Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 12

Manuscript and Collectibles Auction

Historical Documents & Newspapers

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 597		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 598		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 599		19th Century Theatre Broadsides (Boston). Lot of four posters, all archivally mounted on muslin. Sizes range from 6 x 18" to 8 x 19½". An 1868 performance of Merry Wives of Windsor at Selwyn's, an 1878 Boston Museum production of Rice's Evangeline, Miss Cushman as "Queen Katherine" in The Globe's 1871 Henry VIII and Augustin Daly's Arabian Night (featuring Catherine Lewis as "The Wild Rose of Yucatan") commencing May 24th, 1880 at the Boston Theatre, are all touted in this great lot of desirable broadsides. The Boston Theatre bill is on light green paper, the rest are on white. Some foxing and surface soil throughout, there are a few pencil marks scattered. Good to very good condition. American theater in the 19th century was as varied and interesting as the land itself; from makeshift shacks in mining towns to Civil War encampments to grand auditoriums in the largest cities, it was one of the most accessible forms of entertainment, offering Shakespeare, broad melodrama and broader comedy to the masses and the elite alike. Uncle Tom's Cabin gained almost as much notoriety from stage performances as it did in book form and an evening at the theater, whether in the pit or a luxurious box, was an event to look forward to. The photo above features posters from this lot and the following two. Estimated Value $75 - 100. View details	Realized $46
Lot 600		19th Century Theatre Broadsides (The Bowery). Lot of six broadsides from Bowery theaters, all archivally mounted on muslin. Sizes range from 5 x 15" to 10 x 28". The lot is made up of two Bowery Theatre shows, Mlle. Pougaud's from 1853 and 1856's Birth of Freedom; three New Bowery Theatre shows: Gitanilla (clipped from a newspaper) and The Duke's Signal from 1863 and 1864's Ismael Lyons or The Persecuted Jewess in a bill with Counterfeiter's Daughter (Mrs. W.G. Jones plays the title role in both works); The Bowery Garden Variety Theatre is represented by an 1878 sheet advertising the "Event of the Season", featuring a variety of famous performers at the "Coolest Place in the City". Foxing and surface soil throughout, scattered paper loss and tears repaired through application to muslin, trimmed margins. Good to very good condition. From the early 1800s, the Bowery was one of New York's major theater districts and the opening of the Great Bowery Theater in 1826 (it was the largest theater on the North American continent) helped to cement that position for the next 100 years. Particularly popular with working-class crowds, the Bowery theaters presented an outstanding variety of entertainment from "French and Spanish Dancers… in a Grand Ballet Divertisment" to "Miss Clara Maxwell The…Serio Comic Vocalist". Estimated Value $150 - 250. View details	Realized $113
Lot 601		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 602		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 603		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 604		Cuban Land and Steamship Company Archive. Seventeen relics from one of the great swindles of the early 20th century, this Cuban Land and Steamship Company lot includes a stock certificate made out to one Lewis F. Mickey, indicating that gentleman bought eighteen shares for five dollars each. Other items include Mickey's Power of Attorney, several letters on Cuban Land and Steamship stationery, and a map of the Viaro region where Mickey's land (2+ acres) was located. There are seven receipts indicating Mickey made payments from $4.00 to $81.00 to the company. Conditions vary,a couple of letters have split at the folds and there is some toning. Otherwise, conditions are very good. The United States used their victory in the Spanish American War to enter Cuba for political and commercial purposes. As is always the case, once new opportunities arose, swindles soon followed. The Cuban Land and Steamship Company promised, among other things, "A Free Plantation for Thrifty People" -- plantations of 5 to 40 acres being "given away" and for a "small monthly payment" a guaranteed income -- "The Opportunity of a Lifetime!" We wonder how many archives like this ended up hurled into stoves or torn into a hundred pieces! Estimated Value $500 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 605		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 606		Early American Land Deed. Autograph Document Signed ("Samuel Sorothrick"). One page, quarto, Essex, Massachusetts, March 15, 1680. In brown ink. Original wax seal remains affixed at the lower left. With one horizontal and two vertical folds, splits along both horizontal folds, several areas of paper loss, notably to the left of the signature. In fair condition overall. Only 60 years subsequent to the Pilgrims' landing in Massachusetts, this well crafted land deed grants a parcel of land on the coast of Massachusetts to one Samuel Sorothrick by his father-in-law on occasion of Samuel's marriage. Interestingly, this rare and early American land deed was issued just following the separation of New Hampshire colony from Massachusetts. Estimated Value $225 - 300. View details	Realized $168
Lot 607		Early IRS License. Internal Revenue Service Business License. In compliance with the new excise laws of the United States, this license certifies that retail dealers Camble & Brown have paid the appropriate taxes -- in this case, ten dollars. Valid for only one year, this certificate was issued on October 11, 1865. Apparently as the license was effective from May 1, 1865 through May 1, 1866, Camble & Brown appears to have been tardy in compliance. Measuring 11 x 8½". Foxing at upper right, and a small stain at lower left, residue from an adhesive remains along upper edge of verso. In good condition overall. In order to support the Civil War effort, Congress enacted the nation's first income tax law in 1862, just three years prior to the Camble & Brown company's overdue cooperation, illustrating early disdain for this longstanding law. Estimated Value $75 - 100. View details	Realized $86
Lot 608		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 609		Illuminated German Document, 1726. Illuminated vellum document (similar to Fraktur Style), folio, penned in the town of Wollstein, 24 days after the feat of St. Bartholomew, 1726. Admitting Johann Heinrick Schick into the Butcher's Guild, in the place of the deceased Johann Adreas Lex, son of Johann Ludwig Lex. Schick was admitted on the grounds that he had married the young Lex's widow. The document is illuminated in red and green at the top and sides in the German style which was the predecessor of Pennsylvania Dutch fraktur. At the upper center is painted the seal of the butcher's guild, the head of a horned bull with a cleaver hanging over it; the first line of the document is ornately illustrated, with tulips and other flowers surrounding the borders. A beautiful piece of craftsmanship and obviously something that would have been either put in a place of honor for display or carefully put away for posterity. There is some fading and a spot of discoloration at the top to the right of center. Good to very good condition. Accompanied by a beautifully scripted English translation on vellum. Estimated Value $650 - 900. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 610		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 611		The Panic of 1873. Two pages, recto and verso, December 9, 1873, Greenville. From C.A. Hagan (?) to his cousin Eugene Betts. Some adhesive discoloration to edges, otherwise very good condition. The Panic of 1873 created the worst depression the United States had ever known. The failure of the Jay Cooke & Co. banking firm on October 1, 1873, was merely the first step in a calamitous economic downturn that lasted almost five years. Ten years of expansion and economic success had ill-prepared America for the hard times that followed, and they were hard. By winter 1873, 25% of the workers in New York were unemployed and hunger and homelessness spread. A worker's protest in January 1874 resulted in widespread police brutality but protests continued throughout the next three years. Although the impact was felt to varying degrees throughout the country, its impact was noticeable everywhere. The letter offered here, while opening with family pleasantries, makes direct mention of the events of 1873 and their effect on (presumably) the South. "…How did the 'Panic' use you? It gave us 'Hell' in this part of the country. Cotton which sold last year for 18 cts. has sold this year for 10 cts and is now only 12½, which is just the cost of production…the prospect for the future is not very brilliant…However there is no condition of general destitution with us not even among that most thriftless improvident class…." Estimated Value $300 - 350. View details	Unsold
Lot 612		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 613		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 614		[Shirley, William] (1694-1771). British colonial governor and soldier. Appointed the governor of Boston in 1741 and served till he was removed in 1756 after an unsuccessful attack during the French and Indian War. Manuscript Document. One sheet, octavo, n.p., February 5, 1744. Being a copy of a House of Representatives decision. In brown ink. A few horizontal folds and light stains in lower margin, upper edge is rough. In good condition overall. In the midst of "King George's War", which was also known as "Governor Shirley's War", this document stipulates the salaries for soldiers participating in the capture of Louisbourg, as consented to by Governor Shirley. Specifically, compensation was to be awarded as follows: "One month pay be advanced to each effective man upon his enlistment for the intended expedition against Louisbourg. Also that five shillings a week be allowed each man …". Surely an inexpensive cost for Shirley's greatest victory. Estimated Value $200 - 300. View details	Realized $230
Lot 615		Spiritualism Archive of Arthur Thomas Reynolds (1864-1957) Reynolds was a Maine carpenter, photgrapher and painter who spent almost 30 years conducting seances and recording the wisdom of his otherwordly "visitors". Lot of 27 notebooks, dated 1930-1957, variously bound in leather and paperboard. Extensive indices in front of each volume indicate "visitors" recorded in each book. Reynolds' visitors included Washington, Lincoln, Benedict Arnold and Nero, in addition to a guide Theodore and others. Several of the volumes have charmingly painted covers. There are a few loose pages scattered throughout the volumes and a few scuffed covers, otherwise the collection is in very good condition. A unique, museum-worthy archive. The roots of modern New Age philosophies lie in the wildly popular "spiritualism" of the mid- to late 19th century and that handful of adherents who continued using the "other side" as a source of wisdom and comfort into the 20th century. The resurgence of alternative spiritual movements in the 1970s relied heavily on these believers who served as a bridge between the "knockers and bangers" of the 19th century and the "seekers" of the late 20th century. Estimated Value $1,500 - 2,000. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 616		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 617		U.S. Involvement in China. Group of three letters detailing American concerns and intervention in China in 1849, probably the most significant American military involvement in that country since sailors and marines from the St. Louis were landed in Canton following a clash between Americans and Chinese at the trading post. The British/Chinese Opium Wars (1839-1842) had resulted in a painful defeat for the Chinese, as they fought to limit British opium smuggling and resisted paying damages for opium they had confiscated from the smugglers. Although technically ended by the Treaty of Nanking, the relationship between the British and Chinese was never free from strife and the letters offered here illustrate the concerns of Americans in China vis-a-vis the impact of hostilities between those two countries. Our first item appears to be a transcript or summary of an article from the North Peking Gazette which makes evident Chinese suspicions of British/American collusion "…It is believed in the inner city, that the Americans are assisting the English both in men and money, for the opening of the city gates…" The second item, an April 5, 1849 letter written by U.S. Consul P.S. Forbes in Canton, is directed to Commodore David Geisinger, Commander of U.S. forces in the East Indies. Minor foxing and soil do not obscure the text which reads, in part, "…It is of course very gratifying to my feelings to merit the approbation of the commodore…and I have seconded your own efforts to protect American citizens and their property…" An April 11 letter from several Canton businessmen to Geisinger expresses their gratitude for the deployment of the Dolphin to protect American factories: "…The difficulties which are expected to arise between the British and Chinese Governments on the 6th instant, having been deferred…we take the earliest moments of returning tranquility to impress how much we feel indebted to you for your prompt attention to American interests in this quarter…". Estimated Value $800 - 900. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 618		Washington's Relatives as Witnesses. Document Signed by Washington's cousin Thomas Washington and his nephew John Washington for the Court of Westmorland on June 5, 1783. Quarto, framed to 17 x 14". Being testament of land value. Minor toning, one area of paper loss. Very good to fine. Not examined out of frame. "the acre of land said of on the estate of the orphan of Edward Moxley is worth two pounds -- ten Shillings and the land that will be drownded [sic] is worth seven pounds…" A nice connection and attractive document. Estimated Value $250 - 300. View details	Realized $187
Lot 619		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 620		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 621		The Connecticut Courant. Hartford: Hudson and Goodwin, May 24, 1809. Beautifully engraved masthead. Expected folds, toning to edges, light foxing. With a full text of Meriwether Lewis' General Orders, issued as Governor of the Louisiana Territory at the time of an Indian insurrection. Estimated Value $300 - 400. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 622		Early American Newspapers. Lot of five. Three issues of interest for fans of George Washington and two issues concerned with the establishment of financial institutions and one important numismatic announcement. Washington's November visit to Salem, Massachusetts, his remarks and the adulation he received are well recorded in the November 14, 1789 Gazette of the United States. The March 29, 1797, Columbian Centinel offers an act signed in type by Washington. May 11, 1796's The Herald: A Gazette for the Country, includes the text (signed in type by Washington) of an act "to provide a naval armament…authorized to continue the construction and equipment (with all convenient expedition) of two frigates…" -- probably the Constellation and Constitution. Of financial interest is the Gazette of the United States from November of 1791 with the printed "Ordinance and Bye-Laws for the Regulation of the Bank of the United States." Finally, of numismatic interest is the March 1790 Gazette of the United States, which features a rare advertisement offering subscriptions for the Manly Medals, offering proof they were struck February 20, 1790. Estimated Value $200-UP. View details	Realized $253
Lot 623		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 624		The Independent Chronicle and The Salem Gazette. 1. The Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser. Boston: Nathaniel Willis, May 27, 1779, 4 pages, 10 x 15¾". Uncut edges, toning from age, otherwise in good condition. 2. The Salem Gazette. Salem, Massachusetts: Samuel Hall, March 7, 1782, 4 pages, 10 x 15¾". Uncut edges, warm brown tone from aging. In fine condition overall. Delicately accented at the mast head with a sword-in-hand vignette -- a design which has been attributed to Paul Revere -- this edition of the Independent Chronicle features numerous excerpts of letters regarding events during the Revolutionary War. One passage reads: "The American prisoners at Forton had once more nearly effected their escape, but were prevented by the vigilance of the guards." Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $230
Lot 625		The Independent Chronicle. Massachusetts: Nathaniel Willis, March 9, 1780, 9½ x 15". A few light folds, and a small stain at center. Otherwise in good to very good condition overall. This issue of the Massachusetts periodical, with sword-in-hand vignette, features an excerpt of Ethan Allen's recently published work, Narrative of Col. Ethan Allen's Captivity. Estimated Value $250 - 350. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $230
Lot 626		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 627		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 628		Two Highly Desirable Early Newspapers. The London Gazette, 1666. Originally named the Oxford Gazette, the London Gazette is the oldest continually published newspaper in the world. Full of news from across the globe, as well as London itself. In a plastic holder, minor toning, rough left edge. The issue offered here, dated "From Monday, June 18, to Thursday June 21, 1666", is one of the highly desirable Plague numbers -- a listing at the end of the issue numbers the dead. "The Account of the Weeks Bill runs thus The Total 179 Of the Plague 23. Deceased in all 18 Deceased of the Plague 8." Boston Chronicle Supplement, 1769. Published from December 21, 1767 until June 25, 1770, the Boston Chronicle is one of the most sought after Colonial-Era newspapers. Published in one of the Colonies intellectual and mercantile hubs, the Chronicle catered to some of the most learned members of society. The issue offered here, published Monday, October 9, 1769, Volume II, Number 41, reports on news from Naples, Vienna, an argument involving Lord Shelburne, and "Intelligence Extraordinary" from London. In a sealed plastic holder, one spot, minor toning, almost fine. There are only 10 listings for this imprint, primarily held in library collections. Estimated Value $125-UP. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $219