Autographs, Books and Manuscripts

Lot 857
Street, St. Clair. American aviator, participated in Alaskan Air Expedition.

Signed Check. Approximately 8 x 3" printed engraved rose-toned check, Washington, DC, November [ 6 ], 1943. Drawn on The Riggs National Bank, with an attractive vignette and ornate gothic printed lettering. Made out to "Gish Garage," in the amount of $15.13. Boldly signed on the face, "St Clair Street." . Fine. Punched cancellation and docketing on verso, not affecting signature.
Estimated Value $75-UP.

Lot 858
Stroud, Robert. (1890-1963) "The Bird Man of Alcatraz". American criminal, a convicted murderer who became a self-taught ornithologist during his 54 years in prison, 42 of them in solitary confinement, and made notable contributions to the study of birds. While living with a dance-hall girl in Juneau, Alaska, Stroud got into an argument with a man over the girl and subsequently killed him. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years in prison in Puget Sound (1909). After stabbing a fellow inmate and proving generally troublesome, Stroud was transferred to the infamous Leavenworth Prison in Kansas (1912). He continued his loner ways but began to educate himself through university extension courses. On March 26, 1916 he stabbed and killed a guard and was sentenced to be executed by hanging; but on April 15, 1920, President Woodrow Wilson commuted his sentence to life imprisonment in solitary confinement. It was during this time that Stroud began raising canaries and other birds, collecting laboratory equipment, and studying the diseases of birds and their breeding and care. Some of his research was smuggled out of prison and published. In 1943, Stroud's Digest on the Diseases of Birds was published and became an important work in the field of ornithology.

Autograph Letter Signed. Two pages, recto/verso, Quarto, Alcatraz, Ca. June 25, 1954. A personal letter written to Marie E. Stroud of Metropolis, Ill. In it, Stroud discusses the hot weather that both parties are experiencing, the status of a book that another party is writing, the economy and McCarthy. Fine.
Estimated Value $300-400.

Lot 859
Stroud, Robert.
Autograph Letter Signed. Two pages, recto/ verso, Quarto, Alcatraz, CA. August 11, 1952. Written to his half-sister Mamie, regarding his political beliefs. In part:

"... After 20 years of the worst misrule the country has ever known I can't see why any one devoted to the course of free government should vote for any democrat... For that matter, any Republican will be better for the country than the best Democrat. I would rather see Old Hoover again than see Stevenson... who is just another communist stooge... ".

Very Good. Much more of Stroud's own political ideology; all from a man who was never allowed to vote in his life! .
Estimated Value $400-600.

Thos. Sully Paints President Polk's Portrait

Lot 860
Sully, Thomas. (1783-1872) American portrait painter.

Two Autograph Letters Signed. Lot of Two related Autograph Letters Signed, described as follows:

A. Autograph Letter Signed. One page, Quarto, Philadelphia, June 13, 1847. To J.Y.Mason. Businesslike letter concerning a Presidential portrait the artist has been commissioned to execute. He writes: "...I addressed a letter to you at Chapel Hill with particulars concerning the portrait which I am painting of the President and you. It would be well to have them framed here, and I should be glad to learn if that is resolved; and which of the three kinds of Frames which I sent a list of is chosen..." In a postscript Sully relates the costs for each of the three types of frame. The addressee, John Young Mason, had served in President Tyler's cabinet as Secretary of the Navy, and continued on in this position after being reappointed by President Polk.

B. Autograph Letter Signed. One page, Quarto, Philadelphia, June 18, 1847. This letter, also to Mason, gives a progress report on the status of Sully's Presidential portrait: "...I have finished the portraits of the President and Secretary Mason; and shall forward them to Chapel Hill next Monday. I would be much gratified to be enabled to address each portrait to the proper Society; and to know the best route for their conveyance to Chapel Hill. They will be sent without frames, as none were ordered. Very Respectfully, Your Obedient Servant Thos Sully." With a three line holograph postscript mentioning travel plans, initialed "TS." On the verso of this second letter, its recipient Secretary Mason has docketed the letter as follows: "Unofficial: Ans[wer] that the Societies prefer the 40 dollar frames - keep the portraits open, until the President visits Pha [Philadelphia] - then box them up, and send them to me with your bill. J.Y.M." . Fine. Each letter is moderately age-toned, otherwise fine.
Estimated Value $1,750-UP.

Very Early Zachary Taylor Autograph Letter Signed

Lot 861
Taylor, Zachary. 12th President of the United States, 1849-1850.

Autograph Letter Signed. Two pages, Quarto, with integral address leaf franked "On Service - Free," Louisville, Kentucky, July 6, 1825. To Brigadier General Thomas L. Jesup, Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army, Washington. Scarce, early military letter written as Lieutenant Colonel, in which Taylor writes:

"General, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th Inst. In reply to that part of it which relates to my having the clothing sent to Nachez for the reserve service removed to this place, I have only to state that previous to my doing so I received an order from the Adjt Genl to send Captain Young with all the recruits he had enlisted to Cantonment Jesup to order Lt Wash to this place & break up the rendezvous - knowing how liable public clothing left in charge of citizens was to be destroyed particularly in southern climates, & presuming from the order referred to that it was not probable a reverse rendezvous would be opened again at that place for at least some time I thought it most advisable to direct Lt Wash to bring with him the clothing remaining on hand to this place. With very great respect I remain Genl Your Obt Servant Z. Taylor Lt Col U.S. Army."

Age-toned throughout a creamy golden brown. The folds have been strengthened, and there are some minor chips along the right edge of the first page, not affecting text. The letter is still perfectly intact, and is very boldly written in an ink that is still dark. Taylor's letters from this early period in his military career rarely come to the market.
Estimated Value $2,000-3,000.

Lot 862
[Television Scripts Signed].
Three Original Signed Television Scripts for episodes of the popular shows Will & Grace ("Secrets and Lays"), Third Rock From The Sun ("Judgement Day"), and televisions long-lasting soap, All My Children (Show #7473). All date from 1998, and are Single-spaced Table drafts. Each is multiply signed on its Cover Sheet by all the principal cast members of each show. Very Fine.
Estimated Value $200-UP.
From the Gerald Burg collection.

Lot 863
Temple, Shirley. (1927- ) American entertainer, famous as a child star in the Depression era.

Inscribed Photograph Signed. Black and White (sepia-toned), 4 x 6." A lovely picture of the legendary child star as a young woman. Inscribed, "To Lora Lee, / Sincerely, / Shirley Temple". Fine.
Estimated Value $250-300.

Lot 864
Tereshkova, Valentina. (1937- ). Cosmonaut, the first woman to fly in space. When Tereshkova was selected for the Soviet space program in 1962, she became the first person to be recruited without experience as a test pilot. Her selection was based on her parachuting skills, which she had cultivated on her own as a hobby. She made more than 125 jumps before volunteering for space-flight training.

Picture Postcard Signed. Black & White, approximately 3¾ x 5¾ ". A becoming headshot of the first woman in space, boldly signed by the Soviet astronaut in the white margin below her image. Fine.
Estimated Value $100-200.

A Page From Thackeray's "Roundabout Papers"

Lot 865
Thackeray, William Makepeace. (1811-1863) British novelist, works include "Vanity Fair" (1847-8), "Pendennis" (1848), and "The Newcomes" (1853-5).

Autograph Manuscript Leaf from Thackeray's Roundabout Papers. One page, tall Octavo, on blue bond, n.d., n.p. Being a manuscript leaf in Thackeray's hand from "On a Joke Which I Once Heard From the Late Thomas Hood," which appeared in his "Roundabout Papers," the name given to a series of humorous essays published in Cornhill magazine, of which Thackeray was the editor. The page, which contains a complete narrative, relates a witty anecdote that lampoons the poverty of his greatest literary forbears, Jonathan Swift, Laurence Sterne, and Joseph Addison, to satirize English upper-class values. It begins :

"Sterne should make love to his neighbors' wives. Swift for a long time was as poor as any wag that ever laughed, but he owed no penny to his neighbors. Addison when he wore his most threadbare would hold his head up and maintain his dignity:and, I dare vouch, neither of those [two] gentlemen, when they were ever so poor, asked any man alive to pity their condition, and have a regard to the weaknesses incidental to the literary profession. Galley slave, forsooth! If you are sent to prision for some error for which the law awards that sort of laborious seclusion, so much the more [ ? ] for you. If you are chained to the oar a prisioner of war, like Cervantes, and you have the pain but not the [pleasure?], and the friendly companion of mankind to reward you. Galley slaves, indeed! What man has not his oar to pull? ...Take the lawyer galley, and that dauntless octogenarian in command. When has he ever complained or repined about his slavery?There is the Priests galley - black and [ ? ] sails - see any mariners out of Thames work harder?..."

Approximately 300 words, with numerous corrections, in Thackeray's hand. A sardonic line on the verso of the manuscript leaf sums up the sentiment of Thackeray's tidy satire: "Think of these past worthies, friend, and let us be thankful that we live in our time."

The essay, of which this manuscript represents a first draft, was published in Thackeray's "Roundabout Papers" No. 9, December, 1860. In this year, Thackeray had already published Vanity Fair: he was at the height of his powers, and enjoyed a reputation as one of the greatest living English authors, the equal of Charles Dickens, with whom he was friends. Thackeray's" Roundabout Papers" were often autobiographical, and sometimes the author used them to respond to literary attacks.

Very Fine.
Estimated Value $650-800.

Lot 866
The Birth Of A Nation.
Large Format First Day of Issue Poster Signed by Mary Pickford And Buddy Rogers. One page, 8½ x 10", Postmarked Beverly Hills, CA, May 27, 1975. Printed poster with a montage of images celebrating D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation. With a pictorial stamp honoring the filmmaker. Boldly signed by Mary Pickford and Charles Buddy Rogers. Fine.
Estimated Value $75-150.
From the Gerald Burg collection.

Monkey Business: a Marx Brother Patents an Invention

Lot 867
[The Marx Brothers] Marx, Zeppo. (1901-1979) One of the Marx Brothers, the family of inventive film comedians who broke new ground beginning with the films Animal Crackers and Monkey Business (both 1932).

Invention Archive: Four Documents Patenting An Invention by Zeppo Marx. Fascinating lot of Four Documents Signed, each relating to an invention devised by Zeppo Marx to monitor blood pressure called the "Lifeguard Watch." Included are (1) the original Letters Patent, a Six page, Quarto, printed document from the US Patent Office, dated February 11, 1969, conferring a patent to Herbert Zeppo Marx for.

"Method and Watch Mechanism For Actuation By A Cardiac Pulse."

The Patent describes the invention as a "Means for driving a watch by means of a cardiac pulse at a rate that varies according to the frequency, strength and regularity of the pulse, and, by comparing the rate of operation thereof with a reference watch that operates at a constant and known rate, apprising the user by the deviant reading between the two watches of a corresponding variation in the functioning of the heart." The Letters Patent goes on to give an account of the Background of the Invention, calling attention to related prior patents, and a fascinating Summary of the Invention. Herbert Zeppo Marx is named with A.D. Herman as Inventors of the device. The document is bound by a purple ribbon and bears a pristine red seal of the US Patent Office.

Accompanying the Letters Patent are other related documents, the first (2) entitled "Abstract of the Disclosure," being a Twelve page, Legal Folio, with ornate printed diagrammatic illustrations on its Cover Page, Los Angeles, California, dated "1967," providing a detailed account of the invention. Signed on the last page, "Herbert Zeppo Marx." (3) The next document, entitled "Specifications," is Thirteen pages, Legal Folio, Los Angeles, California, September 1, 1966, and provides all the specifications for the invention prescribed by the Patent Office, and subsequently incorporated into its Letters Patent for the invention, signed on the last page by both inventors, Zeppo Marx and A.D. Herman. Finally (4) the By-Laws for the Company formed by Zeppo Marx to market and sell his invention, a corporation called "Lifeguard Watch." These By-Laws are a Multicopy Document Signed, Thirteen pages, Quarto, establishing the incorporation of Marx's company in eight brief Articles. The document is signed twice by Zeppo Marx on the last page.

Fine. Each document is in Fine condition. Also included are Xerox copies of contracts and minutes relating to the "Lifeguard Watch" Corporation.
Estimated Value $1,000-UP.

Lot 868
[The Three Stooges]. Famous American comedy team.

Book Signed. Not Just A Stooge: The Autobiography of Hollywood's Most Prolific Third Stooge, by Joe Besser, Orange, California: Excelsior Books, 1984. 234 pages. Paperback copy inscribed, "Best Wishes Joe Besser" (the last Stooge) on the title page. Fine.
Estimated Value $75-125.

"Tiffany, darling!"

Lot 869
Tiffany, Charles Louis. (1812-1902) Famous goldsmith and jeweller, founder of Tiffany & Co. By 1883, he was one of the largest manufacturers of silverware in the United States, having secured official appointments to twenty-three royal patrons including the Tsar of Russia, Queen Victoria, and the Shah of Persia. Partially Printed Document Signed. One Page, Elephant Folio, with Tiffany & Co. imprint, New York, NY, July 17, 1892. Attractive Certificate acknowledging the completion of a silversmith's apprenticeship. The document reads:

"This certifies that Maurice Ettinger has served and completed an apprenticeship of Six Years and ____Months in the Chasing department at our Factory, Prince Street. C L Tiffany, President". Moderately worn, with a small area where the paper has been abraded at top, not affecting text. Still an eye-catching, attractive document perfect for framing. Flush mounted to heavier artists board.
Estimated Value $250-350.

"They Are Doing Nothing"

Lot 870
Trotsky, Leon. (1879-1940) Russian Communist Leader, Revolutionary, and author.

Typed Document Signed. Two pages, recto/verso, oblong Quarto, on letterhead of the Revolutionary Military Council, 14th Army of the Ukrainian Republic, August 8, 1919. Interesting request to disband an armored train, directed to Trotsky's attention, as People's Commissar of the Red Army and Navy. One side of the document requests permission to disband an armored train at Ekaterinoslav, under the command of Comrade Berg. "They are doing nothing," writes the Commissar of the 14th Army, Comrade Basov, "...their real place is in the Red Troops." Leon Trotsky has written his decision below in red pencil: "It is authorized. Trotsky." On the other side of the document, a contradictory request has been penned in ink, which challenges the "report" of the Commissar of the 14th Army, and requests another arrangement for these same troops. Trotsky has made a note below this verso request, "D/O. T," which translates as "F[or]/R[eport]. T[rotsky]." Evidently he desired to have the matter investigated more thoroughly.

Reinforced at right margin, where the page has been attached to a strip of heavier stock. Two minor areas of paper loss at right edge, not affecting Trotsky's signature, which is uncommonly large and bold. The entire page is heavily annotated, and visually quite appealing.
Estimated Value $600-900.

Harry Truman ALS on "Poker"

Lot 871
Truman, Harry S. (1884-1972) 33rd President of the United States,1945-1953.

Autograph Letter Signed. One page, Quarto, on imprinted personal letterhead, Federal Reserve Bank Building, Kansas City, Missouri, July 27, 1955. With the original transmittal envelope addressed in Truman's hand, also on his personal letterhead. To J. Frank Rope of Kansas City. In this curious missive, Truman is apparently writing about a card (not present but formerly attached), printed by the Union Pacific Railroad Company, which illustrated the eleven poker hands and listed their hierarchy. He writes:

"Dear Frank: Eddie told me you didn't believe this arrangement. It seems that Harriman & the UP are in favor of it. Suppose you bring this card to our next meeting and we'll pass it on. Maybe you'd better consult Eddie about it too. Sincerely, Harry Truman."

Truman was quite fond of poker, and Rope was one of his card-playing friends. There must have been some disagreement within their poker circle about the relative importance of the hands as given on the UP card.

Fine. A light area and two tape marks where the card was attached to the letter appear at bottom right corner, not affecting text or signature, otherwise fine. Truman letters about poker are very scarce.
Estimated Value $1,500-2,000.

Lot 872
Truman, Harry S.
Typed Document Signed as President. One page, Quarto, on imprinted White House letterhead, Washington, DC, [April, 1946]. Document conferring the Citation for Legion of Merit - Degree of Legionnaire - on Lieutenant Colonel Igor Nikolaievich Smirnov, an officer of the Russian Red Army. Accompanied by the attractive Legion of Merit Certificate, One Page, Folio, Washington, DC, April 9, 1946, awarded to Smirnov, signed by Truman's Secretary of War.

The Citation document signed by President Truman reads as follows:

"CITATION FOR LEGION OF MERIT
Degree of Legionnaire

Lieutenant Colonel Igor Nikolaievich Smirnov,
while serving as Second in Command, 86th Guard Rifle
Division, Red Army, demonstrated exceptionally meri-
torious conduct in the performance of outstanding service,
and contributed materially to the success of combined
operations against the common enemy in Europe.

Harry Truman."

Very Fine. With pencil notations at top left, and an exceptionally bold signature.
Estimated Value $1,000-1,500.

Lot 873
Truman, Harry S.
Legion of Merit Document Signed as President. One page, Quarto, on White House letterhead, [April, 1946]. Typed document entitled, "Citation For The Legion Of Merit -- Degree of Officer," awarding the Legion of Merit to Lieutenant Colonel Petra M. Bordekov, an officer of the Red Army who has:

"...performed outstanding services as commander of a tank brigade of the First White Army. His outstanding leadership inspired all ranks in the accomplishment of great battles against firmly entrenched enemy forces on the Oder River and in offensives west of Berlin. He materially contributed to the ultimate junction of the armed forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America at the Elbe River in Germany. By his outstanding performance of duty over an extended period of time, Colonel Bordekov did much to bring about the defeat of the German Army and reflected great credit upon himself and the Soviet Union.
Harry Truman."

Accompanied by the original ornate Legion of Merit certificate conferring the award, One page, Folio, April 9, 1946, signed by Robert P. Patterson, Truman's Secretary of War.

Very Good. Both of the two documents are considerably soiled.
Estimated Value $1,000-1,500.

Scarce Turner Autograph Letter Signed

Lot 874
Turner, Joseph M.W. (1775-1851) English painter and watercolorist, known for his brilliant atmospheric landscapes and innovative studies of light and sky.

Autograph Letter Signed. One page, Octavo, Athenaeum, Saturday Evening, n.d. Turner writes to a Miss Rogers, accepting an invitation which he has previously been compelled to decline:

"Dear Miss Rogers: Best regards to you and Miss Johnston and glad to say I am more fortunate this time and will have the greatest pleasure of being in Hanover Terrace on Thursday - the 11th...J M W Turner."

Turner led a secretive private life. He never married and when not staying with his patron Lord Egremont at Petworth, he lived in London taverns, dying in such an establishment where he was known by an assumed name. His revolution in art foreshadowed Impressionism and found a timely champion in John Ruskin.

Fine. Lightly stained at bottom right, with mounting traces on verso, otherwise fine.
Estimated Value $1,250-1,750.

Lot 875
Turner, Lana. (1920-1995) American actress, glamour star pin-up.

Typed Document Signed. Three pages, legal Folio, [New Mexico], July 1, 1976. Interesting legal instrument entitled "Amendment to Certificate of Limited Partnership" by which the Sundance Corporation, a Minerals concern, assigns all of interest in a General Partnership, to Murphy Minerals Corporation, of which Miss Lana Turner is a Limited Partner. Signed on the last page, along with twelve other signatories. Fine. Two hole punches at top center; stapled at top left.
Estimated Value $125-UP.