University Archives' January 6th Online Auction will be The Biggest in Company History with 440 Lots

2024-04-27 04:04:41 Art & Entertainment

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Westport, CT, USA, December 22, 2020 -- A four-page manuscript consisting of nearly 2,300 words written entirely in the hand of English physicist Sir Isaac Newton, a World War II-dated letter written in English by Albert Einstein in which he reveals that Nazi leaders didn?t give much thought to his Theory of Relativity, and a 16-page letter signed by John Adams regarding British abuses eight years after his presidency ended, are just a sampling of what?s in University Archives? next online auction planned for January 6th.

The full catalog, showing all 440 lots, is up for bidding and viewing now, on the revamped University Archives website (www.UniversityArchives.com), as well as on the popular platforms LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. The sale contains rare and highly collectible items from multiple specialty categories.

These include literary (Chekhov, Dickens, Hemingway, Solzhenitsyn and others); presidential (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy and others); foreign (Napoleon, Khrushchev, Victoria I and others); science (Einstein, Darwin, Newton, Freud and others); and space (Apollo XI, Neil Armstrong, cosmonauts and the Wright Brothers). It will be University Archives? biggest sale to date.

?We keep breaking our own records at University Archives,? said company founder and president John Reznikoff. ?When we had our largest-ever 349-lot sale back in August, we didn?t expect to break that record, but just four months later, here we are, with a 440-lot extravaganza of amazing and unusual autographs, historical documents, rare books, manuscripts, collectibles, relics, coins and currency. We invite collectors everywhere to ring in the New Year with us.?

In the Sir Isaac Newton manuscript, written around 1710, the legendary physicist seeks inspiration from the Kabbalah, early Christian philosophers and biblical texts to connect metaphysics to physics, thus uniting the abstract world with the concrete world he had partly decoded by discovering gravity. The length and subject matter of this manuscript, along with its outstanding provenance, make this an exceptional find. It has an estimate of $130,000-$160,000.

There are nine lots relating to Einstein, including two typed letters and two autograph letters signed by him. In the World War II-dated letter, he wrote, ?My first manuscript about relativity was not burned by the Nazis. I myself threw it into the waste-basket after it was printed judging it was good for nothing? (est. $75,000-$80,000). A letter written in German discussing his Unified Field Theory and the behavior of matter in space and in motion was penned the year of his death.

The 16-page letter signed by John Adams is quite possibly the longest letter by Adams in private hands. In it, he opines about the state of current political affairs eight years after his presidency ended. Adams also excoriates British policies undermining American sovereignty--like the impressment of American sailors-- and also lends support to his erstwhile political rival Thomas Jefferson, who was nearing the end of his own second presidential term (est. $70,000-$80,000).

A one-page letter written and signed by Thomas Jefferson to his cousin George, regarding the plantation business (?I am very sensible of your kindness in having gone beyond my draughts, which I by no means intended?) should bring $5,000-$6,000. Also, a two-page Revolutionary War-dated letter signed by George Washington, commenting on the courage of Patriot troops during the ongoing Battle of Yorktown, is expected to bring $24,000-$26,000.

Lots 1-220 will begin promptly at 10:30 am Eastern time. Upon the completion of lot 220, there will be a 30-minute break. After the break, the auction will resume at lot 221 and end at lot 440.

For more information about University Archives and the Wednesday, January 6th online-only Rare Books, Manuscripts & Relics Auction, please log on to www.universityarchives.com.