Reagan’s ‘Gipper’ speech with handwritten notes targets the end zone at University Archives Jan. 10

WILTON, Conn. – A draft of Ronald Reagan’s iconic 1981 Win One for the Gipper speech, with extensive handwritten notes, is one of the compelling lots in University Archives‘ online-only auction on Wednesday, January 10. The complete catalog is now open for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

“We’re ushering in the New Year with an exciting auction featuring exceptional and desirable material from the U.S. Presidential, Science, Music, Literature & Military collecting categories,” said John Reznikoff, president and owner of University Archives.

President Reagan’s Win One for the Gipper speech, featuring eight pages of handwritten notes and additional manuscript revisions to typed pages, was delivered as the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame on May 17, 1981, just weeks after he survived an assassination attempt by Jodie Foster-obsessed John Hinckley, Jr. In 1940, Reagan had portrayed George Gipp, Notre Dame’s beloved All American football player, in Knute Rockne, All American, where he uttered the immortal line on his character’s deathbed. Impeccable provenance is assured, as this item comes from the files of Helene von Damm (b. 1938-) Reagan’s longtime personal secretary. The draft carries an estimate of $15,000-$24,000.

Also up for bid is a mixed typed and handwritten draft of Reagan’s Welcome Home speech, signed by Reagan as ‘RR’ and annotated with nearly 350 words in his hand. Reagan delivered the final draft of the speech in January 1981 at the White House, one week after Iran released 55 American hostages kidnapped from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 after the fall of the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The draft is estimated at $10,000-$12,000.

A Revolutionary War-dated letter from 1780 signed by George Washington regarding a prisoner exchange illustrates a compassionate side of his military decision-making. Washington gives instructions to Col. James Wood, commander of the Convention Army, concerning the release of two German officers attached to British Gen. John Burgoyne, who had surrendered at the Battle of Saratoga three years earlier. The lot’s estimate is $18,000-$20,000.

A lock of Abraham Lincoln’s hair with his clipped signature as ‘A. Lincoln,’ displayed in a custom red velvet case, is an unusual item in the sale. The relic comes with rock-solid provenance from several former custodians, including Henry Pratt Cattell, who embalmed Lincoln’s body, and Justus Chollar, an official who guarded Lincoln’s body during the autopsy and embalming. The display carries a $10,000-$15,000 estimate.

A miniature engraving of John Quincy Adams, boldly signed by him at top, is probably one of the earliest examples of a signed presidential image. The portrait comes with an early gilt frame with a Detroit backstamp, and an enameled portrait pin of a woman greatly resembling Adams’s mother, Abigail. The engraving is estimated at $5,000-$7,000.

Ronald Reagan's Win one for the Gipper speech with handwritten notes, estimated at $15,000-$24,000 at University Archives.

Ronald Reagan's Win one for the Gipper speech with handwritten notes, estimated at $15,000-$24,000 at University Archives.

Ronald Reagan's first draft of his Welcome Home speech, which marked the arrival in the U.S. of freed Iranian hostages, estimated at $10,000-$12,000 at University Archives.

Ronald Reagan's first draft of his Welcome Home speech, which marked the arrival in the U.S. of freed Iranian hostages, estimated at $10,000-$12,000 at University Archives.

Lock of Lincoln's hair, plus a Lincoln signature, estimated at $10,000-$15,000 at University Archives.

Lock of Lincoln's hair, plus a Lincoln signature, estimated at $10,000-$15,000 at University Archives.

George Washington prisoner exchange letter, estimated at $18,000-$20,000 at University Archives.

George Washington prisoner exchange letter, estimated at $18,000-$20,000 at University Archives.

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.

Hail to the chiefs who grace presidential dinnerware

A James Monroe Paris porcelain demitasse cup with an engraved transferware portrait of the nation’s fifth president realized $8,500 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2016. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.
A James Monroe Paris porcelain demitasse cup with an engraved transferware portrait of the nation’s fifth president realized $8,500 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2016. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.
A James Monroe Paris porcelain demitasse cup with an engraved transferware portrait of the nation’s fifth president realized $8,500 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2016. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK —  Even the address, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, sounds impressive. The White House in Washington, D.C., where the U.S. President lives and conducts the nation’s business, is not known as the “People’s House” for nothing. As the seat of the Executive branch of the nation, the White House is a source of fascination and pride for its citizens. Countless members of the public have toured its halls, attended holiday events such as the famed Easter Egg Roll, and seen the lavish tree displays in December on television. Its interiors and furnishings have long been of interest, particularly items used by the leaders who once called the White House home. Chief among these is presidential china and dinnerwares.

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Presidential signatures and letters enliven RR Auction’s Feb. 8 event

Letter signed by General George Washington four days before the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the Revolutionary War, estimated at $50,000-$70,000
Letter signed by General George Washington four days before the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the Revolutionary War, estimated at $50,000-$70,000
Letter signed by General George Washington four days before the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the Revolutionary War, estimated at $50,000-$70,000

BOSTON – RR Auction‘s February Fine Autographs and Artifacts auction, scheduled for Wednesday, February 8, boasts more than 850 remarkable items and celebrates Presidents’ Day with a special section featuring presidential autographs, artifacts and memorabilia. View the fully illustrated catalog on LiveAuctioneers.

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Plans in motion for center to honor Presidents Adams and Quincy Adams

The Adams Academy in Quincy, Massachusetts, photographed in November 2009. The former school, built in the 19th century with funds bequeathed to the city of Quincy by John Adams, could become the site of a proposed Adams Presidential Center. It would be devoted to the father-and-son presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and their wives, First Ladies Abigail Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Sswonk. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Left, Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of John Adams, rendered circa-1800-1815; Right, Thomas Sully’s 1824 portrait of John Quincy Adams. The father-and-son presidents and their wives, First Ladies Abigail Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams, will be the focus of a proposed Adams Presidential Center in Quincy, Massachusetts. Both images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, sourced from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The image of the Adams portrait is shared under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication; Wikimedia Commons states the image of the John Quincy Adams portrait is considered to be in the public domain in the United States.
Left, Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of John Adams, rendered circa-1800-1815; Right, Thomas Sully’s 1824 portrait of John Quincy Adams. The father-and-son presidents and their wives, First Ladies Abigail Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams, will be the focus of a proposed Adams Presidential Center in Quincy, Massachusetts. Both images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, sourced from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The image of the Adams portrait is shared under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication; Wikimedia Commons states the image of the John Quincy Adams portrait is considered to be in the public domain in the United States.

BOSTON (AP) – A Boston suburb that was the birthplace of two of the nation’s earliest presidents is planning to build a center honoring their legacies. Officials in Quincy, Massachusetts, announced on July 12 the formation of a new nonprofit foundation to raise money and oversee the design and construction of the Adams Presidential Center honoring former President John Adams and his son, former President John Quincy Adams, as well as former First Ladies Abigail Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams.

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