BOSTON — With more than 850 items in a wide variety of categories — American history, art, literature and entertainment — RR Auction‘s August Fine Autographs and Artifacts sale, set for Wednesday, August 10, is sure to impress. View the fully illustrated catalog on LiveAuctioneers.

Highlights include an Abraham Lincoln-signed document from 1865 on rebuilding the North-South economy, in which the president grants a permit to transport cotton across “the national military lines.” The signed two-page manuscript is dated March 7, 1865 and is estimated at $40,000-$60,000.

A second presidential prize is a one-page autograph letter by George Washington on the topic of tending to his Mount Vernon estate, signed “Go: Washington,” and dated April 8, 1791. He penned it from Dumfries, Virginia, during his presidency and addressed it to his nephew George Augustine Washington. The recipient capably managed Mount Vernon’s farms during Washington’s absences in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention and during his presidency. In the letter, President Washington offers some advice on happenings on his properties, focusing on a construction project and preparations for the planting season. Most remarkably, he conveys his complete trust in one of his slaves, Davy Gray, to begin planting. The letter is estimated at $20,000-$30,000.

Also featured is a circa-1876 one-page unsigned handwritten poem by Vincent van Gogh, estimated at $40,000-$50,000. Van Gogh, an avid reader, transcribes two poems: Afternoon in February by Henry W. Longfellow, which contains six stanzas of four lines each; on the reverse, Van Gogh pens a fragment of unidentified religious verse in Dutch, totaling 29 lines. This is a remarkable and fabulous handwritten piece by the legendary painter, and perhaps his closest association with America.

Photograph selections include a fabulous signed vintage glossy 8 by 10 photo of Marilyn Monroe as the sexy honky-tonk singer Kay Weston in the 1954 film River of No Return. Monroe’s sultry beauty is aptly captured in this fabulous portrait, which boasts a perfectly placed signature. The photo is estimated at $20,000-$25,000.

Another standout is a truly massive vintage matte-finish close-up portrait of Elvis Presley, signed and inscribed in thick black felt tip to his manager, Colonel Tom Parker: “To the ‘Admiral,’ you know how I feel! So there’s no need for a snow job. E. P.” Measuring 29 by 39in, the black-and-white Presley photo portrait is estimated at $15,000-$20,000.

The Fine Autograph and Artifacts auction began on July 20 and will conclude on August 10. For more information, go to www.rrauction.com.

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