University Archives' Online-Only Auction, April 23rd, will Feature Over 60 Lots Dedicated to Lincoln

2025-04-10 05:52:00 Art & Entertainment

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Wilton, CT, USA, April 5, 2025 -- A vivid and lifelike photograph of Abraham Lincoln with Hesler/Ayres provenance, a one-page letter signed by Lincoln in 1859 and addressed to a man he’d defended in a murder trial, and a one-page autograph letter written in Hebrew in 1948 by the first Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion are three of many tantalizing items in University Archives’ next online-only auction slated for Wednesday, April 23rd, at 10am Eastern time.

All 536 lots in the Rare Autographs, Books & Photos auction (featuring the Abraham Lincoln Collection) are up for viewing and bidding now on the recently redesigned University Archives website – www.UniversityArchives.com – plus the popular platforms LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

“The April 23rd auction is bursting with high-quality historical artifacts from multiple collecting categories, in addition to the Abraham Lincoln Collection, one of the largest and most important groupings of Lincoln collectibles to cross the auction block in some time,” said John Reznikoff, the president and owner of University Archives.

The Abraham Lincoln Collection represents more than 60 Lincoln lots, ranging in estimate from $200 to $800,000, with more than twelve items either written by or signed by Lincoln, ranging in estimate from $2,000 to $100,000.

Indeed, the marquee item of the Abraham Lincoln Collection (in fact, the auction overall) is Lot 65, an interpositive, or silver gelatin positive transparency on glass, of Lincoln, from Lincoln scholar King Hostick through descent. Alexander Hesler’s collodion negative of Lincoln, Portrait Sitting No. 2, was originally taken in Springfield, Illinois in 1860.

The photographic image provided the basis of George B. Ayres’s circa 1895-1900 interpositive made several decades later. It was cleaned and extensively restored by the George Eastman House & International Museum of Photography & Film (Rochester, New York) in 2007. The Lincoln portrait is displayed in a custom-built presentation case (Estimate: $800,000-$1 million)

Lot 69 is the one-page autograph letter signed by Lincoln on November 3, 1859, addressed to Peachy Quinn Harrison, a young area man whom Lincoln had defended just four months earlier in what was Lincoln’s one and only murder trial. In it, Lincoln urges Peachy to exercise his political rights by supporting Republican candidate John Palmer (Estimate: $70,000-$100,000)

Lot 66 is a check signed by Lincoln on June 13, 1859, paying a small sum to law partner William H. Herndon. Lincoln checks have been a profitable investment in recent years, with checks dated 1859, the year preceding his presidential nomination, especially desirable. The same day that Lincoln paid Herndon, he bought a $2 brandy bottle from Diller’s Drug Store (Estimate: $20,000-$25,000)

Lot 72 is an autograph album belonging to a Rochester, New York teenage girl named Ida Bowers, whose brother was a Civil War veteran. The album contains 74 important signatures including those of Abraham Lincoln as president and Andrew Johnson as president (both with Beckett LOAs), and ten cabinet members of both administrations (Estimate: $15,000-$20,000)

Lot 418 is the one-page autograph letter in Hebrew signed by David Ben-Gurion on May 14, 1948, just one day after signing the Israeli Declaration of Independence and two days before being elected the first Prime Minister of Israel. Ben-Gurion’s participation in recent events inspired his comments to a childhood friend, in part: “The Jewish people have attained…the very essence of their existence; the State of Israel is born” (Estimate: $80,000-$100,000)

Lot 503 is a three-page scientific manuscript in German handwritten by Albert Einstein, relating to his Unified Field Theory from the 1940s. The manuscript contains about 446 words in German and 17 lines of scientific calculations in Einstein’s hand, stating in part (translated): “… I want to try to show that a truly natural choice for field equations exists" (Estimate: $80,000-$120,000)

Lot 350 is Marilyn Monroe’s personally owned and heavily annotated film script of Something’s Got to Give, from her last movie role. Of the 115 mimeographed script pages, Monroe has annotated 41 pages, and heavily annotated 12 of these with her thoughts regarding lines, character and motivations, and blocking. The film was scrapped after her death just six months later in August 1962 (Estimate: $75,000-$100,000)

Here is a link to the catalog on the University Archives website:
https://www.universityarchives.com/auction-catalog/rare-autographs-books-photos-abraham-lincoln-coll_DU5FC9TF63

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 is located at 88 Danbury Road (Suite #2A) in Wilton, Conn. For more information about University Archives and the Rare Autographs, Books & Photos, featuring the Abraham Lincoln Collection, on Wednesday, April 23rd, visit www.universityarchives.com.