|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
The World's Largest Collectibles
Auctioneer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
By Bryan Booher
I have been a student of history nearly all of my life. One aspect
that has always fascinated me is the seemingly random connections
that link notable people or families with other notable
people/families in history. This is especially true during the
American Civil War. In the upcoming October 8-9 Historical
Manuscript Auction #6111, we are delighted to offer a
collection of documents from one of these fascinating families –
the Christiancy family of Monroe, Michigan.
First a little background. Isaac P. Christiancy (1812-1890), a
native of New York State, was the patriarch of a very
well-connected Michigan family. Christiancy studied law and,
following a move to Monroe, Michigan, was admitted to the bar. From
1850 until 1852 he served in the Michigan State Senate and ran
unsuccessfully for governor in 1852. Following the creation of a
permanent State Supreme Court, he was elected an associate justice
before serving as chief justice (1872-1875), only resigning to take
his seat in the United States Senate.
All of the documents in this marvelous collection were passed
through the family from Judge Christiancy's eldest son, Henry.
Henry C. Christiancy (1842[?]-1925) enlisted in the Union Army in
April 1861 and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant on the
staff of Gen. Humphrey the following year, a position he would hold
until September 1864. By war's end, he was a lieutenant colonel by
brevet and mustered out of the army on January 20, 1866. Though
Henry served in the Union Army, several of his grandchildren would
also claim ties to the Confederacy. Henry had three daughters, one
of whom, Ida Christiancy, married George E. Pickett Jr., the son of
Confederate General George E. Pickett, a veteran of the Mexican War
best-remembered for his disastrous charge at the Battle of
Gettysburg and the subject of the bulk of these documents.
Ida and George Jr. had at least two children, one of which was
Christiancy "Chris" Pickett, who also went on to have a career in
the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of colonel before his retirement.
Chris was the recipient of a number of letters from his
grandmother, LaSalle Pickett, the wife of General Pickett,
being offered in this sale. It is through Chris and his son that
these fabulous Pickett items have come to us.
The majority of the items in this collection date from Pickett's
service during or immediately after the Mexican War – a less talked
about period in the career of Gen. Pickett. Then-lieutenant Pickett
served in Mexico with the U.S. 8th Infantry, alongside
fellow Lieutenant (and future Confederate General) James
Longstreet. During the Battle of Chapultepec in September 1847,
Longstreet was wounded while carrying the regimental colors. He
passed them off to his friend, Pickett, who dashed to the top of
the castle, lowered the Mexican flag, and raised the American and
8th Infantry flags as the battle raged below. For his bravery, he
received a brevet promotion to captain. Included in this collection
is an archive of documents
from his time in Mexico; an archive of documents
from his service in Texas after the war, where several times he
would be called upon to track down and deal with "murderous"
Indians; orders and an
ordnance sheet
signed by Pickett while in Mexico; orders granting leave
to Pickett signed by James Longstreet; an ordnance sheet signed
by Longstreet acknowledging the receipt of goods from Lt.
Pickett; and a letter by Longstreet to
Pickett's father regarding his son's impeccable service during
the previous war. Other items include a notice of his
appointment to captain, signed by future Confederate president,
Jefferson Davis; a partial Civil
War-dated report signed by Pickett one week after the Battle of
Seven Pines; and interestingly, a lock of the
general's hair.
The Christiancy family was well-known and included among its
friends the Custer family. Gen. George Armstrong Custer had ties to
Michigan through his half-sister and brother-in-law, with whom he
lived with while attending school as a youngster, and during the
latter half of the Civil War he was placed in command of the
Michigan Brigade. Custer and Judge Christiancy maintained a long
and friendly correspondence throughout the war. Two of these
letters, lots 34052 and 34053, were sold
in the April 2014 Historical Manuscripts Auction #6113 for
$18,750 and $22,500, respectively. Christiancy also had ties to the
flamboyant young commander through a younger son, Lt. James I.
Christiancy.
Young James, at the age of eighteen, enlisted in the Union Army in
May 1862 and, in 1863, was promoted to second lieutenant and placed
on Gen. George Armstrong Custer's staff as the general's
aide-de-camp (likely due to his father's connection). One
lot in this sale deals with Lt. Christiancy's
Civil War service and includes, among other things, a letter
written to his father shortly after the Battle of Second Manassas.
The young lieutenant served through the end of the war and was
awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Hawes
Shops [Virginia, May 28, 1864]. During the battle he was wounded
twice and nursed back to health by Elizabeth Bacon "Libbie" Custer,
the wife of his commanding officer and herself a native of Monroe,
Michigan. Among the documents passed down through the family is a
nice carte de visite
of Custer and his wife, taken a few months before James
sustained his wound.
As usual, this is just a small sampling of the wonderful items we
are delighted to be offering in our upcoming October 2014
Historical Manuscripts auction. The sale will be held October
8, 2014, at our offices in beautiful Beverly
Hills, California.
Back to Top
|
|
Highlights from the
Collection of a Minnesota Gentleman |
|
By David Boozer
Every time I impatiently wait for my microwave to get through those
last ten seconds, I am reminded how this age hates to wait. In
fact, we want everything yesterday. The better things in
life, however, take time. Collecting historical manuscripts is one
of those things. Heritage Auctions is proud to offer part of the
eminent collection of a Minnesota gentleman in our upcoming
October 8-9 Historical
Manuscript Auction #6111. Like a fine bottle of wine, this
collection was made with the finest ingredients chosen by the
highest of standards and aged to near perfection (the collection
took years to build). The outcome is a collection of high-quality
historical manuscripts that spans American history from the
founding of the United States to modern times. It also transcends
our national borders.
If you collect letters, you will certainly be interested in the
letter on the cover of our auction catalog John Adams autograph letter signed to Vice
President Elbridge Jerry, dated April 26, 1813. The founding father
covers a lot of significant territory in this letter, including
discussions on the Revolution, the sacrifice of the Signers, the
U.S. Constitution, the XYZ Affair, and more. Adams also includes a
nice paraphrase of the final line of the Declaration of
Independence ("we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our
Fortunes and our sacred Honor"): "We have sacrificed our Lives
our Families our Popularity, our Reputations our Pleasures our
Comforts to the Publick." Another fascinating letter announces the surrender of Chief Joseph
in 1877. Chief Joseph, the leader of the Nez Perce, tried to avoid
war by fleeing with his band to Canada, but their three-month
journey of 1,700 miles fell just short. The hungry and tired
Indians surrendered to the U.S. Army on October 5, 1877, just miles
from the Canadian border. Only five days later, this historically
important letter was sent to Secretary of State John Sherman,
younger brother of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, announcing the
surrender.
One of the cornerstone pieces of the collection is a Declaration of Independence from Peter Force's
1837-1853 series of books, American Archives. Force
printed copies on rice paper from the "Wet Ink" copperplate created
by William J. Stone (Force removed the copperplate from storage for
this project). In the lower left of each copy (including this one),
Force printed: "W. J. STONE SC. WASHN." These Declarations
are rare, and this one is in particularly nice condition. If you
collect modern presidents, you will be interested in this presidential pardon signed by both Gerald Ford and
Richard Nixon. This two-page typescript of the original
September 8, 1974, Presidential Proclamation 4311 grants a "full,
free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses
against the United States." This copy was signed by both men
sometime in the 1980s.
A fascinating photograph from the
collection is this photograph of a bust of Mohandas Gandhi by sculptress Clare
Sheridan, a cousin of Winston Churchill. Gandhi has signed
"MK Gandhi" just above Ms. Sheridan's own inscription and
signature. Also included is a portrait inscribed and
signed by French chemist Louis Pasteur on May 11, 1886. One
year earlier, the imminent chemist successfully treated a human
with his new rabies vaccine.
Signatures are also included, such as an Abraham Lincoln excised signature which also
includes the infamous date April 12, 1861, written in the
president's hand. The Civil War had begun early that morning when
Confederate guns positioned around Charleston Harbor in South
Carolina opened on Federal defenses at Fort Sumter.
For a complete list of items offered from the Collection of a
Minnesota Gentleman, see the back of the auction catalog or
click here. As we
collectors are often reminded, one of the most important decisions
a collector will ever make is how to sell his collection. Heritage
Auctions is honored when sophisticated collectors, such as this
Minnesota gentleman, choose us to work with them on this important
phase of their collecting career.
Heritage Auctions' Historical Manuscript Auction will be held on
October 8-9, 2014, in our Beverly Hills, California offices. Take
advantage of our seven easy ways to bid, including HERITAGE Live!, our convenient platform which
has been the choice of over 24,000 bidders in the past 12 months
alone.
-->
Back to Top
|
|
Space Exploration
Auction Consignment Deadline |
|
By Michael Riley
The November 12th date for our Fall Space Exploration Auction #6129 is
rapidly approaching and we are currently receiving consignments on
a daily basis. Don’t wait too late to get your material to us for
inclusion in what is shaping up as another great sale. We have
already received two collections of important Apollo 11 and Buzz
Aldrin material, as well as numerous great autographs and a fine
group of Robbins medals. The consignment deadline for items to be
in-house is September 22nd. Right now is definitely the time to
send us your lists and photos of quality items you potentially want
to consign. Forward them to either me at MichaelR@HA.com or to John Hickey at JohnH@HA.com. We'll get back to you with
auction estimates and information on how to complete the simple
consignment process.
Back to Top
|
|
Heritage Auctions
announces rare books featured lots |
|
By Don Ackerman
One of the best, if not the best, William Henry Harrison campaign
flags concludes with the sentiment: "November is Coming and So Are
We." That seems most apropos for our November historical sales.
These will take place consecutively on November 8th, so
mark your calendar. We are still taking consignments (through
September 17) for the Political & Americana Auction
#6126 as well as the Legends of the West Auction
#6125.
As material is photographed and/or cataloged, it is posted on our
website's auction previews which allow you watch our auction grow.
We post individual lots in our previews so you don't have to wait
until the entire auction is posted to get a glimpse of the items
you want. You never know what is going to "pop up" there, so enjoy
the discovery process by going to the site "early and often" to see
what's in the offing. Either click on the individual auction links
above or click here to go to our "Historical"
home page. Look on the right side of the page under "Upcoming
Auctions" to choose the auction(s) that best fits your
interests.
The upcoming Political & Americana auction features the Collection of Warren G.
Lee. Warren was a teacher from Missouri and an old-time
A.P.I.C. member. He briefly lived in Los Angeles and I remember
seeing him there on several occasions around 1965. He then moved
back to the St. Louis area and served as president of the "Gateway
to the West" chapter of the A.P.I.C. He passed on recently and the
family has consigned his collection to Heritage. It is a "typical"
old-time general collection with a wide variety of items from all
time periods and candidates with strong representations in Women's
Suffrage and Benjamin Harrison. We have already sold some of
Warren's material in our Denver auction held
at the A.P.I.C. national. Some will appear in our Spring 2015 sale,
but the bulk of the collection will be offered November
8th. Two highlights that come to mind include the
"Landon Knox Out Roosevelt" jugate and a
"hybrid" teddy bear toy with the head of a Bull
Moose marked with the year of manufacture, 1912.
Back to Top
|
|
The Donald P. Dow
Collection of Lincolniana |
|
By Don Ackerman
Like Warren G. Lee, Donald P. Dow of Ft. Worth, Texas, was another
dedicated collector who amassed an impressive collection over a
fifty-year period. The spark that ignited his quest was the
acquisition of a box lot of Lincoln books at an auction. After
that, there was no looking back. The owner/operator of an art
gallery (still operated by son Greg), Don Dow employed all his
"non-working" time acquiring items for his collection, networking
with dealers and participating in countless auctions, often butting
heads with the most prominent collectors in the field. He often
"chased down" pieces he had missed out on and occasionally was able
to reunite pieces that had been dispersed elsewhere. If he missed
out on something, it wasn't for lack of trying. His interest
spanned Lincoln, the Civil War, general Americana, and
manuscripts.
"The Donald P. Dow Collection of Lincolniana" will be offered soon
in a single-owner catalog with an exact date to be determined. We
are on the cusp of the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's
assassination, so interest in Lincoln, always intense, will be even
greater. The Dow Collection is very strong in autographs and
assassination material. There are over twenty Lincoln autographs or
manuscripts, three for John Wilkes Booth, plus examples for
practically everyone involved in the events of April 14, 1865.
There is a military-issued arrest warrant for Booth, an eleven-page
eyewitness account of the assassination (considered the most
extensive and accurate of such accounts), O'Bierne's manuscript
diary with extensive entries detailing the pursuit of Booth &
Herold, a pass to the hanging of the conspirators, a pass to the
military trial of the conspirators, an album page with autographs
of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, a highly-important signed
fragment of a letter written by Lincoln to Reverdy Johnson
expressing his determination to prosecute the war with all the
tools at his disposal (the balance of the letter considered lost
and this fragment a "discovery" piece), etc. It took two years to
organize the collection and a week for us to simply pull out the
300 pieces earmarked for this important auction and make a brief
inventory. It has yet to be photographed and cataloged, but we
promise you will not be disappointed! If you have any interest in
Lincoln, keep your eyes open to these newsletters and our website
for further details. It promises to be a landmark sale!
Back to Top
|
|
Rare Books Auction
Preview |
|
Our Rare Books Auction #6112 catalog is about to
go to print, so we thought this would be a perfect time to give you
a sneak peek of what to expect in the upcoming auction on October
8th in our Beverly Hills location.
In addition to the usual rare gems and desirable titles, we're
thrilled to introduce a few large collections of rare books that
will be sold in the next several Signature auctions and the
intervening Weekly Internet auctions.
The Krown &
Spellman Collection: This is an excellent gathering of
genuinely antiquarian books, and includes incunables and early
printed books across a diverse range of subject areas. Represented
in the collection are classics, science, travels and voyages,
history, occult, illustrated books and reference books.
The Library of
John Carrol Collins:Mr. Collins was an astute collector
of rare books and art, and often served as an appraiser in these
fields. His collection includes wonderful copies in Fine Press,
History, Literature, Book Arts, and Cinema. He has large
collections of Aviation and Music that will be offered in our New
York auction in April of 2015.
The Collection of
I.D. "Nash" Flores, III: His collection of Cormac
McCarthy makes up a significant portion of our literary offering,
including the candid ten-year correspondence archive between
McCarthy and fellow
author John Fergus Ryan. A wonderful complete run of McSweeney's
Quarterly is here, with a number of signed copies.
McSweeney's was originally begun with the aim to only publish works
rejected by other magazines or publishers. As McSweeney's
flourished, however, that rule was soon abandoned, as established
authors began submitting to them as a first choice. McSweeney's
also became an important outlet for new and previously unpublished
writers. Additional lots from this collection will be available in
the Weekly Internet auctions, and a substantial grouping of John
Updike will be in the April auction in 2015.
The William J.
Whitaker, Jr. Collection of Charles Bukowski and Black Sparrow
Press Books: The collection is very deep and includes
many signed or inscribed copies, and copies with original drawings
by Bukowski. In
addition to the lots in this catalog, there will be many more gems
from this collection offered in the upcoming Thursday night
auctions.
The Library of Dr. Henry H. Fertig,
M.D.:In the upcoming auction we're offering The Laws
of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania printed by Benjamin Franklin.
Future auctions will include many more excellent books in Medicine
and Anatomy, American History and Biography, Literature, and
Western Art and Literature, with many signed or inscribed
copies.
The Alexander
Jemal, Jr. Collection: We continue our offering
of the vast John Updike
collection so lovingly assembled by Mr. Jemal, including many
personally signed and inscribed copies, and many rarities that are
not typically seen.
Be sure to visit your favorite books from this catalog on our
award-winning website at HA.com/6112, where you
will find additional and enlargeable images and, in many cases,
supplementary descriptive information. We would love to see you at
the live auction on October 8 in our Beverly Hills showroom. If you
can't make it in person, our online bidding platform Heritage Live! is the next best thing to being
in the room.
-->Back
to Top
|
|
The Texas
Bookseller's Association and the Lone Star Film Society present
Books into Movies at the 21st Annual North Texas Book & Paper Show
on Friday, October 10, 6pm 9pm, and Saturday, October 11,
10am 5pm. The event is again at the Grapevine Convention
Center, 1209 South Main St., Grapevine, TX 76051. Tickets are $7,
and is good for $5 off one purchase. Free admission for children
under 12 and there's free parking. Stop by the Heritage Auctions
table and sign up to win a $50 gift certificate. www.texasbooksellers.org.
Back to Top
|
|
As the fastest growing American-based
auction house, financially rock-solid Heritage Auctions continues
to grow and seek the best talent in the industry. If you are a
specialist or have strong general collectibles knowledge, we want
to hear from you. These specialists will, in some cases, head new
departments and in others will enhance existing department
expertise. We have positions open at our headquarters in Dallas as
well as at our new state-of-the-art galleries in prime locations in
both Midtown Manhattan and Beverly Hills.
Heritage is seeking to hire the world's best specialists in the
following categories:
- Asian Art Specialist
- Coin Buyer
- Director of Luxury Accessories: (New York)
- Modern & Contemporary Art Specialist: (New York)
- World Coins Director: Hong Kong
If you are interested and feel you have the qualifications we
seek, please email your resume and salary history to
Experts@HA.com.
We are also seeking to fill the following corporate positions:
- Client Services Representative
- Digital Photography Retoucher
- e-Publishing Expert
- Operations Assistant
- Shipping Associate
- Sr. VP of Marketing
- Web Marketing Specialist
If you are interested in applying for one of these Corporate
positions, please
apply here.
Back to Top
|
|
Sam Snead's 'Most Trusted Weapon,'
His Driver Used In More Than 100 Victories, At Auction
The driver that Sam Snead
used for 17 years, and which helped him win more than 100
tournaments between 1936 and 1953, will cross the auction block
as the undisputed top lot of Heritage Auctions' Sports Collectibles Golf
Catalog auction, Sept. 25-26 in Dallas. It is expected to sell
for more than $250,000.
The auction will take place online only, with sessions closing on
September 25 & 26 and closing via an extended bid format.
"This is the very driver that Snead used, his most trusted weapon,
as he steamrolled his way to the greatest professional tournament
record in golf history," said Mike Gutierrez, Consignment Director
for Sports Collectibles at Heritage. "It's arguably the most
significant article of golf memorabilia that exists, the constant,
faithful companion of a man whose record of PGA Tour success is
unmatched in the history of the sport."
The club was finally put out to pasture after the United States
victory in the 1953 Ryder Cup.
Further treasures from the Snead Collection offered in the auction
include the final chance for
collectors to acquire one of Snead's Masters Championship trophies,
this one from the 1952 Masters Tournament, which Snead won with
an impressive 286 while fending off a furious charge from Jack
Burke late on Sunday. Snead's 1942 PGA
Championship Wannamaker Trophy, estimated at $75,000+, won by
the golfer at Seaview Country Club in Galloway Township, NJ, also
presents the last opportunity to claim one of Snead's personal PGA
Championship trophies. The putter that Snead
used to win the 1946 British Open, his first and only victory
from The British Open, will also be offered with an estimate of
$40,000+.
The Bob Burkett Collection of Early Golf Memorabilia
presents a distinct and compelling grouping of memorabilia from one
of the top collectors of the subject in the hobby. Burkett, a 25-30
year veteran collector of golf memorabilia, started collecting at
decades ago, with the infancy of the game itself as his focus.
The gem of the offerings from Burkett has be the 1916 Cherokee Country
Club Invitational Tournament Trophy Won by Bobby Jones, the only
Jones trophy in private hand and the earliest Jones trophy to ever
cross the block, estimated at $100,000+.
More information about sports auctions.
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Heritage Auctions / bid@HA.com / 3500 Maple Ave / Dallas, Texas 75219 /
1-877-
Copyright © 1999-2014 Heritage Capital
Corporation / All Rights Reserved |
|
|
|
