University Archives is pleased to announce its September 29, 2021 sale

University Archives is pleased to announce its September 29, 2021 sale. The 410-lot auction is jampacked with historical autographs, rare books, artwork, posters, photographs, ephemera, collectibles, and relics. About one quarter of the sale is devoted to artists and is part of the collection of Chicagoan Noel Goldblatt, of the famous Goldblatt’s Department Store. Another large segment is comprised of vintage posters and photographs amassed by a Connecticut collector. We also have superb material relating to Early American, U.S. Presidents, World Leaders, Sports, Music, Aviation/Space, and Entertainment.

The September 29th auction index is as follows: American Politics/Supreme Court: Lots 1-9; American Presidents/First Ladies: Lots 10-45; Artists: Lots 46-144; Aviation/Space: Lots 145-174; Business/Notables: Lots 175-218; Civil Rights/Native American/Slavery: Lots 219-228; Declaration of Independence/Rev War: Lots 229-233; Entertainment/Music/Sports: Lots 234-249; History/Military: Lots 250-286; International/World Leaders: Lots 287-296; Judaica: Lots 297-298; Literature: Lots 299-313; Posters: Lots 314-401; Science: Lots 350-363.

ARTISTS

We are delighted to present a large collection of autographed material relating to artists, drawn principally from the collection of Noel Goldblatt (ca. 1926-2003), an autograph collector. Some ex-Goldblatt pieces have not been on the market for nearly 50 years. Goldblatt’s artist collection is comprehensive in chronological, geographical, linguistic, and art historical scope. It includes items relating to some of the most important European artists of the nineteenth century, such as Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and others.

A highlight of Goldblatt’s collection includes a document signed by Paul Gauguin sometime during the last three years of the artist’s life, when he was living on the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. The receipt mentions Ambroise Vollard, Gauguin’s agent and patron, and could have represented payment for one of Gauguin’s last completed paintings of such exotic subjects as witch doctors and nude women. Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh inscribed 115 complete and partial words in English and Dutch on both sides of a paper fragment. The excerpts are interestingly related to God; Van Gogh’s continuous quest for spiritual fulfillment led him into nature, where he was most at peace, and informed his artwork. Paul Cézanne’s 2pp autograph letter signed addressed to the subject of his famous painting, Portrait of Gustave Geffroy, mentioned funding fellow artist Auguste Rodin, whose maquette of Honoré de Balzac had just been denounced by the literary organization which commissioned it. Goldblatt’s collection also includes autographed items from Mary Cassatt, Edvard Munch, Piet Mondrian, Diego Rivera, Pablo Picasso, Gilbert Stuart, Joseph M.W. Turner, and many more.

POSTERS/PHOTOGRAPHS

A Wilton, Connecticut collector with a penchant for rock ’n roll and pop culture collected dozens of vintage posters and photographs, some autographed. The collection represents the last seven decades of popular music, from Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin, to David Bowie, Arrowsmith, The Rolling Stones, and the Goo Goo Dolls. Classic movie stars, films, television shows, sporting events, and American products appear in other colorful posters and photographs. A lead item in this category is a 1968 Jimi Hendrix Fillmore East concert poster in exceptional condition. Poster artist David Byrd’s representation of Jimi Hendrix and his bandmates in psychedelic pink and orange is one of the most iconic music posters of all time. An oversized black and white photograph of the Beatles taken in Hamburg, West Germany in 1960 is signed by the photographer Astrid Kirchherr, who was also the fiancée of bass guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe. Last, an enormous 22” x 28” photograph of Grace Slick and Janis Joplin taken by Jim Marshall for Teen Set magazine is twice signed by the photographer and annotated as “Grace + Janis – 1967.”

EARLY AMERICAN

The Revolutionary War, Declaration of Independence, Colonial America, Civil War, and Native American are just a few of the subcategories in our September sale. One of the highlights includes a Mathew Brady carte de visite of George A. Custer, boldly signed with rank as "Yours Truly / GA Custer / Bt Maj Genl / U.S.A.," perhaps the finest example we have ever seen. A 2pp circular communication from 1789 regarding the value of paper currency as “equivalent to Gold and Silver,” and cautioning against the prevalence of counterfeiting in northern New England, is signed by newly appointed Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton as “Alexr Hamilton / Secy of the Treasury." And a first for us: a 10’- high vintage totem pole from the Pacific Northwest or Canada, intricately carved on all sides in a 360-degree-round, depicting humans and animals in a traditional primary color palette. Finally, we have the original sign to the Second Avenue Deli in the East Village, an iconic piece of New York history.

Of course, there are also many more items that we are confident will interest you. We hope you can join us on September 29th!

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--John Reznikoff