MUSSOLINI INSCRIBED A PHOTOGRAPH TO MARY PICKFORD!   BENITO MUSSOLINI. Large Photograph Mount inscribed and signed: "Alla Signora Mary Pikford/cordialmente/Roma 10 maggio 1926 Mussolini" in Italian. B/w, 15x22 overall, image 9½x15 (two surfaces). Photograph by V. Lavoisa, Roma. Water staining on "cordialmente" and "maggio" does not affect the inscription, just stains the surface it's written on. Mussolini is known to have been a fan of Mary Pickford which he has spelled "Pikford". According to Eileen Whitfield in Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood (1997), Pickford praised both Mussolini and Hitler. In the 1998 DVD Mary Pickford: A Life on Film, the filmmakers briefly mention Pickford's "momentary flirtation" with Mussolini's fascism. In 1923, Mussolini appeared in Samuel Goldwyn's film, The Eternal City. BENITO MUSSOLINI was Prime Minister of Italy from October 31, 1922 when he was asked by King Victor Emmanuel III to form a government, until July 25, 1943 when he was deposed. read more...

JEFFERSON DAVIS, JOHN H. WINDER and THOMAS J. GREEN Davis signs an autograph endorsement forwarding to Confederate Secretary of War Benjamin a handwritten letter from Green, a former general in the army of independent Texas, warning that Confederate soldiers were carrying CSA weapons home with them. General Winder adds a handwritten note to the same document, ordering that guards be posted at depot and they confiscate these weapons. Civil War-date Autograph Endorsement signed: "Sec of War attention./J D", as President of the Confederate States of America in pencil in upper blank margin of letter to him. THOMAS J. GREEN. ALS: "Thos J Green", 1p, 7¼x9¼. Esmeralda near Warrenton North Carolina, 1862 March 17. To "HIS EXCL./JEFFERSON DAVIS/PRES. C.S.A.". In full, original spelling: "I feel it my duty to call your attention to what I believe is highly detrimental to the public service. read more...

1904: THEODORE ROOSEVELT's ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE CERTIFICATION Official Electoral College certification by the President of the Senate, William P. Frye, also signed by tellers of the US Senate and House of Representatives Printed Declaration signed: "Wm. P. Frye/President pro tempore" of the U.S. Senate and "Julius C. Burrows" and "J.W. Bailey" as tellers on the part of the Senate and "Joseph H. Gaines" and "Gordon Russell" as tellers on the part of the House of Representatives, 1p, 11½x28, Washington, District of Columbia, not dated. Certificate of the Electoral College votes deciding Theodore Roosevelt as President and Charles W. Fairbanks as Vice President. According to the 12th Amendment to the U.S. read more...

JULES MASSENET On the date of the premier of his comic opera masterpiece Manon, he penned and signed these four double bars from Act II. Autograph Musical Quotation signed: "J. Massenet”, in /Paris/1 er presentation op: comique/samedi 19 Janvier 1884 [1st presentation opera: comic/Saturday 19 January 1884]", in black ink, 9½x2½. The composer has drawn four double bars of music, and written in French: "Prelude de l'act II (Manon) [Prelude to Act II (Manon)]". This historical musical quote was written on the first performance of his comic opera, Manon, considered his operatic masterpiece. The opera, which premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, is a staple in the repertoire of many operatic companies and has been featured on numerous recordings, beginning with the historic first recording in 1923. Jules Massenet (1842-1912), who was extremely popular in his day, wrote numerous operas, but Manon established his reputation as a composer. Lightly creased with folds, vertical fold at 1 word of writing. read more...

ADOLF HITLER This extraordinary - and very rare - signed German picture postcard has a b/w bust photograph of a young Adolf Hitler in a suit and tie and a Nazi swastika pin. It shows the dictator as a surprisingly young man, before the strains of World War II had taken their toll on him. Picture postcard signed "Af Hitler". Pencil notations on verso in unknown hand. B/w, 3½x5½ overall, 3¼x5¼ image, one surface. Captioned on image: "Adolf Hilter". Published by Verlag Hoffman (Hoffman Publishing House) of Munich, Germany. Blank on verso except for pencil notations. Hitler (1889-1945), the Nazi leader who would forge a ruthless campaign during WWII that included the genocide of the Jewish people, began his rapid rise to power in 1919, becoming the undisputed leader of the National Socialist Party by 1921. Hitler wrote Mein Kampf during nine months spent in prison in 1924 after an unsuccessful coup against the Bavarian government in Munich. He rebuilt the party and was named Chancellor of Germany in 1933. Hitler assumed the role read more...

THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERACY TRANSMITS A REPORT OF SECRETARY OF WAR JUDAH P. BENJAMIN TO CONGRESS; THE SENATE READS IT IN "SECRET LEGISLATIVE SESSION", WHILE THE HOUSE ORDERS 2,500 COPIES PRINTED AND THE "INJUNCTION OF SECRECY BE REMOVED"   JEFFERSON DAVIS. Important Manuscript LS: "Jefferson Davis" as President of the Confederate States of America, 1p, 8¼x7¼ lined sheet, affixed to cardboard of same size. Executive Department, [Richmond, Virginia],1862 March 19. "To the Senate and House of Representatives." In full: "I herewith transmit a Report of the Secretary of War supplementary to a Report heretofore submitted by him, and referred to in that document." The First Session of the First Congress of the Confederate States of America was held in Richmond, Virginia, from February 18, 1862 to April 23, 1862. This letter appears in the Journal of the Senate of the First Congress of the read more...

FRITZ SAUCKEL These incredibly rare documents are a handwritten, dated and signed account of Nazi Germany's forced labor and mass deportation operations by Germany's chief of slave labor recruitment. They were written by Sauckel for his lawyer during his trial before the International Military Tribunal in Nuremburg after World War II. They are important documentation of the 20th century's worst war and of some of the worst atrocities ever recorded in human history. They are also a typical example of the defense used by many defendants in the postwar Nuremberg trials: they were only following orders. This defense failed to sway Sauckel's tribunal; he was found guilty of war crimes and later hanged. Historically Important Autograph Manuscript signed twice (at top of first page and at bottom of last page): "Fritz Sauckel", in pencil, as war crimes defendant, 26 pages, 8x10½. IN GERMAN WITH 1945 ENGLISH TRANSLATION WITH FOOTNOTES AND COMMENTS. Nuremburg [Germany], 1945 July 15. This text was provided by Sauckel to his attorney as a means of fully describing the organization of the forced labor department, and Sauckel's duties and responsibilities. read more...

JOHN STEINBECK Remarkable Holiday letter to a friend, reporting that his dog was poisoned and that he himself had shot Santa Claus Autograph Letter signed: "John Steinbeck", 1 page, 5½x8½. No place, December 17, n.y. To "Dear Ballou", in full: "I had intended to acknowledge your good letter, and then didn't because we were subjected to a maddening tragedy. For it developed that Tillie had been given ground glass. It took her two weeks to die of it and we only knew what it was after she was dead. It made me very said and quite tired. I gave her salt injections every fifteen minutes for almost sixty hours. No chance of knowing who did it of course as I might get a little national publicity for an ax murder. I don't know whether you celebrate Christmas. If you do I hope it's a good one. We shot Santa Clause and are having him for dinner. His skin is pretty good too if the hair doesn't slip. By the way (not by the way at all of course) Mc & O in a letter of the middle of November, said a check would be forthcoming on the first of December. Can it be that this has been lost in the mail. Would you mind asking them whether or not they sent it? These are my Christmas cards. Have you heard of the one C. read more...

AUDIE MURPHY The Hollywood actor and World War II hero's lieutenant's hat, a lobby card for his film Battle at Bloody Beach and a signed document. Comprises: (1) Dark green officer's hat. The wool hat with black and gold piping bears a silver first lieutenant's bar pinned at front. When flattened, the hat measures 10x5. Fine condition. With color copy (on 8½x11 sheet) of the original signed card indicating that "Lt. Audie Murphy, U.S.A." donated this hat to the "Navy Relief Fund Auction". These auctions, held for the benefit of Navy veterans, were first held in 1944. Heavily creased. (2) Original unsigned color lobby card, color, 14x11. Battle at Bloody Beach stars Audie Murphy (pictured) as Craig Benson, a civilian working for the Navy helping supply guerilla insurgents in the Philippines in WWII. His sole motive is to find his bride from whom he was separated during the Japanese invasion two years earlier. Lightly creased at lower margin. Lightly soiled and stained. Ink and pencil notes (unknown hand) on verso (no show through). (3) Document Signed: "Audie/Murphy", 1p, 8½x11. No place, 1969 June 19. In part: " read more...