William Henry Harrison campaign flag banner realized $32,400. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.
Some of the highlights in the sale included Gideon Welles’ Nov. 18, 1863 pass to the dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery and a Civil War and personal archive of Maj. Gen. Godfrey Weitzel.
“We were delighted with the prices for our consignors. To achieve the total that we did for 345 lots was remarkable,” said Wes Cowan, president and principal auctioneer, Cowan’s Auctions Inc.
The sale’s highest selling lot was Welles’ pass to the dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery, which sold for $43,200. This pass was issued to Welles, U.S. secretary of the Navy, to accompany Lincoln by special military train to Gettysburg for the dedication.
A William Henry Harrison campaign flag banner realized $32,400. This is only the third known example of this rare political textile.
A rare Daniel S. Mitchell and John Hiller American Indian CDVs album hammered down at $41,125. This lot contains 36 CDVs housed in a period album with inked identification on most pages. Many of the Sioux pictured were present at the signing of the Fort Laramie Treaty and the Battle of Little Big Horn.
Deputy U.S. marshal Buck Garrett’s personal shaving mug doubled its estimate of $10,000-$15,000 and realized $27,025. This early 20th century porcelain shaving mug features a photographic transfer of Garrett on horseback, aiming his revolver at an unknown target. Garrett, is the lawman who gunned down Bill Dalton in 1894 near Ardmore, Okla. Sam Henderson, a newspaper reporter accompanying the manhunt, wrote that “Buck Garrett was the man who shot and killed the last of the Dalton gang; he will be known as the most famous lawman from Peking, China to London, England.”
A Civil War and personal archive of Maj. Gen. Godfrey Weitzel realized $38,775. A native of Cincinnati, Godfrey Weitzel was a major general in the Union army during the Civil War, as well as the acting mayor of the city of New Orleans during the Federal occupancy of the city. This extraordinary, large collection contained nearly 1,200 letters and documents relating to one of the stalwart major generals of the Union Army. From his days at West Point and unfolding career in the antebellum Corps of Engineers through the Civil War and his service in Texas, the collection offers a rich perspective on the most important, and most dramatic moments in Weitzel’s life, with particularly rich detail for his time in Texas.
An Edward Curtis platinum photograph, Canon de Chelly, hammered down at $7,637. The photograph is signed by Curtis in the lower left corner.
“We were incredibly pleased with the outcome of today’s auction. From the Lincolniana and Civil War collectibles to the American Indian and Western photography, the results proved that remarkable items will continue to bring exceptional prices,” said Katie Horstman, American history director for Cowan’s Auctions Inc.
To learn more the auction and Cowan’s visit the company’s website at www.cowans.com.
Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
William Henry Harrison campaign flag banner realized $32,400. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc. Gideon Welles’ pass to the 1863 dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery realized $43,200. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc. Daniel S. Mitchell and John Hillers American Indian CDVs album realized $41,125. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc. Deputy U.S. Marshal Buck Garrett’s personal shaving mug realized $27,025. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc. Civil War and personal archive of Maj. Gen. Godfrey Weitzel realized $38,775. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc. Edward Curtis platinum photograph, ‘Canon de Chelly’ realized $7,637. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.
