Americana and ephemera collection lets bidders step back in time at Potter and Potter March 7

70 cigar and tobacco labels and trade cards, estimated at $2,000-$4,000 at Potter & Potter.

CHICAGO — More than 650 lots of Americana and ephemera ranging from Civil War items to advertising come to market at Potter & Potter on Thursday, March 7. The catalog is now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

The collection of Mark Rucker includes photographs, trade cards, advertising, baseball memorabilia, and a wide range of printed paper ephemera. There are sizable groupings of African Americana and items surrounding pre- and post-revolution Cuba.

Brooks Locomotive Works of Dunkirk, New York was a manufacturer of steam locomotives for the growing American market. This salesman’s album contains 47 albumen prints mounted to board to preview designs and options for prospective customers. Used only internally by its sales team, the book may be unique. Brooks was founded in 1869, and this book covers locomotives built between 1871 and 1880. Brooks was part of the great merger in 1901 that created The American Locomotive Company (ALCO). The book is estimated at $1,500-$10,000.

Tobacco was one of the biggest consumer goods in the 19th century, and marketers went to great expense to establish and differentiate the countless brands of cigars, cigarettes, and chewing and snuff tobacco. This set of 70 tobacco trade cards and box labels is a colorful survey of the often ingenious and humorous caricatures used to keep brands top of mind. The lot is estimated at $2,000-$4,000.

Color lithography was highly sought after in all aspects of commercial life at the turn of the previous century, largely because of its novelty. This collection of nearly 500 sheet music sets covers jazz, marches, patriotic songs, waltzes, and more. It is estimated at $3,000-$6,000.

A morbid but interesting element to the Rucker collection is this U.S. Army silver star removed from the wreckage of a 1938 Cadillac staff car in which General George Patton suffered the injury that lead to his death in December 1945. It is accompanied by a file photo of the wreck and the name and address of the Army soldier who recovered it, and it has an estimate of $1,500-$3,000.

Regino Mamelo Garcia was a catcher for 12 seasons in the Cuban winter baseball leagues. From 1905 to 1907, he was also a batting champion, and the league presented him with this award in 1907 to mark his feat. The highest-estimated lot in the sale, it is estimated at $20,000-$40,000.

Brooks Locomotive Works sales album, estimated at $1,500-$10,000 at Potter & Potter.

Brooks Locomotive Works sales album, estimated at $1,500-$10,000 at Potter & Potter.

70 cigar and tobacco labels and trade cards, estimated at $2,000-$4,000 at Potter & Potter.

70 cigar and tobacco labels and trade cards, estimated at $2,000-$4,000 at Potter & Potter.

Nearly 500 early 20th-century sheet music sets, estimated at $3,000-$6,000 at Potter & Potter.

Nearly 500 early 20th-century sheet music sets, estimated at $3,000-$6,000 at Potter & Potter.

Metal star taken from General George Patton’s command car, in which he was fatally injured, estimated at $1,500-$3,000 at Potter & Potter.

Metal star taken from General George Patton’s command car, in which he was fatally injured, estimated at $1,500-$3,000 at Potter & Potter.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

Swann trumpets two standout seasons of books & manuscripts sales

1925 London first edition of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ in an unrestored dust jacket, offered in the March 2 Fine Books & Autographs sale, $30,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
1925 London first edition of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ in an unrestored dust jacket, offered in the March 2 Fine Books & Autographs sale, $30,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
1925 London first edition of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ in an unrestored dust jacket, offered in the March 2 Fine Books & Autographs sale, $30,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries

NEW YORK — Books and manuscripts had a standout winter-spring season at Swann Galleries. “As a company whose origins are as a book auction house, it is reaffirming to see this growth, over 25%, in our book department over the last year. Even more exciting is that the results reflect not only strength in our established departments but also great momentum in our latest specialized sale, Focus on Women,” said President Nicholas D. Lowry. The top auctions of the season included two record-breakers in their respective categories: Printed & Manuscript African Americana and Early Printed Books. Both sales recorded their highest totals in history at the house: African Americana earned $1,378,838 on March 30, and the timed online auction of Early Printed Books closed on May 4 at $1,326,560. Absentee and Internet live bidding was facilitated through LiveAuctioneers.

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Swann marks strongest Printed & Manuscript African Americana sale to date

First and only issue of the Harlem Renaissance-era literary magazine ‘Fire!!,’ $32,500
First and only issue of the Harlem Renaissance-era literary magazine ‘Fire!!,’ $32,500
First and only issue of the Harlem Renaissance-era literary magazine ‘Fire!!,’ $32,500

NEW YORK — Swann Galleries’ annual Printed & Manuscript African Americana auction on March 30 was, by a wide margin, the most successful in its 28-year history. The event set records, with $1,377,463 in total sales and an even 94% sell-through rate. Eight lots hit the $50,000 mark — after only 14 lots hit that mark in the previous 27 years combined. It was the third-largest sale in the long history of the house’s book department, behind only two noted single-owner sales, the Epstein sale of 1992 and the Ford sale of 2012.

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Swann’s March 24 sale salutes African American icons

Complete run of Our Sports magazine from 1953, edited by Jackie Robinson, est. $800-$1,200
Complete run of Our Sports magazine from 1953, edited by Jackie Robinson, est. $800-$1,200
Complete run of Our Sports magazine from 1953, edited by Jackie Robinson, est. $800-$1,200

NEW YORK — Swann Galleries’ Thursday, March 24 sale of Printed Manuscript & African Americana will feature important material ranging from slavery through the civil rights era and into the current period. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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African Americana takes center stage at Hindman, Feb. 23

Frederick Douglass, photographed by Samuel Montague, February 1864, est. $2,500-$3,500
Frederick Douglass, photographed by Samuel Montague, February 1864, est. $2,500-$3,500
Frederick Douglass, photographed by Samuel Montague, February 1864, est. $2,500-$3,500

CINCINNATI – Hindman will offer more than 300 lots detailing the African American experience in the United States from the Antebellum period through the Civil Rights movement to the modern day in its February 23 African Americana auction. The sale brings together property from several important collections and estates, most notably the estate of Ambassador Edward J. Perkins of Washington, DC, who served as US Ambassador to Liberia, South Africa, the United Nations and Australia, as well as the collection of Tom Charles Huston, which features 19th and 20th-century political imprints and ephemera. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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MLK letter triumphs at Swann printed and manuscript sale

An early draft of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail sold for $185,000.
An early draft of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail sold for $185,000.
An early draft of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail sold for $185,000.

NEW YORK—Swann Galleries’s March 25 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana brought strong results that crossed all categories, with the sale totaling $1,075,786, and 88% of lots finding buyers. “This sale reflected an increased recognition of the importance of Black history, driven by the events of the last year. The material is getting into the hands of the passionate collectors and dedicated museums and archives who will help preserve this history for future generations,” noted Rick Stattler, the house’s vice president and specialist for the sale. Absentee and Internet live bidding was facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.

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Swann’s African Americana auction launches March 25

Frederick Douglass, photograph by Samuel M. Fassett, 1878. $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy Swann’s Auction Galleries
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., early draft, 'Letter from Birmingham Jail,' 1963, $15,000-25,000. Image courtesy Swann's Auction Galleries
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., early draft, ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail,’ 1963, $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy Swann’s Auction Galleries

NEW YORK — Printed and manuscript African Americana is featured in Swann Galleries upcoming auction, launching Thursday, March 25 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. The sale includes an exceptional offering of material with highlights from important figures and historical movements, including Frederick Douglass; slavery and abolition; the civil rights movement, with items relating to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and Black Panthers. Online bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.Continue reading