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Maine Antique Digest, April 2017 9-C
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AUCTION -
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Numerous historical documents were sold at the Heritage
auction, including this framed piece that records an aspect of
John F. Kennedy’s presidential race that helped him win the
1960 presidential election. The signed and notarized copy of
acceptance by JFK for the nomination of New York’s Liberal
Party sold for $18,750 (est. $24,000/36,000).
According to the catalog entry, “The Liberal Party was
formed in 1944 when an element of the American Labor
Party withdrew because that organization had become openly
pro-Communist. Throughout the next two decades the Party
played an influential role in New York politics, extending or
withholding support from candidates.
“…The Liberal party gave Kennedy enthusiastic support
which would prove decisive in the election. Richard Nixon
actually received more votes in New York than were cast for
Kennedy in the Democratic column. Without the 400,000
Liberal votes, he would have lost New York—and the election!”
The graphic and historic appeal of flags cannot be denied. This
33-star antebellum example made of hand-stitched cotton, 32" x 46",
sold for $18,125 (est. $2400/3600). The stars appear on both sides of
the canton and are arranged in the “Great Star” pattern, one used
from February 14, 1859, to January 29, 1861.
A lot with a Mormon connection was
this presentation gold pocket watch of
Ezra T. Benson, an important figure
in the early Mormon Church. Of 18k
gold and 2" in diameter, the watch was
presented to Benson, a member of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, while
visiting England in 1856 doing church
business. The dust cover is engraved:
“Presented to the Apostle / Ezra T.
Benson. / with the love & esteem / of
his Brethren assembled in / Council at
/ Birmingham. / 23rd July, 1856.” The
watch’s gilt movement is marked with
the name of the maker, J.W. Benson of
33-34 Ludgate Hill, London. It sold for
$20,000 (est. $16,000/24,000).
Several lots with connections to Thomas
A. Edison were offered. This lot,
which includes material related to the
controversy and lawsuits of 1893 seeking
to void Edison’s patent of 1880 using the
“Goebel Defense,” sold for $23,750 (est. $3200/4800). Included,
among other things, were one of Heinrich Goebel’s (1818-
1893) light bulbs, a circa 1893 cabinet card showing Goebel’s
storefront on Grand Street in Manhattan with family members
posing with a telescope, and an 1882-dated four-page typed
report titled “The Goebel Incandescent Light.”
Heritage’s catalog listing goes into great detail about the
lawsuit, where it was decided that Edison, not Goebel, invented
the first practical incandescent light, though loads of evidence
seemed to point to the opposite conclusion.
This September 21, 1881, check made out to and
endorsed by Kate “Big Nose Kate” Holliday, and
possibly endorsed by “Doc” Holliday, sold for
$17,500 (est. $4800/7200). It is not known whether
Kate and Doc were actually married when they
lived together in Tombstone, Arizona, but the
check at least indicates that she presented herself
in public as his wife.
The check was made out to Kate and endorsed
by her on the reverse, and below her signature is
“J.H. Holliday” for John Henry “Doc” Holliday.
There was some discrepancy as to whether
this was actually Doc’s signature, as the “y”
in “Holliday” is a bit different from a known
signature. Because of this, Heritage presented
the check as bearing an authentic Kate Holliday
signature and possibly having an authentic
Doc Holliday signature. Its selling price seems
to indicate that the buyer believed that Doc’s
signature was true.
Several important chapeaus sold
at the December 3 Heritage
event, including this pair, one
owned by President Harry
S. Truman and the other by
his vice president, Alben W.
Barkley. Truman’s signature topper,
a gray felt fedora style hat (top),
an Air-Vac by Mac Lachlan,
was stamped on the
leather sweatband “Made
Expressly for Harry S.
Truman.” Barkley’s hat, a
brown felt homburg style
by Lee of Fifth Avenue, was
stamped on the leather sweatband “The Veep,” Barkley’s
nickname. The lot sold for $18,750 (est. $2400/3600).
Pictured are exhibits from yet another court case for
patent infringement, this one filed in the late 19th century
by the Edison Electric Light Company. Comprising five
different light bulbs and one light socket, the lot brought
$30,000 (est. $8000/12,000).
As the catalog entry points out, “Although Edison
is often credited with inventing the incandescent light,
this was not the case. Other public demonstrations,
experiments and patents preceded him, but he made
various improvements which, taken as a whole, made
the invention practical for commercial use. These
improvements involved the carbon filament (along with
secure means of attachment), a high vacuum achieved
through the Sprengel pump, and an integrated system of
electrical supply. He began his experiments in October
1878, conducted his first successful test a year later, and
applied for a patent on November 4, 1879, which was
granted on January 27, 1880, [and] assigned number
0.223.898. This was just one of 424 patents Edison received
dealing with electric light and power generation.”
Pictured here is the Colt Police Positive double-action revolver
that Dallas Police Department officer Sgt. Gerald Hill used
when he arrested Lee Harvey Oswald in the Texas Theatre
hours after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Not only did
Hill arrest Oswald, he also found the sniper’s perch, spent rifle
casings, and the rifle used by Oswald in the Texas Schoolbook
Depository building. After Oswald’s arrest, Hill also acted as the
police department’s spokesman to the media. Accompanied
by the sports jacket Hill wore that day (not shown), the
revolver and holster sold for $12,500 (est. $6400/9600).
Included in this 1863-64 photo album were numerous carte-de-visite images
of Mormon leaders and Salt Lake City as well as a CDV of Kit Carson and
four CDVs of Ute Indians. However, the Mormon-related pieces were the
main draw that helped the album sell for $35,000 (est. $16,000/24,000).
Heritage’s catalog entry identified some of the Mormon images, which
included those of “Orson Pratt, Brigham Young, 1st Counsellor [
sic
] Heber
C. Kimball, 2nd Counsellor [
sic
] Daniel Wells, Bishop Abraham Hoagland,
Bishop Edward Hunter, Lorenzo D. Young, Porter Rockwell, George A.
Smith, Willard Richards, Wilford Woodruff, Phineas Young, Lorenzo
Snow, Erastus Snow, Orson Hyde, John Taylor, Franklin D. Richards, Ezra
T. Benson, A.M. Lyman, Charles C. Rick, George L. Cannon, [and] H.B.
Clawson (autographed).
“The identified women in the album are: Mrs. Vilale Kimball (wife of
Heber C. Kimball), Mrs. Ezra Snow, Miss Alexander and Mrs. Adams. Eliza
R. Snow was married to both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. She was the
second General President of the Relief Society, following Emma Smith.”