WILTON, Conn. – A 197-page book manuscript written entirely in the hand of Israeli military commander and statesman Moshe Dayan, two items pertaining to Albert Einstein (a photograph and a manuscript), and a document boldly signed by John Adams in 1801 are just a few of the expected highlights in University Archives’ online-only Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Photographs & Books auction planned for Wednesday, March 30, starting at 10:30 am Eastern time. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
In 1966, Moshe Dayan spent a month embedded with U.S. forces in Vietnam. His often-critical observations of American military tactics were later published in his Vietnam Diary. A portion of his original manuscript – 197 pages in Hebrew with some words in English – is offered in a fine clamshell case, with a signed first edition copy of the published book, the whole estimated at $60,000-$80,000.
An Albert Einstein manuscript in German from around 1942, paired with a vintage Lotte Jacobi photograph of the physicist wearing his beloved bomber jacket, carries an estimate of $27,500-$30,000. The manuscript, containing 91 words and 13 lines of mathematical calculations, relates to covariant bivectors, in what marked one of Einstein’s final attempts at articulating his Unified Field Theory.
The sale lineup contains more than 100 items relating to U.S. Presidents. One is the John Adams-signed document dated January 27, 1801, promoting an artillery engineer. This military document features an unusually large Adams signature that measures nearly three inches by one inch. Adams had recently been defeated by Thomas Jefferson during the famous so-called “Revolution of 1800.” The document is estimated at $5,000-$6,000.
A one-page typed letter signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on White House stationery, dated June 6, 1942 and acknowledging receipt of a New York architect’s drawings relating to “a proposed net protection against torpedo attack for ocean going vessels,” should hammer for $5,000-$6,000.
A two-inch-by-three-inch slip of paper containing the signatures of baseball legend Lou Gehrig, George Selkirk (who succeeded Babe Ruth as the right fielder of the New York Yankees) and Stephen R. Sundra (who pitched for three Major League teams during eight seasons) should hit $2,000-$4,000.
A blue ID card (number 632) for The Society of American Magicians, signed by president Harry Houdini (as “Harry Houdini”), identifying B. L. Gilbert as a member in good standing, slabbed Mint 9, carries an estimate of $1,200-$1,400.
A Spanish-printed check signed by Ernest Hemingway (as “Ernest M. Hemingway”), dated July 28, 1955 and drawn on the First National Bank of Boston (Havana, Cuba branch), made out to his friend and secretary Roberto Herrera in the amount of 200 pesos and endorsed on the verso, is estimated at $800-$1,000.
[av_button label=’Click to view the auction catalog and sign up to bid’ icon_select=’no’ icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ link=’manually,https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/240257_rare-autographs-manuscripts-photos-and-books/?keyword=&page=1′ link_target=’_blank’ size=’small’ position=’center’ label_display=” title_attr=” color_options=” color=’theme-color’ custom_bg=’#444444′ custom_font=’#ffffff’ btn_color_bg=’theme-color’ btn_custom_bg=’#444444′ btn_color_bg_hover=’theme-color-highlight’ btn_custom_bg_hover=’#444444′ btn_color_font=’theme-color’ btn_custom_font=’#ffffff’ id=” custom_class=” av_uid=’av-90y01w8′ admin_preview_bg=”]
View top auction results on LiveAuctioneers here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/pages/recent-auction-sales/
