Like an 18th century quilting bee, Chicago museums, universities, libraries and even the Botanic Garden are ready for July 4th. Their diverse imaginations are magically coming together not unlike priceless quilts of 250 years ago. For those interested in taking home Americana representing remarkable historic times, auction houses are offering opportunities to bid on America 250 rarities. Heritage Auctions, headquartered in Dallas but with a vibrant Chicago showroom, is planning also to offer an important selection of historical items in June.
“We are offering a double header at Heritage with the John Freund Collection on June 19, then a mixed collection ‘Liberty & Legacy’ on June 25th which begins with a 1776 silver Continental dollar attributed to Benjamin Franklin, and then at the end of July: stay tuned for an additional important American historical auction. Several items from the auction will be coming to our Chicago office to preview in person. We really think of ourselves as America’s auction house, celebrating our 50th anniversary this year. We are the largest founded in the USA, and the third largest globally,” Roberta Kramer, Heritage Auctions’ Senior Vice President for Strategy and Business Development, told us.
The John H. Freund Americana Collection, at auction June 19, has at its heart touchstones in the life of George Washington including 23 letters signed by him offering an intimate window into his emergence from young surveyor to first president of the United States. Among them is a land survey completed when Washington was just 19 years old, alongside Revolutionary War material including a 1776 account of the seizure of Dorchester Heights and the British evacuation of Boston. Another document captures Washington ordering “Mad” Anthony Wayne to strike at Bull’s Ferry.
Illinois is a state with deep French roots, and of particular interest in the John Freund collection are letters to and from the Marquis de Lafayette. A deeply personal letter from the final year of his presidency to Lafayette’s son reflects their deep friendship. Lafayette and his son George, named for Washington, visited two pioneering places in our state during his triumphant return to the United States in 1824 and 1825.
In one early letter, the future Revolutionary War hero writes at age 20 departing from France and preparing to sail for America to join the fight for independence. Decades later, another letter finds Lafayette expressing gratitude to Congress for the $200,000 awarded to him in recognition of his service to the young republic he helped secure.
“The John H. Freund Americana Collection offers a rare opportunity to encounter American history in its most immediate and human form through the written word,” says Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “He collected not simply for rarity, but for meaning, for the way each letter could illuminate a pivotal moment, a consequential decision, or the inner life of an individual. From the American Revolution to the Cold War and beyond, this collection preserves the voices of the people who built, defended, and transformed the United States. It is, quite simply, one of the most important Americana archives assembled in modern times.”
The June 25th Liberty and Legacy auction does not pause after the Revolutionary era. It offers multiple ways that our history evolved. As a Texas-based company, Heritage offers for the first time at auction a handwritten and annotated draft of the 1845 Texas State Constitution. Theodore Roosevelt’s hand-signed flag carried during his 1909 African expedition, Harry Truman’s proclamation of a National Day of Prayer following Germany’s surrender May 8, 1945, and The UPI wire announcing the death of John F. Kennedy. Other items include a Marine One Presidential seat, Civil War photographs, pocket watches, swords, maps and paintings of Presidents fascinate as well in this auction June 25.
As with the tributes across Chicago to diverse aspects of America 150, objects at auction speak to the significance of the American experience and who we are as a country. For more information about the three upcoming auctions at Heritage, visit ha.com