The two sign a 3-page, handwritten 1863 letter to their son Willy, away at school
Autograph letter signed: "Yr Affectionate Father/Saml F.B. Morse" and "Your loving
mother/S.E. Morse", 1 page, 4½x7½. 5 West 32nd Street, 1863 November 22. To their
son Willy. Samuel F. B. Morse married his second wife, Sarah Elizabeth Griswold, in
1848. In a three-page letter, Mrs. Morse writes about family affairs, about his pet
"Spottie is full of mischief. He tears many things that comes in his way." She tells him
she is "going to have somethings on Christmas" wanting to know if he has "enough
handkerchiefs…." Beneath his wife's signature, Morse writes, in part: "I add a few
lines to your dear mother's letter. She says the truth when she says she thinks of you every
day. Both you & dear Arthur are constantly in our thoughts…You must do all you can
to please Mrs. Charles, Mrs. Fay and the other teachers and be diligent in your
Studies…." Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872) was an American painter and
inventor. While attending Yale College Morse painted for a living and later studied art in
Europe.
TLS: "R.J. Gatling", 1p, 8½x11½. Hartford, Conn.,
1885 April 14. As President, on stationery of The Gatling Gun Company. To Colt's Patent
Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, Hartford. In full: "The Chief of Ordnance, State of
New York, advises us that he has sent two Gatling Guns here for repairs, and that if
anything is needed in the way of appendages or spare parts, that he be furnished with a
list of the same, before he gives the order for them. As soon as the guns are received,
please put them in good working order, and furnish us with a list of the articles required
as above." Exactly 20 years before this letter was written, John Wilkes Booth shot President
Lincoln with a Derringer pistol. Twelve days later, U.S. Cavalry Sgt. Boston Corbett shot
Booth with a Colt revolver. By the 1850s, Richard J. Gatling (1818-1903) had become
wealthy from agricultural inventions such as machines for sowing rice and wheat. He is best
known for inventing the rapid-fire Gatling gun, the first practical machine gun,
patented in 1862, the year The Gatling Gun Company was founded in Indianapolis.
The famed mathematician sends a dinner invitation.
Third Person ANS: "Mr. Babbage", 1p, 3½ x 3¾. Dorset St., (no year) May 23. In full:
"Mr. Babbage will have the honor of dining with Mr & Mrs Strutt on Saturday the 11th
June". Charles Babbage (1791-1871) is known as the "Father of Computing" for his
ideas about building an analytical engine, the predecessor of the digital computer. He
proposed operations research that involved the idea of using machines to perform routine
mathematical operations, eliminating errors in human calculation. By 1825, he had developed a
machine that was capable of calculating up to 20 decimals. Plans formulated by Babbage in the
mid-1830s became the basis for the computers that emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. Lightly
stained at upper right blank corner. Fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 27½ x 16¼.
Frame exhibits wearing at corners.
His handwritten March 1783 letter as Governor of Massachusetts, instructing a
garrison commander to forbid a ship full of Tories to disembark, requiring them
to sail instead for New York (still in British hands)
Autograph Letter, unsigned, 1 page, 7¾x12. Written as Governor. Boston,
Massachusetts, 1783 March 27. To William Gordon, Commander of the Garrison
in Dartmouth. In full: "I have this moment received your Letter by
Express, giving information of the arrival of a Flag with a Number of Persons on
board who were desirous of remaining some time at Dartmouth. I have laid the
state of this Flag before the Council, & in consequence of their advice you
are hereby Directed upon no pretense whatever, to suffer any of the Persons or
any of the Effects brought in the Flag to be Landed at Dartmouth, or in any
other place, but that you give immediate Directions for the Departure of the
Flag with the Persons, & their effects to New York, and that after the
Receipt of this Letter you make a point of Embracing the first fair wind to put
her under Sail for New York, as no circumstance can possibly induce me to
Deviate from this order. I am Sir your very humble servant.…"
The developer of the internal-combustion machine that uses oil as a fuel writes to a
grieving acquaintance.
Rare ALS: "Diesel," 2pp, 3¾x5½, separate sheets. Haus Diesel, 1909 April 14. In German
with English translation to Dr. Bloch. In full: "I did not completely understand your
telephone message yesterday and that you were personally grieved; and only today I
learned about the facts. I ask you to accept my expression of heartfelt sympathy. I would
have expressed the same to you yesterday at the cemetery if I had been informed." Diesel
patented his engine in 1892. Diesel engines are less smooth-running, heavier, and initially
more expensive than gasoline engines but make more efficient use of cheaper fuel. They are
widely used in ships, heavy vehicles, power installations and in passenger cars. Diesel signed
material is rare in any form. Fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 35¼x20.
Amazing collection from the founders of the great “Express” companies.
Comprises (1) Partly Printed Check endorsed: "Alvin Adams" on verso, 7½ x 3. San
Francisco, California, 1877 August 14. Wells Fargo & Company check, payable to Alvin
Adams for $46.10. Secretary Signed: "William G. Fargo" on front. (windowed to show
both sides of certificate) Lightly soiled. Fine condition. (2) Stock Certificate signed: "Henry
Wells" as President, "Alexander Holland" as Treasurer and "Jas. C. Fargo" as Secretary of
the American Express Company, 1p, 11¾ x 8. New York, 1866 May 28. Issue of 18,000
shares of Capital Stock; each share was worth $100. Certificate No. 661, certifying "that R. A.
Porter of Keenu New Hampshire is entitled to One Share in the American Express
Company...." On verso, the certificate has been transferred on June 28, 1866, the date of its
issue (windowed to show both sides of certificate). Lightly creased. Light show through of
revenue stamp affixed to verso. Fine condition. (3) Stock Certificate signed: "Wm G. Fargo"
as President, "E.P. Ross" as Treasurer and "J.N.…"
Planning to buy insurance from his older brother Raymond, Walt signs an application
for a life insurance policy (also signed by Raymond). Framed by the Gallery of History
with an unsigned picture of Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse.
Partly Printed DS: "Walter E. Disney", "Geo. E. Morris" as Secretary of Walt Disney
Productions and "Raymond A. Disney" as Soliciting Agent, 1 page, 9 x 13¾. Framed to
overall size of 33¼ x 22¾. No place (probably Los Angeles), no date (c. 1938-1943, the
tenure of Morris). "Application for Insurance in/Connecticut General Life Insurance Company".
Other than the signatures, the application has not been filled out. Walter Elias Disney took out
insurance policies as he became more successful with Walt Disney Productions. Disney
Productions developed in the 1930s. Disney would use his insurance policies as collateral to
raise cash in 1952 in order to plan and build Disneyland (1955). Walt purchased his policies
from his older brother, Raymond. Raymond had left home when he was 17 and eventually
started an insurance agency in Chicago. Walt and brother Roy, who was Walt's partner in the
production company, saw an influx of Disney relatives -- Ray moved his agency from Chicago
to Los Angeles.Amazing collection from the founders of the great “Express” companies.
Comprises (1) Partly Printed Check endorsed: "Alvin Adams" on verso, 7½ x 3. San
Francisco, California, 1877 August 14. Wells Fargo & Company check, payable to Alvin
Adams for $46.10. Secretary Signed: "William G. Fargo" on front. (windowed to show
both sides of certificate) Lightly soiled. Fine condition. (2) Stock Certificate signed: "Henry
Wells" as President, "Alexander Holland" as Treasurer and "Jas. C. Fargo" as Secretary of
the American Express Company, 1p, 11¾ x 8. New York, 1866 May 28. Issue of 18,000
shares of Capital Stock; each share was worth $100. Certificate No. 661, certifying "that R. A.
Porter of Keenu New Hampshire is entitled to One Share in the American Express
Company...." On verso, the certificate has been transferred on June 28, 1866, the date of its
issue (windowed to show both sides of certificate). Lightly creased. Light show through of
revenue stamp affixed to verso. Fine condition. (3) Stock Certificate signed: "Wm G. Fargo"
as President, "E.P. Ross" as Treasurer and "J.N.…"
The famed inventor sends a letter to an influential Kentucky congressman.
Autograph Letter singed: "Saml F.B. Morse". 1p, 7¼ x 10. No place, no date. Morse writes
to a Kentucky congressman instrumental in getting congress to appropriate $30,000 for an
experimental line between Washington and Baltimore upon which, in May of 1844, he
transmitted, using a code of dots and sashes that he developed (The Morse Code), his famous
salutation “What Hath God Wrought”. 1 page, 7¼ x 10. Written and signed in black ink “Saml
F.B. Morse” to: William P. Thomasson (congressman from Kentucky) from the telegraph room
9:30 P.M. In full: “Dear Sir / If there is any thing of interest / in the house to send to
Baltimore / I will send it / Respectfully / Yr. Mo. Ob. Servt” Kentucky (1843-1847). Fine
condition. Framed to an overall size of 32¼ x 21¾. Minor chip on frame left front, minor
wearing at frame corners.
Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872) was an accomplished portrait and mural painter and
founder of the National Academy of Design. On a trip to Europe in 1830, while observing
French semaphores, he realized that messages could be sent even more quickly using an
electrical spark.
Hughes loans actor Louis Wolheim to Samuel Goldwyn for The Awakening.
Document signed: "Howard Hughes", 3p, 8½x12½. Los Angeles, California, 1928 April 28.
Hughes' Caddo Company loans actor Louis Wolheim to Samuel Goldwyn Inc. to appear in a
film titled The Innocent. (The film was released later that year by United Artists as The
Awakening.) Signed on p3. Also signed by a representative of Samuel Goldwyn Inc. (name
illegible). Some dates added in ink (unknown hand). Accompanied by typed letter signed
"Jos. W. Engel" on letterhead The Caddo Company, dated 1928 May 12, delaying by one day
the period of Wolheim's loan-out so that he can spend an extra day filming The Racket.
Larger than life HOWARD HUGHES (1905-1976), movie mogul, aircraft designer and
builder, political intrigue, and the world's richest man at the time of his death, dashing
lothario turned ultra-eccentric recluse, continues to fascinate, as evidenced by a recent film
biography (The Aviator, 2004), and even a film about a fake biography (The Hoax, 2007).
JOSEPH W. ENGEL (1883-1939), a movie executive, was production manager on Hughes's
air combat extravaganza, Hell's Angels (1930). He went on to produce many films for Fox,
mostly Westerns, in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Fulton signed this document - buying 32 lots of land in the town of Jersey, New Jersey
for $1,000 - in 1809. He signed it the same year that he filed his first patent for
improvements in navigation by steam and one year after marrying his wife Harriet
Livingston. Pieces by Fulton are rare in any form, and legal documents, like this, are
doubly so. Accompanied by an unsigned engraving of Fulton based on an Alonzo Chappel
portrait.
Manuscript document signed "Robert Fulton". 3 pages plus docket, 7½x12¼, 2 sheets front
and verso, with embossed Jersey Company seal and 1-inch square paper seal on page 3 by
signatures. Nov. 3, 1809. This document was signed between Fulton and the president of the
Jersey Company. Fulton agreed to buy a block of land containing 32 lots in the town of Jersey
in Bergen County, New Jersey for $1,000. Fulton signed this document one year after
marrying Harriet Livingston, his partner's niece, and the same year that he filed his first
patent for improvements in navigation by steam. Fulton is scarce in any form and this is
a fine example suitable for framing and display. Lightly toned, stained, soiled and creased.
Random ink stains. Edges are torn. Pinholes in both sheets. Corners are rounded Folded thrice
and unfolded. Worn, torn, toned and with pinholes along folds.
The framed race car engineer signs a biographical page from a pamphlet.
Pamphlet signed: "Ferrari", 8 x 11¼. Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988), whose name is synonymous
with quality engineering, began his racing career in 1919 and soon became a test driver for Alfa
Romeo. About 1939, Ferrari organized his own factory but was prevented from producing his
own automobiles for four years because of a contract with Romeo, which feared competing
against the famed Ferrari name. During WWII, Ferrari's factory was converted to produce ball
bearings and other equipment. In 1947, however, Ferrari's first car with the prancing horse
insignia debuted. A lifetime racing enthusiast, Ferrari produced few automobiles for private
consumer sales until the 1953 debut of the 250 Europa, the first of the long line of Ferrari street
cars that to this day remain highly valued as collectibles. Ferraris excelled on international
racing circuits and garnered ten wins in the Formula One Constructors' Championship
from 1956 to 1983 - more than any other make. Surface creases, otherwise fine condition.
Framed to an overall size of 15 x 25¾. 8 photocopied pages of the pamphlet included on
back of frame.
Hancock handwrote, dated and put his "John Hancock" on this letter to the
"Gentlemen of the Senate & Gentlemen of the House of Representatives" in 1783,
while he was Governor of Massachusetts. He wrote this letter to inform the recipients
that he had received an "Application for Sundry Articles for the use of the Tribe"
from the Penobscot, which offered their services to the colonies during the American
Revolutionary War. This letter was written less than eight months before the signing of
the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war between the colonies and England.
Draft autograph letter signed "J.H." as Governor of Massachusetts. 1 page, 7¾x6¼.
Council Chamber, Boston, Massachusetts, Feb. 7, 1783. Addressed to the "Gentlemen
of the Senate & Gentlemen of the House of Representatives". In full: "I have this moment
Rec'd a Letter from Colonel Lithgow, by Two Indians of the Penobscot Tribe, these
Indians are come to make Application for Sundry Articles for the use of the Tribe. The
Letter with the Commissions given one of these Indians by Brigr. Genl. Lovell, I have
directed the Secretary [to] lay before you.…"
The adventerous author signs "Ned Buntline, Ready for Game" on a photograph of
himself holding hunting rifle.
Photograph signed: "'Ned Buntline,'/Ready for Game." Sepia, 4¼ x 6¼ overall, image 3¾ x
5¼ (one surface). Studio photograph by Sarony of New York, signed with his penname.
A nautical term for the rope at the bottom of a square sail, the name Buntline was adopted from
his youthful navy days. Soldier, adventurer, and writer Edward Z.C. Judson (1823-1886) had
developed his sensational literary style in the 1840s, when he began submitting
exaggerated accounts of his adventures to "Knickerbocker Magazine". Arrested, shot at
and even hung once (someone cut the rope), in 1869, Judson "discovered" Western scout
William F. Cody, nicknamed him Buffalo Bill and exploited his adventures in books
and plays. Earlier, Judson had helped organize the anti-foreign, anti-labor American
Party, better known, thanks to Judson, as the Know-Nothing Party (1850-1856). By the
1870s, with hunting and fishing as his primary pastimes, the shooting, wild author of nearly
400 novellas, termed "dime novels", had settled down with his fourth wife in Stamford,
New York.
Chastened by a messy divorce from his first wife, the famed director
signs a prenuptial agreement with his bride to be, Evelyn Baldwin, who has also
signed here.
Document signed: "David Wark Griffith", "Evelyn Baldwin", 2
pages, 8½x13. No place, 1936 March 2. In anticipation of his pending
marriage to Evelyn Baldwin, Griffith irrevocably transfers to her all rights to
an annuity contract with the Aetna Life Insurance Company of Hartford,
Connecticut, yielding annual income of $5,632.80 for the rest of her life. In
exchange, Baldwin releases Griffith, along with his heirs and assigns, from any
additional claims except for assets freely given to Baldwin by Griffith. The
agreement is to become effective only on the consummation of the
Griffith-Baldwin marriage. David Llewelyn Wark GRIFFITH (1875-1948)
directed his first film in 1908, and in 1910 became the first to shoot a
film in Hollywood. His Judith of Bethulia (1914) was among the first
feature films, and the controversial Birth of a Nation (1915), became
the first blockbuster movie hit, inspiring the movie industry that we have known
since. Griffith co-founded United Artists studio with Charlie
Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Five of his movies are deemed
important enough for preservation in the US Film Registry.Business & Finance | Lithographs
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PARTAGAS - CUBAN CIGAR LITHOGRAPH UNSIGNED - HFSID 209569Beautifully embossed lithograph from the cigar brand established in 1845 Cuban Cigar Lithograph Unsigned, 6¾x5¾. First established in 1845, Partagás is one of the oldest cigar brands still actively producing tobacco products.Price: $200.00
