Press Release

Atlanta, GA, USA, July 25, 2024 -- A consulate appointment signed by President Abraham Lincoln brought $12,100 and a group of nine pieces of Chinese carved nephrite jade with six wooden stands realized $9,680 in two days of auctions held July 17th (Historical Documents, Books & Americana) and July 18th (Asian Works of Art) by Ahlers & Ogletree. The online-only auctions combined to gross a robust $321,997.

The Historical Documents, Books & Americana auction featured 354 lots of letters, signatures and ephemera from 42 U.S. Presidents; documents and pamphlets relating to the founding of America, the Revolutionary War and the American Civil War; a collection of Duck Stamp prints deaccessioned from the Morris Museum in Augusta, Ga.; and an important Southern historical documents collection.

The Asian Works of Art sale, the next day, contained 189 lots of Chinese and Japanese ceramics; works on paper; works in stone, wood and bronze; a selection of fine Chinese Export pieces; and a collection of Southeast Asian masks. Both the Lincoln- signed consulate appointment and the group of Chinese carved nephrite pieces sold above their high estimates and were the top lots of their session.

Most of the higher-dollar items came on July 17th. The consulate appointment, dated April 18, 1863, was signed by Lincoln using a dip pen. It also bore the signature of U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, and was accompanied by a JSA (James Spence Authentication). The document recognized Johannes Schumacher as the ‘consul for the Free Hanse of Bremen’, at the consulate office in Boston.

Following are additional highlights from the auction, at which internet bidding was facilitated by Bid.AandOAuctions.com, LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Both sales were online-only, so there were no in-gallery bidders. There were also no phone or absentee bids submitted. All prices quoted include a 21 percent buyer’s premium.

Two of the July 17 session’s big surprises came in the form of a 1946 luncheon notice from the city of Westminster, England, given in honor of Winston Churchill and signed by him, nicely framed and with a photo of Churchill ($4,538, against a high estimate of $800); and a letter handwritten and signed by Ronald Reagan, framed in a gold toned frame matted together with a photo of Reagan and a piece of memorabilia from his presidential campaign in Raleigh, N.C. ($3,328, against a high estimate of $400).

Several strands of George Washington's hair, a piece of cloth from his personally worn vest, and an informative placard, framed in a glass covered silver tone frame matted with a large printed picture of Washington and a printed reproduction cut signature, finished at $2,420; while several strands of Abraham Lincoln’s hair, a small swatch of cloth from a piece of the flag used during his funeral train ride, a large printed picture of Lincoln, and a printed reproduction cut signature hit $1,815.

A captain’s plaque from the World War II battleship USS Missouri, dated Sept. 2, 1945 and marking the location of the Japanese surrender, removed from the ship when President Reagan formed the retrofitted 600-ship navy in 1984, achieved $4,538. Also, 1936 Berlin Olympic Games scrapbook containing a Jugend Ehrendienst sleeve triangle patch in blue with Olympic rings above 'Jugend Ehrendienst' in yellow, plus five pencil autographs from various Olympic athletes, fetched $2,722.

To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and their calendar of upcoming auction events on September 12th and 13th and October 2nd and 3rd, please visit www.aandoauctions.com. Updates are posted often. You can also follow Ahlers & Ogletree through social media on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

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