Other Civil War material of note includes:
- a first edition of Fourteen Hundred and 91 Days in the Confederate Army by William W. Heartsill (1839-1916) (lot 123; estimate: $15,000 - $20,000)
- an extensive letter archive from a private in the Ambulance Corps of the 143rd New York Infantry (lot 136; estimate: $10,000 - $20,000)
- a Jefferson Davis signed document (lot 108; estimate: $10,000-$15,000) from during his time as US Secretary of War, in which he promotes Ulysses S. Grant to the rank of captain
- a group of four Civil War-era diaries from a New York woman involved in the Women’s Central Relief Association (lot 159; estimate: $5,000 - $7,000)
- Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), a partly printed document accomplished in manuscript signed ("Jeffer Davis"), as US Secretary of War. Washington, DC, 9 August 1853. Jefferson Davis promotes Ulysses S. Grant to rank of Captain.
- Estimate: $10,000-$15,000
The June sale also features a strong offering of items related to Abraham Lincoln. Leading the category is a rare albumen photograph of Lincoln’s second inauguration believed to have been taken by Alexander Gardner (lot 337; estimate: $10,000 – 15,000), one of the most famous photographers of his time. The image shows Lincoln mid-speech on the steps of the Capitol surrounded by his cabinet and both his outgoing and incoming Vice Presidents.
The second day of the auction includes a selection of material surrounding westward expansion in the latter part of the 19th century. In particular, the auction features a considerable amount of items related to the gold rush. The highlight of the group is expected to be a half-plate daguerreotype of a trio of steely-eyed miners (lot 529; estimate: $4,000 - $6,000).
Among the highlights in the early photography category is possibly the earliest known photograph of Fort Mackinac, Michigan, circa 1855 (lot 282; estimate: $8,000 - $10,000). Mackinac Island sits at a strategic choke point on the straits separating Lakes Michigan and Huron and thus, was the location of French, British, and eventually American forts in the late 1700s and 1800s. It switched hands among the three several times until the resolution of the War of 1812 gave control of the fort to the United States once and for all. After that point, the military value of the fort diminished and it served more as a fur trading post than military outpost. The image offered in the auction provides a rare glimpse of the island as an active outpost before it was declared the nation’s second National Park in 1875.
Other highlights include:
- a collection of sketches drawn and compiled by U.S. Army officer Charles A.H. McCauley while serving in various military posts, including Native American ledger art from the Los Piños Ute Indian Agency (lot 485; estimate: $7,000 - $10,000)
- a “Lincoln and Hamlin” parade flag from the 1860 election (lot 324; estimate: $10,000 - $15,000)
- a document signed by Ben Franklin as President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania (lot 295; estimate: $8,000 - $12,000)
- a quarter plate tintype of Andrew Joseph Russell (1830-1902), noted Civil War and Union Pacific Railroad photographer, in repose (lot 83; estimate: $2,500 - $3,500)
