An Amazing Collection of Autographs<br>Offered by Catherine Barnes
- by Michael Stillman
There is no more famous autograph than that of John Hancock.
Supreme Court collectors may also be interested in Item 74, a photograph of the Court as it was composed between 1962 and 1965. This was the height of the Warren court era, and it is signed by all nine justices, including Earl Warren, Hugo Black, and William O. Douglas. $3,000.
If you’re looking for the heaviest hitters of American history, here’s a letter from none other than George Washington. This letter, from 1782, concerns where to store gunpowder at West Point. He writes to Major Villefranche about the Major’s concerns over the proposed location for a magazine. General Washington asks for his reasons for requesting an alternate location. Evidently Villefranche’s reasons were sound, as the location for the magazine was changed, and a year later Washington would write Congress urging Villefranche’s promotion. Item 75. $25,000.
Then there’s some odd correspondence from Thomas Jefferson. In 1793, while Jefferson was briefly out of public life, he was approached by one Francois d’Ivernois about the idea of moving the Geneva (Switzerland) Academy (now the University of Geneva) to Virginia, U.S.A. The idea was to pick up the faculty and move them to new facilities to be built in Virginia. Crazy as it sounds, the plan was taken seriously and Jefferson was favorably inclined. In this letter, Jefferson writes to Wilson Cary Nicholas, his representative in the Virginia assembly, to gauge interest among his colleagues. Ultimately, the Virginia assembly turned the proposal down on the basis of costs and language barriers. Jefferson would later approach George Washington about the proposal, but Washington too would reject it. Today, the University of Geneva is still in Geneva, but Virginia has many fine universities of its own. Item 40. $25,000.
There’s a document here that’s different from anything the most dedicated of Andrew Jackson collectors possess. It is a patent signed by Jackson as president, also signed by his secretary of state and attorney general. The patent? It’s for a sausage cutting machine. Item 39. $3,000.
Item 36 is a letter from Benjamin Harrison, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, to Robert Morris, another signer. Written in 1781, it speaks of desperate conditions in Virginia during the Revolutionary War. The patriots in Virginia were running out of supplies and Harrison feared they would soon be overrun. Fortunately, the tide soon turned. The revolutionaries would win the war, and Harrison’s son and great-grandson would both go on to be U.S. presidents. $15,000. Item 37 is a pay order from that son, William Henry, or “Old Tippecanoe,” while he was Governor of the Indiana territory in 1811. $1,750.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
