Cowan's American Historical Ephemera and Photography Delivered on Nov. 19
- by Announcement, Rare Book Hub staff
Early bare-knuckled boxer John Morrissey
Cowan’s American Historical Ephemera and Photography Auction Exceeds Presale Estimate by Nearly $300,000
93% of Lots Sell with Early Photography and Manuscript Archives in High Demand
CINCINNATI – Cowan’s American Historical Ephemera and Photography auction surpassed expectations achieving a sales total of $701,849 against a presale estimate of $409,700 - $615,750. The November 19 auction also saw 93% of the auction’s 414 lots sell with nearly a third selling above their presale estimates.
“I am proud of all that the team at Cowan's and Hindman have accomplished in a year filled with so many unique challenges,” said Katie Horstman, Senior Specialist of American Historical Ephemera and Photography. “This was the highest sell through rate for a various-owner sale in my 13 year career – this is a great time to sell at auction.”
The top lot of the day was an extensive archive of Medal of Honor winner and Civil War hero Lt. General Nelson A. Miles (Lot 322). The Miles archive featured over 300 items detailing Indian Wars campaigns, including his interactions with Sitting Bull and Chief Joseph. The archive was consigned by a direct descendant of Miles, increasing its appeal and drawing a great deal of attention from prominent book and manuscript dealers from across the country. Ultimately, the archive sold to a private collector for $87,500 against an estimate of $30,000 - $50,000.
Another archive of note from the auction was a collection of photographs and manuscripts from a member of the 7th Cavalry (Lot 328) serving under the notorious Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer. At the heart of the archive was a collection of stereo-views purportedly once owned by Custer’s wife, Elizabeth, that included never before seen views of Little Bighorn, Miles City, and Fort Keogh. Estimated at $10,000 - $15,000, the lot nearly tripled its estimate selling for $26,250.
In the early photography category, an extraordinarily rare half plate daguerreotype of a California gold mining camp (Lot 376) more than doubled its estimate selling for $36,250. The photograph depicted six men posed around a large depression at the Angel’s Camp gold mine in Calaveras County, California. Daguerreotypes of gold mining scenes are rare to begin with, but adding to the desirability of the lot, the mining camp and miners themselves were identified.
Other notable lots from the auction include:
Lot 247 – A sixth plate daguerreotype of bare-knuckle boxer John Morrissey, circa mid-1850s (Est. $10,000 - $15,000) – Sold for $15,000
Lot 406 – A 1903 letter written and signed by William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody describing the battle of Warbonnet Creek and the killing of Cheyenne Chief Yellow Hand (Est. $12,000 - $16,000) – Sold for $13,125
Lot 7 – A 1776 letter from a Continental Army soldier to his father detailing the disastrous loss at the Battle of Long Island (Est. $500 - $700) – Sold for $11,250
The American Historical Ephemera and Photography auction was held November 19 with all bidders and staff participating virtually. Bidding was available via absentee bid, over the phone, and live online using one of four online bidding platforms. Phone bidders drove most of the action accounting for nearly half of the sale’s total, although, as has been the case throughout 2020, the auction saw heavy online bidding with more than 40% of the total coming from online bidders.
Cowan’s is now inviting American Historical Ephemera and Photography consignments for several 2021 auctions. The next auction in the category will be a February auction dedicated entirely to African Americana. For more information, please visit cowans.com.
Gonnelli Auction 59 Antique prints, paintings and maps May 20th 2025
Gonnelli Auction 59 Antique prints, paintings and maps May 20th 2025
Gonnelli: Pietro Aquila, Psyche and Proserpina,1690. Starting price 140€
Gonnelli: Jacques Gamelin, Memento homo quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris, 1779. Starting price 300€
Gonnelli: Giorgio Ghisi, The final Judgement, 1680. Starting price 480€
Gonnelli Auction 59 Antique prints, paintings and maps May 20th 2025
Gonnelli Goya y Lucientes Francisco, Los Proverbios.1877. Starting price 1000 €
Gonnelli: Domenico Peruzzini, Long bearded old man, 1660. Starting price 2200€
Gonnelli: Enea Vico, Leda and the Swan,1542. Starting price 140€
Gonnelli Auction 59 Antique prints, paintings and maps May 20th 2025
Gonnelli: Andrea Del Sarto [school of], San Giovanni Battista, 1570. Starting price 25000€
Gonnelli: Carlo Maratta, Virgin Mary and Jesus, 1660. Starting Price 1200€
Gonnelli: Louis Brion de La Tour, Sphére de Copernic Sphere de Ptolemée / Le Systême de Ptolemée. Le Systême de Ticho-Brahe…, 1766. Starting price 180€
Gonnelli Auction 59 Antique prints, paintings and maps May 20th 2025
Gonnelli: Marc’Antonio Dal Re, Ville di Delizia o Siano Palaggi Camparecci nello Stato di Milano Divise in Sei Tomi Con espressevi le Piante…, Tomo Primo, 1726. Starting price 7000€
Gonnelli: Katsushika Hokusai, Bird on a branch, 1843. Starting price 100€
Ketterer Rare Books Auction May 26th
Ketterer Rare Books Auction May 26th
Ketterer, May 26: Th. McKenney & J. Hall, History of the Indian tribes of North America, 1836-1844. Est: €50,000
Ketterer, May 26:Biblia latina vulgata, manuscript on thin parchment, around 1250. Est: €70,000
Ketterer, May 26: M. Beckmann, Fanferlieschen Schönefüßchen, 1924. Est: €10,000
Ketterer Rare Books Auction May 26th
Ketterer, May 26: A. Ortelius, Theatrum orbis terrarum, 1574. Est: €50,000
Ketterer, May 26: M. S. Merian, Eurcarum ortus, alimentum et paradoxa metamorphosis, 1717-18. Est: €6,000
Ketterer, May 26:PAN, 9 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: €12,000
Ketterer Rare Books Auction May 26th
Ketterer, May 26: Breviarium Romanum, Latin manuscript, 1474. Est: €15,000
Ketterer, May 26: Quran manuscript from the Saadian period, Maghreb, 16th century. Est: €10,000
Ketterer, May 26: E. Hemingway, The old man and the sea, 1952. First edition in first issue jacket. Presentation copy. Est: €3,000
Ketterer Rare Books Auction May 26th
Ketterer, May 26: Flavius Vegetius Renatus, De re militari libri quatuor, 1553. Est: €3,000
Ketterer, May 26: K. Marx, Das Kapital, 1867. Est: €30,000
Ketterer, May 26: Brassaï, Transmutations, 1967. Est: €6,000
Leland Little, May 21: Signed Artist Proof of the Monumental G.O.A.T.: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali.
Leland Little, May 21: Assorted Rare Publications Related to H.P. Lovecraft, Including The Recluse Signed by Vincent Starrett.
Leland Little, May 21: Two Issues of The Vagrant, Including the First Appearance of H.P. Lovecraft's "Dagon" in Number Eleven.
Leland Little, May 21: Rare First Printing of Anne of Green Gables, With ALS from the Author.
Leland Little, May 21: First Edition of Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, In First Issue Jacket.
Leland Little, May 21: The Limited Paumanok Edition of The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman.
Leland Little, May 21: Beautifully Bound Limited Flaubert Edition of The Works of Guy de Maupassant.
Leland Little, May 21: First Edition of Bonaparte's Celebrated American Ornithology, With Spectacular Hand-Colored Plates.
Leland Little, May 21: A Rare Complete Set of Jardine's The Naturalist's Library, With Hand-Colored Plates.
Leland Little, May 21: Invitation to the Lincoln-Johnson National Inaugural Ball, March 4th, 1865.
Leland Little, May 21: A Scarce Inscribed First Edition of James Baldwin's Nobody Knows My Name.
Leland Little, May 21: Picasso's Le Goût du Bonheur, Limited Edition.
Sotheby's Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
Sotheby's Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
Sotheby's Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR