One of six recorded copies, this broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence was printed in Salem, Mass., by Ezekiel Russell (or John Rogers at Russell’s press), just days after the original document was signed in Philadelphia. It sold for $2.895 million.
Review By Z.G. Burnett; Photos Courtesy Heritage Auctions
DALLAS — Heritage’s Historical Platinum Signature Auction on July 8 was historic in its own right due to the significance of its listings and the prices they achieved. With fewer than 100 objects sold, the auction yielded $5,655,250. Rare documents, books, photographs and collectibles were presented that produced an intriguingly diverse selection of top lots.
An exceptionally rare copy of the Declaration of Independence, printed in Massachusetts only days after the original signing in Philadelphia, contributed $2.895 million to the auction’s total. The broadside was not produced by government decree but for public consumption, and this document’s four-column format is unique among surviving examples. These were printed in Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Only a handful of copies like this are known to exist due to the ephemeral nature of such documents; four are in major institutions and two in private collections, including this example which was once owned by collector Philip David Sang. According to Heritage, the only other copy in private hands sold at Christie’s on May 25, 2022, for $2.1 million.
The auction’s next top-ranking broadside was one of the first public printings of proposed amendments to the Constitution, which would later become the Bill of Rights. Published in Gazette of the United States by John Fenno, New York, on October 3, 1789, the amendments ran for four pages. This followed the Joint Resolution passed by Congress on September 25, 1789. Ten of the original 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The broadside sold for $106,250.
This New York-published broadside of constitutional amendments that would later become the Bill of Rights was bid to $106,250.
Historic signatures represented the majority of the top lots in the auction. Second in the overall sale was a proclamation to blockade seven Southern insurrectionist states following the surrender of Fort Sumpter to the Confederacy, signed by President Abraham Lincoln. This letter authorized the official engagement of the Union army in what became the Civil War, and was bid to $471,000. Another, rather somber document related to Lincoln was an eyewitness account of him being carried from Ford’s Theater following his fatal attack by John Wilkes Booth. Two pages long and dated April 16, 1865, author George Lovett describes seeing Lincoln brought to the Petersen House across the street, where he eventually succumbed to his headwound. The letter achieved $47,500.
Two posters offering rewards for Booth following his assassination of Lincoln featured prominently. Third in the overall auction was a first printing of “perhaps the most infamous reward poster in American history.” Issued by secretary of war Edwin M. Stanton, the broadside’s reward was $50,000, almost $982,000 in today’s currency, and was bid to $187,500. Following in price but preceding this poster in the manhunt timeline was a poster for a bounty just on Booth and his accomplice Lewis Payne, also known as Lewis Thornton Powell, who attempted to assassinate secretary of state William Henry Seward. Colonel Lafayette C. Baker would issue the $30,000 reward, about $589,000 today, and the poster achieved $35,000.
Earlier signed documents were also popular with bidders. A signed letter from commander-in-chief George Washington to George Mason, presenting Major-General Nathaniel Greene as a replacement for General Horatio Gates in 1780. In the letter, Washington is direct in his application for support of the Continental Army, which had suffered a series of defeats and was in dire need of provisions. The letter was also written shortly after the exposure of Major-General Benedict Arnold’s treason, and sold for $175,000.
Signed 1780 letter from General George Washington to Constitutional Convention member George Mason, appealing for assistance and introducing the appointment of Major-General Nathaniel Greene, wrote out $175,000.
A later appeal is from Paul Revere to the people of Boston to strengthen the city’s defenses in the War of 1812. The letter was written in 1814, and Revere pledged along with 121 other “Mechanics of the Town of Boston” to aid Governor Caleb Strong in the event of an attack by the British fleet. It was bid to $38,750.
Rare books were another strong category. First among these was a first edition hardcover of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) at $103,125. This copy showed all of the first edition points including a review by Wendy Cooling on the upper board, misprints on the lower board, the author’s full name listed on the copyright page and others. An even rarer and more influential book, despite being far less known than Harry Potter, was next in price at $90,625. One of only four known copies, a Dune bible from Alejandro Jorodowsky. Known as “the best film you will never see,” the book is a creative map to what was supposed to be Jodorowsky’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 epic science fiction novel. The unfinished project is the subject of the 2013 documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, which details how the unrealized project went on to influence what would become modern masterpieces of the genre, including Alien and the Star Wars franchises. Following this was a numbered first edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses, including the scarce prospectus, “Extracts from advance Press Notices,” laid in, achieved $37,500.
One of only 500 hardcover bindings produced, this rare edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was the highest-selling book in the auction for $103,125.
A few of the top lots were more literal artifacts rather than documents, including “the most thoroughly documented Jesse James gun ever to appear at auction.” The Colt Single Action .45 caliber revolver was identified by three generations of the James family, dispelling the suspicion that usually accompanies “outlaw guns.” The revolver was first authenticated in a photograph in the collection of Colt authority of R.L. Wilson’s father, showing a display of sidearms that was put together and documented by Jesse James Jr. This was first published by H.H. Crittenden, whose Missouri governor father was a key conspirator against James. Later the gun passed into the collection of one Doctor Lowery, whose ownership was contested by the James family but later proved legitimate. Following Lowery’s death, the gun changed multiple hands until it came into the possession of “a distinguished American collector from the Pacific Northwest,” and sold at Heritage for $125,000.
Prices quoted with buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Bidding for Heritage’s Historical Manuscripts Signature Auction will open on August 28. For information, 214-409-1425 or www.ha.com.
