Abraham Lincoln signed one-page letter dated April 4, 1863 to John Albion Andrew, governor of Massachusetts, in response to defense of Boston Harbor. Estimate: $30,000-$50,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
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Of particular local interest is a letter written by Abraham Lincoln dated April 4, 1863 to Massachusetts Gov. John Albion Andrew. In it, Lincoln offers the governor his opinion on naval warfare, specifically an idea regarding the defense of Boston Harbor. This interesting letter is estimated to sell between $30,000 and $50,000.
Historically important on a national scale, lot 35 is a signed manuscript petition proposing the XIII Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery. This vellum document, estimated to fetch between $200,000 and $300,000, is dated November 1864 and is signed by Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax, Vice President Hannibal Hamlin; and 110 members of Congress. This rare document is one of only a handful still in existence. It is the formal proposal to the states for the ratification on the abolishment of slavery in this country.
The sale is also highlighted by an interesting letter from George Washington to the architect William Thornton, dated July 2, 1799, concerning the construction of a building in the “Federal City,” now known as Washington, D.C. Thornton is often called America’s “first architect” because of his successful design of the Capitol Building in 1793. The two townhouses referenced in lot 143, estimated to sell between $20,000 and $30,000, reside in the area now known as Upper Senate Park. There is a letterpress copy of this letter in the archives of the New York Public Library.
The books offerings in the sale run the gamut of literature, science, botany, travel and exploration, poetry, library sale catalogs, and an interesting group of witchcraft titles.
Rare book offerings include a fine first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night, printed in 1934. This book, lot 400, retains its original first issue dust jacket and has an estimated auction value of $6,000 to $8,000.
Also rare is a two-volume set concerning Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic exploration, lot 690. This set includes The Heart of the Antarctic 1907-09, numbered 234 of 300 copies, as well as the scarce The Antarctic Book, 1909, which is one of only 300 copies signed by every member of the shore party. This vellum-bound and slipcased set is estimated to fetch between $20,000 to $25,000.
The sale includes a strong group of maps and atlases. Of local note is lot 907, a 1771 Thomas Jeffery’s map of New England titled A Map of the Most Inhabited part of New England, containing the Provinces of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire with the Colonies of Conecticut and Rhode Island. The map is estimated to sell between $10,000 and $15,000.
Representative of the John James Audubon works is lot 824, The Wolverine, Plate XXVI from The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, which has an estimated value of $2,000 to $3,000, and lot 814, Western Duck, Plate CCCCXXIX from The Birds of America, which is expected to bring between $2,000 and $3,000.
Rounding out the sale is a group of original art by celebrated illustrator Lynd Ward. An example of this group is lot 501, an original oil on board, depicting the jacket illustration for Esther Hoskins Forbes’ book America’s Paul Revere, published in 1946. The work has an estimated auction value range of $500 to $700.
Previews for the auction will be held by appointment only on Thursday, Nov. 10, from noon to 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 11, from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 12, from noon to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 13, from 9 to 11 a.m.
For details go to Skinner Inc.’s website at www.skinnerinc.com or phone 508-970-3000.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Important petition proposing the XIII Amendment abolishing slavery, one-page manuscript document, November 1864, on vellum, signed by Schuyler Colfax as speaker of the House, Hannibel Hamlim as vice president, and 110 members of Congress. Estimate: $200,000-$300,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
‘The Wolverine,’ plate XXVI from ‘The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America,’ by John James Audubon, lithograph printed in colors and with touches of gum arabic by J.T. Bowen, Philadelphia, 1843, folio, the full sheet, 22 x 27 5/8 inches. Estimate: $2,000-$3,000. Image courtesy courtesy of Skinner Inc.
