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Cowans Auctions: American Historical Ephemera and Photography

Auction Reports

Auction Name American Historical Ephemera and Photography Total Sales (USD) 628,475.00
Auction Date November 19, 2020 - November 19, 2020 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 329,800.00
Sale Number #111920 High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 495,250.00
Total Lots 336
Sold Lots 317 Low Estimate of All Lots (USD) 345,700.00
% of Lots Sold 94.35% High Estimate of All Lots (USD) 521,250.00
Unsold Lots 19 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 120.57%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
322

Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles, Extensive Archive Incl. Personal Correspondence with his Wife, 1863-1900s, Featuring Detailed Letters Discussing Indian Wars Campaigns and Interactions with Sitting Bull and Chief Joseph

USD 30,000.00 - 50,000.00 USD 87,500.00
376

Half Plate Daguerreotype of a California Gold Mining Camp, with Portraits of Two Featured Subjects

n.d., [1852] USD 15,000.00 - 25,000.00 USD 36,250.00
328

7th Cavalryman Philip J. Dieter, Exceptional Archive Featuring Elizabeth Custer ALS, Signed Engraving, Book, and Inscribed S.J. Morrow Stereoviews

USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD 26,250.00
247

Sixth Plate Daguerreotype of Bare-Knuckle Boxer John Morrissey

n.d., circa mid-1850s USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD 15,000.00
406 William F. Buffalo Bill Cody

William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody ALS with Sketch to Artist Irving R. Bacon Describing the Battle of Warbonnet Creek and Killing of Cheyenne Chief Yellow Hand, January 1903

1903 USD 12,000.00 - 16,000.00 USD 13,125.00
135

Colonel Charles Tilden Civil War Archive, 2nd and 16th Maine Infantry, WIA Twice and Captured Twice at Gettysburg and Weldon Railroad

USD 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD 12,500.00
407 William F. Buffalo Bill Cody

William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody ALS to Artist Irving R. Bacon Describing the Killing of Cheyenne Chief Yellow Hand, June 1903

[1903] USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD 12,500.00
264

Cabinet Card of Louis Fatio, Only Known Photograph of Former Enslaved African American Involved in Dade Massacre during the Seminole Wars

n.d., ca mid-1880s. USD 2,500.00 - 3,500.00 USD 11,875.00
7

Revolutionary War Soldier's Letter, Horn's Hook 1776, British Occupation of New York City

1776 USD 500.00 - 700.00 USD 11,250.00
336

Autograph Album Containing Signatures of Sitting Bull, James McLaughlin, and William T. Selwyn

1870s and 1880s USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 9,600.00
146

Corporal John H. Gray, 101st Indiana Infantry, Civil War Manuscript Archive

1862-1865 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 8,125.00
290

Ninth Plate Ambrotype of Lincoln Wide Awake George B. Woodward

n.d., ca 1860 USD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD 7,500.00
138

Civil War Archive of Thomas P. Dickson, Ohio 7th Volunteer Infantry, Incl. Diary, Journal, & Letters

USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 6,875.00
249

CDV of Gardner's Gallery by Gardner, 1862

1862 USD 500.00 - 700.00 USD 6,875.00
269 Washington, George (1732-1799).

George Washington Clipped Signature

USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 6,875.00
379

Rare Texas Oil Exploration Photo Album, 1903-1912

ca 1903-1910 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 6,080.00
182

Hindenburg Disaster Crash Cover

1937 USD 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD 5,760.00
123 F. Theodore Miller

Stereoviews Featuring Fredericksburg, with Inscriptions from Sergeant Henry J. Bardwell

1862 USD 700.00 - 900.00 USD 5,625.00
330

Correspondence Concerning Indian Affairs and Military Activities at Standing Rock Indian Agency, Ca 1870s-1890s, Incl. References to Sitting Bull

1874-1895 USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 5,625.00
366

Geronimo Autographed Cabinet Card

1904 USD 2,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 5,440.00
137

Civil War Archive of Anson Hart Robbins, 7th OH Volunteers, 37th Battalion OH Volunteers, 150th OH National Guard, and 8th US Colored Heavy Artillery

ca 1861-1867, USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD 5,000.00
153

Harper's Weekly Bound Volumes, 1861-1866

USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 USD 5,000.00
183

WWII Footlocker Containing Military Service Collection of First Lieutenant Glenn Bowers, P-51 Mustang Fighter Pilot

USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 USD 5,000.00
36

Private Chandler Robbins, Co. K, 13th Massachusetts Infantry, Civil War Ambrotype and Tintypes, Incl. Camp Scenes

USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 4,688.00
58

Dr. Mary Walker Wearing CMOH, CDV by Brady

1865 USD 800.00 - 1,200.00 USD 4,375.00
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
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