Tag Archives: autographs

Items Signed by Einstein, Lincoln, Washington, Newton, Many Others are in University Archives’ Feb. 16th Online Auction

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Wilton, CT, USA, February 1, 2022 -/DailyVoice/- Two letters signed by Albert Einstein (one typed, one handwritten, both in German), a recognizance bond signed by Sir Isaac Newton when he was Warden of the Royal Mint in 1699, and two items signed by Abraham Lincoln (one an autograph album, the other an early legal brief drafted in 1854) are just a few of the expected highlights in University Archives’ online-only auction slated for Wednesday, February 16th, beginning at 10:30 am Eastern time.

The Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Photographs & Books auction features historical material from multiple collecting categories. The catalog, with all 455 lots, is up for viewing and bidding now, on the University Archives website (www.UniversityArchives.com), plus the platforms LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. The auction marks nearly a year since University Archives’ relocation to a modern new facility in Wilton.

“Our February auction is just a few days shy of George Washington’s 290th birthday and the Presidents’ Day holiday is certainly appropriate, since our catalog features many outstanding presidential items ranging from Washington to Biden,” said John Reznikoff, the president and owner of University Archives. “Other well-represented collecting categories include Science and Technology, Aviation and Space, Sports, Literature, and the Civil War, to name just a few.”

The list of major categories is indeed extensive, to include Science (Einstein, Newton, Richard Feynman, Stephen Hawking, others); Presidents (from Washington to Biden); Sports (Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Larry Bird, others); Aviation & Space (Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Orville Wright, the Enola Gay, the Apollo and Mercury programs, Soviet Cosmonauts, others).

Other categories include Civil War (Robert E. Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, William T. Sherman, Jefferson and Varina Davis, many generals, others); Early American (John Hancock, Arthur Middleton, others); Literature (Samuel Clemens, Oscar Wilde, E. E. Cummings, Jack Kerouac, others); and World Leaders (Brezhnev, Kim Il Sung, Giuseppe Garibaldi, others).

Both of the Einstein letters carry identical pre-sale estimates of $45,000-$55,000. A typed letter in German signed by Einstein, addressed to close friend Michele Besso, recalls how the two collaborated to formulate the theory of special relativity over 35 years earlier. In it, Einstein compares the process of scientific theorizing to God’s creation of the world, both a “pointless luxury” but nevertheless essential to pushing the boundaries of understanding and existence.

The other letter, handwritten by Einstein and signed “A. Einstein”, is dated June 19, 1919 and is addressed to Professor Georg Lockemann concerning the origins of special relativity in the “ether question”. Einstein suggests that its current state can best be understood if one considers it historically. Before Maxwell, it was an “all-pervading inert substance”, with its “transverse waves” manifesting themselves as light. A full and complete English translation is included.

Sir Isaac Newton, in his role as Warden of the Royal Mint in early 1699, signed a recognizance bond relating to the criminal case against William Chaloner, a recalcitrant counterfeiter (and Newton’s nemesis) who was convicted of high treason and hanged at Tyburn two months later. The bond was meant to ensure the future appearance of Nathaniel Peck as a witness against Chaloner. The beautifully signed document should gavel for $24,000-$28,000.

A Civil War-era scrapbook album compiled by Union Army Major John S. Schultz contains 214 bold and mostly high-grade signatures, including those of four presidents (Abraham Lincoln, James Buchanan, Millard Fillmore, and Franklin Pierce); current and future Lincoln cabinet members (Hamlin, Colfax, Seward, Cameron, Welles, Bates); and a myriad of other important American politicians and military leaders. The album is expected to realize $15,000-$17,000.

An early legal brief drafted by Abraham Lincoln on May 15, 1854 features his signature as “Lincoln for defendant” in the case of Coventry and Warwickshire Banking Company vs. William Whorrall. The fascinating document, loaded with international intrigue and 316 words written in the hand of Lincoln as a young lawyer, has a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-$12,000.

A Revolutionary War-dated manuscript letter twice signed by George Washington and relating to new military draft resolutions passed by the Continental Congress in 1780 provides detailed information about the number of soldiers who had survived the past winter at Morristown, N.J., harsher than even Valley Forge. Continental military commanders Henry “Lighthorse” Lee, Hazen, Webb and Lamb are explicitly mentioned in the document (estimate: $30,000-$40,000).

George Washington boldly signed a three-language ship’s passport on July 7, 1794 for a St. Bartholomew-bound schooner named Nancy, commanded by Captain Abijah Potter. Just one year later, Captain Potter was fatally axed during a shipboard slave uprising. The document printed in French, English and Dutch, is signed by Washington (as President), Secretary of State Edmund Randolph and Collector of Customs Jeremiah Olney (estimate: $12,000-$15,000).

A first edition copy of The Babe Ruth Story, as told to Bob Considine, complete with its original dust jacket and a 1948 letter of provenance, signed by the Sultan of Swat just six months before his death from cancer, should bring $7,000-$8,000. Also, a turn-of-the-century diary and address book signed by Virgil Earp, Wyatt’s older brother and a fellow participant of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, very rare and with impeccable provenance, is estimated to realize $12,000-$14,000.

A slave reward poster issued in Baltimore and dated Sept. 7, 1857, offering $500 for the capture and return of Adam Smith, measuring 7 ¾ inches by 12 inches, should sell for $30,000-$40,000. The broadside reads, in part, that Smith “ran away, or decoyed, from the subscriber on Saturday, Sept. 5, 1857”. Smith escaped with the help of the Underground Railroad, then returned to free his family, thereby earning a permanent place in the annals of American freedom.

A signed manuscript copy of John Howard Payne’s wistful song Home! Sweet Home! — one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite melodies—inscribed “to my friend Miss Alice Stetson” and dated Aug. 6, 1850, is expected to fetch $10,000-$12,000. Also, a scrapbook of inscriptions from 100 of the legendary World War II African American aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen, for their flight instructor Milton T. Hall, gathered from 1943-1945, should garner $9,000-$10,000.

For more information about University Archives and the Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Photographs & Books auction slated for Wednesday, February 16th, please visit www.universityarchives.com.

About University Archives:
University Archives has become world-renowned as a go-to source for rare items of this kind. It is actively seeking quality material for future auctions, presenting a rare opportunity for sellers. Anyone who has a single item or a collection that may be a fit for a future University Archives auction may call John Reznikoff at 203-454-0111, or email him at john@universityarchives.com. University Archives was founded in 1979, as a division of University Stamp Company, by John Reznikoff, who started collecting stamps and coins in 1968, while in the third grade. Industry-wide, Reznikoff is considered the leading authenticity expert for manuscripts and documents. He consults with law enforcement, dealers, auction houses and both major authentication companies. University Archives’ new offices are located at 88 Danbury Rd. (Suite 2A) in Wilton, Conn. For more information about University Archives, please visit www.universityarchives.com

University Archives will Hold Back-to-Back Online Auctions Aug. 25 and 26; Aug. 26 will be a Specialized Judaica Auction

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Wilton, CT, USA, August 10, 2021 -/DailyVoice/- University Archives will hold back-to-back online auctions on Wednesday and Thursday, August 25th and 26th, starting at 10:30 am Eastern time both days. The August 25th auction will be a general sale offering collectors a variety of autographs, rare books, historical documents and memorabilia. The August 26th auction will be a smaller, specialized Judaica sale.

“Our August 25th sale offers collectors a great opportunity to acquire exceptional items from the presidential, science and international categories,” said John Reznikoff, president and founder of University Archives. “Early American enthusiasts, military collectors, and aficionados of art, music, and literature will also find many treasures. The auction will be organized by category.”

Reznikoff added, “The Judaica auction on August 26th, 100 lots in all, will offer many unique items relating to the history of Judaism, the formation of Israel and World War II, to include autographed material from Judah P. Benjamin to Ariel Sharon. There will be dozens of lots relating to the Founding Fathers & Mothers of Israel. The sale will be organized alphabetically.”

The catalogs are up for viewing and bidding now, on the revamped University Archives website (www.UniversityArchives.com), as well as the platforms LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. Both of the auctions will be conducted from University Archives’ new, state-of-the-art, 6,000-square-foot facility in Wilton.

With 363 lots, the August 25th auction is the larger of the two. The major categories will include Presidential (from Washington to Biden); Science (multiple lots of Einstein, plus Robert Hooke, Marie Curie, Richard Feynman, others); Sports (Olympics, Muhammad Ali, Ty Cobb, Michael Jordan, others); and Literature (Robert Frost, James Joyce, Ivan Turgenev, Jules Verne, others).

Other categories include World Leaders (Russian czars, Soviet leaders, Kim Il Sung, Victoria I, others); Art (Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, Norman Rockwell, others); Space and Aviation (Apollo/Soyuz program, Neil Armstrong, Orville Wright, Soviet cosmonauts, others); Early American (Rev War, John Hancock, Hamilton, Burr, others; and Music (Bob Dylan, others).

More than one-third of the sale is dedicated to U.S. Presidents and First Ladies. An expected top lot is a one-page autograph letter signed by Abraham Lincoln and dated just weeks after the Battle of Gettysburg, on July 22, 1863. It’s addressed to Freedmen’s Inquiry Commissioner Robert Dale Owen and has slavery-related content. In it, Lincoln refers to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, the Supreme Court, and the plight of American “freed-men” (est. $50,000-$60,000).

The original Lincoln free franked transmittal panel that accompanied the abovementioned letter is offered as a separate lot. The panel, inscribed overall and signed by Lincoln (as “A. Lincoln” upper right), is expected to finish at $7,000-$8,000. Also, a 346-acre land survey in Augusta County, Virginia, drawn, signed and docketed by a 21-year-old George Washington in 1752, the same year the future president would inherit Mount Vernon, has an estimate of $30,000-$40,000.

A working scientific manuscript inscribed in German and signed by Albert Einstein around 1938, in advance of a work later co-authored by him and Peter Bergman titled On a Generalization of Kaluza’s Theory of Electricity, has an estimate of $40,000-$50,000. In the Judaica auction, a letter written and signed by Einstein in German in 1921, discussing the Rutherford-Bohr atomic theory, the Theory of Relativity, and the Stark effect of electricity, should hit $12,000-$14,000.

A very rare document signed by the British scientist and polymath Robert Hooke, relating to the Great Fire of London of 1666, has an estimate of $24,000-$30,000. Hooke served as a Surveyor of the City of London and settled claims following the conflagration. Also, his fellow physicist Richard Feynman’s personally owned copy of T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, signed in his name by his wife Arline, should reach $7,000-$8,000.

A gorgeously illuminated Czar Alexander II signed document, in Russian, granting a heraldic device to a Crimean War veteran and naval surgeon, featuring many sumptuous hand-decorated details, is expected to change hands for $5,000-$6,000. Also, a first edition copy of Korean Historic Relics, a book celebrating the flowering of Korean arts and culture, signed and inscribed by Kim Il Sung, the elusive former leader of North Korea, has an estimate of $12,000-$14,000.

A small photocard dated 1864, depicting a seated portrait of the slave, abolitionist and women’s rights advocate Sojourner Truth, signed by her with an “x” as her mark, should command $24,000-$28,000. Also, a handwritten copy of the lovely poem Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost, signed by the renowned poet and dated Jan. 5, 1937, composed for Mrs. Emmaline Jones, with a printed photo of Frost, should go for $7,000-$8,000.

A four-page document dated Oct. 20, 1789, signed by Alexander Hamilton (as Secretary of the Treasury), addressed to Stephen Smith, Esq., regarding the paying of tonnage and other duties on vessels, is estimated to sell for $7,000-$8,000. Also, a four-language ship’s passport signed by Thomas Jefferson (as President) and James Madison (as Secretary of State), dated Sept. 29, 1802, requesting safe passage for a London-bound vessel, should knock down for $3,000-$3,500.

In addition to the Einstein letter, highlights of the Judaica sale will include an archive of thirteen letters handwritten by Moshe Dayan on fragile prison tissue and smuggled out of prison while he was an inmate at Acre Prison in British-controlled Palestine between 1939-1941 (est. $30,000-$40,000); and a fabulous archive of artifacts relating to the Jewish Brigade Group of the British Army during World War II, including uniforms, equipment and awards (est. $3,000-$3,500).

For more information about University Archives and the online-only auctions slated for Wednesday and Thursday, August 25th and 26th, visit www.universityarchives.com.

About University Archives:
University Archives has become world-renowned as a go-to source for rare items of this kind. It is actively seeking quality material for future auctions, presenting a rare opportunity for sellers. Anyone who has a single item or a collection that may be a fit for a future University Archives auction may call John Reznikoff at 203-454-0111, or email him at john@universityarchives.com. University Archives was founded in 1979, as a division of University Stamp Company, by John Reznikoff, who started collecting stamps and coins in 1968, while in the third grade. Industry-wide, Reznikoff is considered the leading authenticity expert for manuscripts and documents. He consults with law enforcement, dealers, auction houses and both major authentication companies. University Archives’ new offices are located at 88 Danbury Rd. (Suite 2A) in Wilton, Conn. For more information about University Archives, visit www.universityarchives.com. Updates are posted often.