The June 24, 2000, Gerald Burg & Dr. Kardatzke Collections, Sale 6
Lot 801 
[Movie Stars].
Hollywood
Signatures. Four Cut Signatures of Hollywood Celebrities, each
approximately 5 x 3", including the elegant Robert Taylor, the
dashing Charles Boyer, the imperial Gloria Swanson and the
hapless Joe E. Brown. Each has been archivally mounted with a Black &
White printed portraits, and is in fine condition.
Estimated Value
$150-250.
From the Gerald Burg collection.
Lot 802 
Munch, Edvard. (1863-1944) Painter whose
Expressionist style and tortuously curved designs exerted a powerful and
influential force on Modern art.
Autograph Letter Signed. One
page, Quarto, in German, n.p., n.d. [circa 1934]. To Dr. Ernst Harms in Zurich.
Munch writes:
"...Enclosed I am sending you a copy of a letter to my
niece. This will explain the matter to you. Besides that, I have been working
for the past few years on a large monumental painting and naturally I cannot
allow this unfinished work to be reproduced. In order to find material in my
studio, it will be very difficult and you will understand for the time being it
is not possible. If possible I will send you something later on. Will be
traveling soon. Sincerely, Edvard Munch." .
Minor wear at folds,
with two binder holes at left center margin, otherwise fine. Accompanied by
original envelope addressed in Munch's hand. An interesting and enigmatic
letter.
Estimated Value $1,750-2,250.
Lot 803
Mussolini, Benito. (1883-1945) Italian Prime
Minister (1922-1943) and Dictator.
Partially Printed Military
Document Signed by Mussolini and Vittorio Emanuele III. Two pages,
recto/verso, accompanied by an additional blank page, Tall Folio, in Italian,
Rome, October 4, 1937. Attractive Military Appointment from the Italian War
Ministry. Docketed by the Ministry of War, and boldly signed on the second page
beneath the printed text, "Vittorio Emanuele," and countersigned by
Benito Mussolini in large black letters, "Mussolini." Some light scattered
staining to first verso page, otherwise fine.
Estimated Value $250-350.
Lot 804 
Nicholas II. (1868-1918) The last Tsar of
Russia (1895-1917). His reign was marked by an alliance with France, entente
with Britain, a disastrous war with Japan, and the establishment of a national
assembly or Duma. Forced to abdicate at the Revolution, he was shot with his
family at Yekaterinburg by the Red Guards.
Restaurant Bill Signed by
Nicholas II. One page, Octavo, in pencil, n.p., March, [circa 1893-99].
Being a list of expenses for the officer's mess for the Empress's Life Guard
signed by Nicholas II as colonel of the elite Russian military unit, the
Preobrazhensky Guards. This bill covers the two weeks from March 16 - March 30.
Itemized are such victuals as breakfast (1 ruble) and Madera (4.50 rubles).
Signed at the bottom, "Adjutant Colonel Nicholas." Fine. An
interesting and uncommon Russian military item.
Estimated Value $600-750.
Lot 805 
Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush.
Photograph Signed by Five US Presidents. Large, 9 x 12", Color,
Washington, DC, [1991]. Handsome Group Portrait of five former US Presidents,
Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush, photographed together in the Oval Office.
Each president has signed his name directly below his image in the portrait,
all neatly aligned in the white photographer's mount at bottom:
"
Gerald R Ford, Richard Nixon, George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter "
The photograph was occasioned by the opening of the Reagan Library,
dedicated in November, 1991.
Very Fine. A choice quality example
of the famous library scene and an important piece of presidential memorabilia.
Estimated Value $2,000-2,500.
Lot 806 
Nixon, Richard M. (1913-1994) 37th President
of the United States, 1969-1974.
Partially Printed Document Signed
as President. One page, Elephant Folio, Washington, DC, March 7, 1969.
Letters Patent appointing James C. Counts to the post of "Federal
Mediation and Conciliation Director." Countersigned by William P. Rogers as
Secretary of State. With an immaculate white wafer seal. The President has
boldly signed the document in blue ink below the text, "Richard Nixon."
. Fine. Framed to an overall size of 24 x 20".
Estimated Value
$1,250-1,350.
Lot 807 
Nixon, Richard M.
Typed Letter
Signed. One page, Octavo, on lime green White House letterhead, Washington,
DC, August 6, 1971. To William Natcher, House of Representatives. Celebratory
letter announcing the newly minted Eisenhower Silver Dollar. Nixon writes, in
full:
"Dear Bill: Last week I had the good fortune to receive one of
the first Eisenhower silver dollars and to present one of the new coins to Mrs,
Dwight D. Eisenhower. These coins were so impressive that I thought you would
like to have an uncirculated specimen. It is one of the first strikes of these
special dollar coins and, I think you will agree, is a beautiful example of our
Nation's coinage. With best personal regards, Sincerely,
RN."
Accompanied by a 1971 Eisenhower Uncirculated Silver Dollar in
the original blue US Mint packaging. With original transmittal envelope.
Fine.
Estimated Value $400-500.
Lot 808 
[Nobel Prize - Chemistry].
First Day
Cover Signed. Profusely signed First Day Cover commemorating the 100th
Anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. Postmarked
October 14, 1963, Washington, D.C., with an pictorial cachet depicting
President Lincoln at the Signing of the Academy Charter. Signed on the face of
the envelope by ten recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Frederick
Sanger, Andrew Kendrew, Willard F. Libby, Lars Onsonger, Linus Pauling, Gerhard
Hertzberg, Max Perutz, Ronald G.W. Norris, Harold C. Urey, and Christian B.
Anfinsen. A choice assemblage of chemists. Very fine and attractive.
Matted and framed to an overall size of 8½ x 11".
Estimated
Value $200-300.
From the Gerald Burg collection.
Lot 809
On The Waterfront. Book
Signed. On The Waterfront: The Screenplay , by Budd Schulberg.
Samuel French: Hollywood, CA, 1989, 154 pages, Hardback, Limited Edition,
number 96 of 300. Signed by Budd Schlberg and by Eliza Kazan, who
directed the famous film made from Schulberg's original story. Fine.
Estimated Value $100-150.
Lot 810 
Onassis, Jacqueline. First Lady (1961-3),
she married John F. Kennedy in 1953, and became a much admired first lady,
using her station to promote the arts, history, and high style. For some years
after Kennedy's death she was the world's premier celebrity.
Inscribed Christmas Card Signed. Stylish white card, 5 x
3½", with a red border, inscribed in matching red ink, "Merry
Christmas to dear Sophie/affectionately/Jacqueline Onassis." Very Fine.
Estimated Value $150-250.
Lot 811
[Opera Singers and Entertainers].
Seven Signed Photographs and One Cut Signature. Lot of Seven
signed and inscribed photographs of various entertainers, including a
Photograph Postcard Signed by the diva Madame Tetrazzini shown in full
operatic bloom; a Photograph Postcard Signed by the signer Federico di
Tetramondo in "Lohengrin"; a Signed Picture of the Metropolitan Opera
soprano Marie Rappold; a large 11 x 14" Black & White Inscribed
Photograph Signed by Lana Turner, with the salutation "For Dennis
England - Best Wishes, Lana Turner"; an 8½ x 10" Glossy Black &
White Inscribed Photograph Signed by Lilly Pons; an 8½ x 11"
Glossy Black & White Inscribed Photograph Signed by Dean Martin; an
8½ x 11" Sepia-toned Inscribed Photograph Signed by Phyllis
Barry; and a matted Cut Signature of the actor Paul Muni. Fine.
Each of the items is in fine condition.
Estimated Value $200-300.
From the Gerald Burg collection.
Lot 812
Palmerston, Henry John Temple. (1784-1865)
British statesman and Liberal Prime Minister (1855-58).
Document
Signed as Secretary of War. One page, Legal Folio, War-Office, [London,
England], October 2, 1814. War Department document to the Paymaster General
concerning a Pay Warrant for the "2nd Battalion 15th Foot." Signed,
"Palmerston" below the printed text. Fine.
Estimated Value
$100-150.
Lot 813 
Parrish, Maxfield. (1870-1966) Illustrator
and painter, known for his technically skilled and vividly toned color prints.
Personal Check Signed. Approximately 8 x 3", Windsor, Vermont.
December 5th, 1931. The artist's imprinted check made payable to Chandler &
Farquhar Co. for the amount of $1.08. Signed boldly in black ink. Fine.
Estimated Value $250-350.
Lot 814 
Peck, Gregory. (1916- ). American Actor,
known for a persona of cultured integrity and human decency, evidenced in films
such as To Kill A Mockingbird (1962), for which he received an Oscar.
Inscribed Photograph Signed. Black and White, 8 x 10", glossy. A
truly splendid shot of the legendary actor in the prime of career. Inscribed in
black pen, "To Kitty Callahan - / Really enjoyed our recent talk. Many
thanks / for your interest. / Gregory Peck". Fine.
Estimated
Value $75-125.
Lot 815
Pickford, Mary. (1893-1979) Star of the
silent screen, referred to as "The World's Sweetheart", thanks to her ingenuous
charm and beauty. Star of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917), Poor
Little Rich Girl (1917), and Taming of the Shrew (1929). Established
United Artists in 1919 with Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
Inscribed Vintage
Photograph Signed. Sepia, 9 x 7", n.d., n.p. An exquisitely sharp, clean
print on heavy paper of one of cinema's classic beauties. Inscribed
"Sincerely / Mary Pickford" in blue ink along the right edge. Fine.
Estimated Value $125-250.
Lot 816 
Pierce, Franklin. (1804-1869) 14th President
of the United States, 1853-1857.
Autograph Letter Signed. One
page, Quarto, September 3, 1845, to Chandler E. Potter of Manchester, New
Hampshire, with integral address leaf.
From 1833 on, Pierce spent nine
years in Washington as a loyal Jacksonian Democrat in both houses of Congress.
He consistently respected Southern rights and developed an antipathy for
"political" abolitionists, whom he considered trouble-makers and a threat to
the Union.
Meanwhile, his wife found the life of the Capitol so
distasteful and inimical to her quiet New Hampshire temperament, that Pierce
was compelled for her sake to resign from the Senate and withdraw from
Washington's furious energy and join his family in Concord, where he practiced
law with great skill.
From 1842 to 1847 Pierce managed most of the local
Democratic campaigns, enforcing strict discipline to keep the party united and
victorious. Convivial by nature, Pierce was popular, whether in polite society,
at hotel bars, or in political caucuses.
Our letter finds Pierce in 1845
beginning to micromanage a local campaign with meticulous attention to detail.
We quote at some length:
"I am glad to see that Gov. Woodbury is
to be at Candia on the 16th. It ought to be a real meeting of the masses. It
can only be made what it should be by efforts and suitable arrangements in the
adjoining and neighboring towns. In 1840 there were committees appointed in
different towns of arrangement who exerted themselves to get up large companies
to attend at places of rendezvous were appointed on the route when the people
met & then proceeded to the place of meeting in prosession. Similar exertions
should be made for the 16th at Candia, Deerfield, Raymond, Chester and all the
neighbouring towns should be represented not by a few deligates but by the
party En Masse. None will see the Candia people & I hope that no effort
to secure a large meeting will be neglected. Such a meeting in that region
ought to be attended with the best results. In haste, Your friend,
F.Pierce."
This is Pierce doing what he does best. Chipped and
torn along two edges affecting two words and just a bit of the signature's
bottom. Overall age-toning, still very good.
Estimated Value $800-1,200.
Lot 817 
[Political Group].
Lot of Four
Political Letters and Two First Day Covers Signed. A statesmanly lot
consisting of the following items:
A. Two Typed Letters Signed by J.
Edgar Hoover. Each one page, Quarto, July 9, 1964 and March 9, 1972, to
Screen Gems Vice-President Harry Ackerman, concerning two visits to FBI
Headquarters. The earlier letter is signed "J. Edgar Hoover," the latter
signed "Edgar," and docketed "Harry Ackerman" at top.
B.
Autograph Letter Signed by Aga Khan III. One page, Octavo, Marlborough
Club, Pall Mall [London], "Friday." Quaint letter inquiring about the
appropriate dress for a meeting with "H.R.H." the Prince of Wales. Accompanied
by a sepia-toned portrait.
C. Typed Letter Signed by Alfred E. Smith
as Governor of New York. One page, Quarto, on Executive Chamber letterhead,
Albany, New York, December 21, 1927. Curious letter alluding to an author and
an "interesting document" which Smith refers to as being "ahead of the times
about forty years." Signed in full, "Alfred E. Smith."
D.
First Day Cover Signed by Ted Kennedy. Postmarked Boston, Mass., May 29,
1964. Handsome cover honoring "In Memoriam John F. Kennedy, 35th President of
the United States," with four matching JFK stamps, Signed "Ted Kennedy
1972."
E. Postal Cover Signed by King Hussein. Blank unused
cover with a mint uncancelled postage stamp bearing the visage of the King of
Jordan. Signed by Hussein in Arabic across the stamp simulating a cancellation
mark. Fine.
Estimated Value $250-350.
Lot 818 
Polk, James K. (1795-1849) 11th President of
the United States, 1845-1849.
Autograph Letter Signed as Governor of
Tennessee. Two pages, recto/verso, Quarto, Columbia, Tennessee, August 26,
1839. To Colonel Samuel Loughlin of Tennessee. In this eloquent political
letter introducing General Thomas Lane, the Senator-elect from Henry, Wakely,
and Albion counties, Polk quotes his idol Andrew Jackson, and admiringly evokes
five other U. S. Presidents. He writes:
"Dear Sir, I take pleasure
in introducing to your personal acquaintance my friend General Thomas
Lane, the Senator elect, from the counties of Henry, Wakely, &
Albion. He is a Democrat of the school of '98, - voted for Jefferson, for
Madison, for Monroe, for Jackson and for Van Buren. He was the contemporary and
personal friend of Macon, was for thirty years a member of the North Carolina
Legislature, and has during his whole public life, adopted as his rule of
action - Genl. Jackson's maxim - viz - 'Let principle be your guide, the public
good your end, and trust the rest to God and his country.' - Genl. L. will
spend some days among his relations in Warren and you may confer as freely as
you choose with him. - You will of course introduce him to the personal
acquaintance of as many of our friends in your county, as may be convenient. I
am Very Truly Your friend James K. Polk."
A biographer of Polk has
said of his early life, "...His success, based upon his thorough acquisitions
and the influence of his family associations, for there were numerous emigrants
of his stock to the district, was so rapid that in less than a year he was
acknowledged as a leading practitioner" of law. We find in this letter of
introduction the very same reliance upon personal associations, which for Polk
was a time-honored and dignified tradition. Polk's moral character, his
traditionalism and sense of propriety, and his vision of the lineage of
democratic ideology, with its roots in the Jeffersonian Republican party, are
marvelously expressed.
Very Fine.
Estimated Value
$3,000-4,000.
Lot 819 
Porter, Cole. (1891-1964) Great American
composer and lyricist.
Document Signed. One page, quarto, n.p.,
July 3, 1939. To Loew's Incorporated of Culver City, California. Porter has
initialed a change in the margin. Being an agreement that Porter's composition,
Begin the Beguine, may be used in the Loew's Incorporated film
tentatively entitled, Broadway Melody of 1940. Fine.
Estimated Value $500-800.
Lot 820
Power, Tyrone. (1914-1958) American actor, a
classic Hollywood hearthrob from the 1930s and 1940s.
Signed
Photograph. A small, 2½ x 4", Black & White bust portrait of the
dashing leading man in a pin striped suit, arching his brow in a mood of alert
and attentive composure. Delicately signed in flamboyant green ink, "Tyrone
Power." Fine.
Estimated Value $125-175.
Lot 821
Rabin, Yitzak. 1922-1995. Israeli soldier,
statesman, and Prime Minister (1974-1977 and 1992-1995).
Signed
Photograph. Color, 7 x 5", n.d. Group portrait of Rabin and his wife, with
the Vice-President Gores in a dayroom of the White House. Very Fine.
Rabin's signature is very slightly uneven in places, where the ink has been
repelled by the photograph's glossy surface. With a Letter of Authenticity from
the Institute of Documentation in Israel.
Estimated Value $300-400.
Lot 822 
Rabin, Yitzak.
Signed Photograph.
Color, 4½ x 7", n.d. Attractive shot of Rabin in front of the Great Wall
of China, taken during the Israeli prime minister's historic trip to China.
Signed in black felt-tip ink, "Y. Rabin." . Fine.
Estimated
Value $200-300.
Lot 823 
Rabin, Yitzak and King Hussein.
Signed Photograph. Color, 7½ x 5", n.p., n.d. Warm
snapshot of Rabin and Hussein shaking hands in front of a car at night, where
one or both of them have evidently just arrived in an unidentified location.
Signed by both at bottom right. Fine. Accompanied by a Letter of
Authentication from the Institute of Documentation in Israel.
Estimated
Value $350-450.
Lot 824
Rickenbacker, E.V. (The Red Baron).
(1890-1973) American aviator, WWI ace.
Personal Check
Signed. New York, October 6, 1971. An imprinted check paid to the order of
Ernest Klein & Co. for the amount of $104.87. Signed robustly in black ink.
Fine.
Estimated Value $125-175.
Lot 825
Ringling Brothers. American 19th century
circus team, founders of Ringling Bros. Circus.
Two Cut
Signatures. Two Cut Signatures, approximately 4½ x 2", of two of the
famous circus-making Brothers -- Robert Ringling, and Henry Ringling North.
Each has signed his name in full, in dark blue ink. Fine.
Estimated
Value $50-100.