New York | +1 212 606 7176 | Dan Abernethy | [email protected] | Midori Tanaka | [email protected]
Family Archive of Alexander Hamilton
Letters & Manuscripts Achieves $2.6 Million
at Sotheby’s New York
‘WHITE GLOVE’ AUCTION IS 100% SOLD
11 Lots Surpass the Previous Auction Record for
Any Hamilton Manuscript
7 Letters & Manuscripts Exceed $100,000
Auction Led By:
A Previously Unrecorded Autograph Draft of
Pacificus Essay No. VI that Brought $262,500
– The New Auction Record for any Alexander Hamilton Manuscript –
**
Alexander Hamilton's Appointment as Aide-De-Camp to General
George Washington that Sold for $212,500
NEW YORK, 18 January 2017 – Today in New York, Sotheby’s auction of Alexander Hamilton: An
Important Family Archive of Letters and Manuscripts achieved an outstanding total of $2,645,750,
surpassing its pre-sale high estimate of $2.1 million. All 77 lots on offer – representing hundreds of
individual documents – found buyers, marking a rare ‘White Glove’ auction. Eleven lots broke the
previous auction record for any document handwritten by Hamilton – a record that had held since
2001*.
Viewed by thousands of visitors over the past week at Sotheby’s New York, the collection of letters
and manuscripts by and relating to Alexander Hamilton drew a diverse audience: from politicalscience enthusiasts to theater lovers, newly-impassioned historians, and institutional collections –
even the company of Hamilton: An American Musical. This remarkable archive of highly-personal
documents had descended through Hamilton’s family for the last two centuries, with many of the
manuscripts previously unknown to historians.
Selby Kiffer, Senior International Specialist for Sotheby's Books & Manuscripts, noted: “We have been
thrilled to be part of the cultural movement that has re-established this Founding Father's rightful
place in history. The results of today’s sale are an indicator not only of the tremendous public
interest in Alexander Hamilton, but also of the appetite among both new and established collectors
to own historical documents.”
A highlight of today’s auction was the document
responsible for Alexander Hamilton’s foray into the
public sphere: Alexander Hamilton’s Appointment
as Aide-de-Camp to General George Washington
from
1777,
appointment
career,
which
sold
jumpstarted
leading
to
for
$212,500.
Hamilton’s
subsequent
This
political
positions
as
congressman, founder of the Bank of New York,
member of the Constitutional convention and more.
The auction was led by A Previously Unrecorded
Autograph Draft of Pacificus Essay No. VI, which
achieved $262,500. One of the most important essays
written by Alexander Hamilton, under the pen name
Pacificus, Pacificus VI is particularly vital to the
storyline of Hamilton as no manuscript copies of The
Federalist Papers – considered by many to be his most
famous work – survive.
FURTHER SALE HIGHLIGHTS
**All Achieving Multiples of Their Estimates**
2
Lot 1036
Philip Schuyler
A Group of 34 Autograph Letters Signed ("PH. Schuyler"), 1790–1804, to His Daughter
Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton
Estimate $35/50,000
Sold for $125,000
Lot 1007
Alexander Hamilton
Autograph Letter Signed (“AH”) to Elizabeth Schuyler (“My Dearest Girl”);
The Earliest Surviving Love Letter from Alexander Hamilton to His Future Wife
Estimate $40/60,000
Sold for $118,750
Lot 1040
Philip Schuyler
A Group of 17 Letters, 1793–1803, Addressed to His Son-in-Law, Alexander Hamilton
Estimate $30/50,000
Sold for $118,750
Lot 1016
Alexander Hamilton
Autograph Letter Signed (“A Hamilton”) to Elizabeth Hamilton, Announcing that the Army Is
Preparing to Engage Cornwallis in Virginia
Estimate $30/50,000
Sold for $106,250
Lot 1043
Alexander Hamilton
Autograph Letter Signed (“AH”) To Angelica Schuyler Church,
Sending And Requesting Family News
Estimate $6/8,000
Sold of $62,500
*The previous auction record for an Alexander Hamilton manuscript was $44,650, established at Christie’s New York in
May 2001.
3
FOR MORE NEWS FROM SOTHEBY’S
News & Video: http://www.sothebys.com/en/news-video.html
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sothebys
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sothebys
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sothebys
Snapchat ID: sothebys
YouTube: www.youtube.com/SothebysTV
Weibo: www.weibo.com/sothebyshongkong
WeChat ID: sothebyshongkong
Sotheby’s has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby’s became the first international
auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India
(1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby’s presents
auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby’s BidNow program
allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby’s offers collectors the
resources of Sotheby’s Financial Services, the world’s only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection
advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby’s presents private sale opportunities in more than 70
categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and two retail businesses, Sotheby’s
Diamonds and Sotheby’s Wine. Sotheby’s has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company
listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium and are net
of any fees paid to the purchaser where the purchaser provided an irrevocable bid.
Images are available upon request
Browse sale catalogues, view original content, stream live auctions and more at www.sothebys.com, and through
Sotheby’s apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple TV and Amazon Fire
#
#
#
4