A look at the index to the sale is telling. In chronological order every century from the 15th to the 20th is represented. The three hundred and fifty-five lots divide this way: 1500s 4, 1600s 19, 1700s 82, 1800s 149, 1900s 101. By subject, 161 areas are encompassed, many items falling into multiple categories such as New York and newspapers, Picasso and photography. Yes, in this sale you’ll find Picasso, George Washington, Paul McCartney, James Dean and Abraham Lincoln. And when you look carefully you’ll see how well it fits together.
This said, the material is often not only representative, it is frequently special and the message comes through that inclusion confers stature. Eric has also chosen carefully. History in print can be both important and visually unappealing. The Caren Archive is eye-catching.
Mr. Caren, who continues to collect , was the principal source for the Newseum in Washington, D.C. when they established a museum based on history as reported in newspapers.
Here is a brief look at a few items in the sale.
Lot 134 is a cabinet photograph of George Armstrong Custer taken three months before he died at Little Big Horn.
Lot 124 is a group of cabinet photographs of members of the Dalton Gang, each in their coffin.
Lot 1 is Remarks on the Slave Trade, a 1789 broadside illustrated with a plan of an African Ship’s Lower Deck.
Lot 350 is a color poster, “On the Job for Victory” issued by the Emergency Fleet Corporation circa 1918.
Lot 336 is a Doctor’s Bill for two years of service to “his Excell’y George Washington Esq” issued by his physician Jas Craik for the period 1786-89. The account includes medical care for his slaves.
