WILLISTON, VT. — On March 27, Merrill’s Auctioneers and Appraisers conducted an auction consisting of more than 500 lots of American historical and sporting items, including decoys, antique military weapons and accessories, sports memorabilia, US gold and silver coins and Native American items. Most of the sale’s high achievers were items relating to the Civil War, and the top lot was no exception. Earning $4,425 with buyer’s premium, a Civil War-era cartes de visite album included photographs of Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Ulysses S. Grant, Ambrose Burnside and other notable figures, as well as some landscape images. The album descended in the family of Seth Alonzo Ranlett, a first lieutenant in the 36th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. A more comprehensive review of the auction will be in a forthcoming issue.