by 200%, selling for $62,500 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 521, Davy Crockett ALS
Lot 105 was a trio of mid-nineteenth-century unused presidential stamp blocks, including four 1851 12 ¢ black George Washington stamps; four 1861 10 ¢ green George Washington stamps; and four 1861 5 ¢ red-brown Thomas Jefferson stamps. The set was snapped up by a philatelist for 40% above its high estimate. It sold for $6,080 including the tip.
Lot 289 was a unique Declaration of Independence relic: a lovely mid-nineteenth-century men’s silver-capped walking stick made from wood excavated from Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1855. The wood might have been collected during the redecoration of Assembly Hall, when 100 oil portraits recently acquired from the Charles Wilson Peale gallery were hung. The cane features a silver handle engraved with the owner’s name, Samuel Canby. It sold for over 10 times its high estimate, or $5,312 including the tip.
Lot 310 was a manuscript document signed by Samuel Osgood and Arthur Lee, as Commissioners of the Board of Treasury, on December 8, 1787. Osgood and Lee addressed this letter of protest to Nathaniel Appleton, Jr., Commissioner of the Continental Loan Office for Massachusetts, in response to that state’s unconventional attempt to borrow money earmarked to finance the fledgling federal government. The document underscores the financial difficulties experienced during the first years of the Republic, in part because the Articles of Confederation did not have the authority to collect taxes. This important document sold for over 7 times its high estimate, or $3,250 including the buyer’s premium.
Science & Aviation
Lot 541 was a 1p autograph letter in German signed by Albert Einstein, dated October 9, 1937, and addressed to fellow physicist Cornelius Lanczos. The letter features about 100 words in Einstein’s hand as well as around six mathematical formulae including two instances of Rik = 0, Einstein’s second-most famous equation after E = MC2, found in the second and last paragraphs. In the letter, Einstein explores the theory of general relativity using elements of tensor calculus. The letter sold to an American collector for nearly its high estimate, exchanging hands for $59,375 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 208 was a fire-scorched relic from the LZ-192 Hindenburg, the Nazi dirigible which burned up at an airfield at Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937. The duralumin fragment from the vessel’s frame measuring .875" x .625” was collected by a crash site first responder. It sold for over 300% of its high estimate, or $1,250 including the tip.
U.S. Presidential
Lot 30 was a super rare albumen photograph of President James A. Garfield delivering his inaugural address at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 1881, signed and inscribed by him on the original photo mat just one week after the event. Garfield autographed items as President are extremely coveted because he was assassinated a mere six months into office. The photograph sold for well over twice its high estimate, or $18,750 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 133 was a remarkable photograph of President Theodore Roosevelt astride his jumper Bleistein, boldly signed by him on February 25, 1907. Roosevelt raved about this photo, as well as others in an equestrian series taken of him at Chevy Chase in 1902, intended for use in a full-page spread in the Washington Times. The Roosevelt signed photograph sold for 20% over its high estimate, or $9,375 including the buyer’s premium.
Lot 133, Theodore Roosevelt SP
Lot 143 was a color photo of President Harry S. Truman and twelve of his staffers at the Little White House in Key West, Florida, signed by all on December 11, 1949. From the personal collection of Chief of Staff Matthew Connelly. The item garnered over 3 times its high estimate, or $2,750 including the buyer’s premium.
International
Lot 478 was a 3pp letter in Italian boldly signed by Pasquale Paoli, the Corsican revolutionary idolized by a young Napoleon Bonaparte. In this letter dated February 15, 1798, Paoli, then President of the French-controlled Department of Corsica, reported to Citizen Deputies that he had no news of the French Mediterranean Fleet, which had left for their military campaign against Sardinia. The 24-year-old Napoleon participated in this failed expedition, and the experience changed his politics. He rejected Paoli and fled for mainland France soon after. The letter sold for over 8 times its high estimate, or $10,000 including the buyer’s premium.
Art & Music
Lot 173 was an autograph letter signed by Pablo Picasso, dated July 6, 1956 at Cannes, France, addressed to close friend Max Pellequer. Picasso scrawled the letter on the reverse of a color postcard showing one of his most shocking works from the 1920s, Three Dancers. The original painting was inspired by a real-life love triangle between two of Picasso’s friends and his one-time lover. The item sold for 25% over its high estimate, or $5,000 including the tip.
Lot 173, Pablo Picasso ALS
Lot 334 was a 3pp autograph letter twice signed by Janis Joplin, once at the close of the letter, and once in the return address section of the original transmittal envelope. On July 28, 1965, from her parents’ home in Port Arthur, Texas, Joplin wrote boyfriend Brian De Blanc that she was successfully recovering from her crystal meth addiction. The following year the aspiring singer joined Big Brother & The Holding Company. The letter sold for 400% over its high estimate, or $7,500 including the buyer’s premium.
These were just a few of the sensational lots offered at our August sale!
We hope you can join us for our next sale, tentatively scheduled for September 18, 2024.