Items Signed by Many of History's Brightest Luminaries will be Sold May 31st by University Archives

2024-12-24 11:58:12 Art & Entertainment

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Wilton, CT, USA, May 17, 2023 ? An autograph letter handwritten in German and signed by Ludwig van Beethoven, regarding his only opera, Fidelio; an autograph letter signed by Thomas J. ?Stonewall? Jackson following his historic raid on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1861; and an autograph letter signed by John Adams in 1801 regarding the influence of Virginia Democrats will headline University Archives? next online-only auction scheduled for Wednesday, May 31st.

The auction ? titled Rare Signed Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia ? will start promptly at 11 am Eastern time. All 388 lots in the catalog are up for viewing and bidding now (on the University Archives website: www.UniversityArchives.com), as well as Invaluable.com, Auctionzip.com and LiveAuctioneers.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

?Major collecting categories in our outstanding May auction include music, science and U.S. Presidential, with outstanding autographed material from Ludwig van Beethoven to George Gershwin; from Albert Einstein and Max Planck to Thomas A. Edison; and from George Washington to Joe Biden,? said John Reznikoff, president and owner of University Archives.

Mr. Reznikoff added, ?Exceptional items of Civil Rights, military, entertainment, literature, and sports memorabilia will also pass the auction block. Our lavishly illustrated catalog is up and ready for viewing/bidding right now. This is truly a great collecting and buying opportunity.?

The undated autograph letter in German signed by Beethoven (as ?Beethoven?) also features excellent musical content relating to his only opera, Fidelio, a love story about a wife disguised as a man rescuing her husband from a political prison. Beethoven?s letter was addressed to Friedrich Sebastian Mayer, the baritone singer who played Don Pizarro, the prison governor in the first two productions of Fidelio. The letter carries a pre-sale estimate of $80,000-$100,000.

Thomas ?Stonewall? Jackson wrote a one-page autograph letter signed to a neighbor on June 29, 1861, as commander of the 1st Brigade of the Confederate Army. Earlier that spring, Jackson had conducted multiple raids against the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, one of the Union Army?s main supply lines, destroying tracks and bridges and confiscating locomotives (est. $12,000-$15,000).

John Adams wrote an autograph letter, signed and dated March 31, 1801, addressed to Isaiah Thomas, Jr., the Worcester printer of the formerly Boston-based Patriot weekly Massachusetts Spy. In it, Adams wonders if Massachusetts is being overrun by the ?moral and political opinions of Virginia? in a reference to the ascendant Thomas Jefferson and other Virginia Democrats (est. $7,000-$8,000).

There are three lots related to Albert Einstein in the sale. One is a remarkable script from the mid-1940s NBC TV series Your World Tomorrow, signed by him as ?A. Einstein? on the front cover. In the pilot episode, ?The Atom,? Einstein?s discovery of his famous equation E=MC2 is dramatized via dialogue between ?Einstein? and two fictional characters. There are very few examples of Einstein?s inscribing his famous formula in something other than a book, making this example particularly desirable (est. $40,000-$50,000).

George Washington boldly signed an October 21, 1799 letter addressed to a Revolutionary War veteran named Captain Abraham Shepherd in the former?s capacity as Commander-in-Chief of Federal Armies under the Adams administration. Washington assumed command of the military after his second presidential term ended, up until his death in Dec. 1799 two months later (est. $20,000-$30,000).

Martin Luther King, Jr. signed a typed letter on ?Southern Christian Leadership Conference? stationery in 1966, concerning the use of the ?N? word. To the inquiring man from Haddonfield, N.J., King wrote: ?The word ?n--r? carries with it a meaning deeply rooted in the debilitating racist caste ordering of our society?s slavery epoch and segregation era? (est. $18,000-$20,000).

Abraham Lincoln penned an 1862 autograph note regarding a brigade surgeon?s appointment in the Excelsior Brigade. The battle unit had been plagued by political in-fighting between disgraced former New York Congressman Daniel Sickles, and his nemesis, New York Governor Edwin Morgan. Lincoln?s note acknowledges the strained political climate (est. $7,500-$10,000).

For more information about University Archives and the online-only Rare Signed Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia auction scheduled for Wednesday, May 31st, at 11 am Eastern time, please visit www.universityarchives.com. Updates are posted frequently.