In an Unpublished Letter, JRR Tolkien Writes on His Invention and Public Proliferation of Some of the Great Names of Lord of the Rings, Including Aragorn, Gandalf, Lorien, Rivendell, and Shadowfax
by J. R. R. Tolkien
29/07/1964. A great rarity, acquired from the heirs of the recipient and never before offered for sale He disapproves however of the use the name Shadowfax for a hydrofoil connecting England and FranceLearn more on the Inspired by History podcast JRR Tolkien is one the most well known authors of the 20th century, the legacy of his works The Hobbit, the trilogy The Lord of the Rings, and other related books magnified exponentially by the book-inspired movies and an HBO series.... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
President Harry Truman Names Philanthropist Basil O’Connor as President of the American Red Cross
by Harry Truman
8/5/47. Basil O’Connor was a New York lawyer and philanthropist who was an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. With Roosevelt, he started two foundations for the rehabilitation of polio patients and the research on polio prevention and treatment.Roosevelt appointed O'Connor to the American Red Cross, of which he served as chairman (1944–47) and president (1947–49). In this capacity he also chaired the League of Red Cross Societies from 1945 to 1950.O'Connor declined payment for his leadership of the... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Harry Truman Relates the Role He Played in Establishment of the United Nations
by Harry Truman
11/11/55. Never before offered for sale; An extraordinary letter on the part he and the United States played in the birth of the UNA wartime Declaration by United Nations initially was signed by representatives of the United States, Britain, China, and the Soviet Union; over the course of the war, 21 other Allied nations joined this group. On April 25, 1945, as Allied victory drew close, representatives of the member states met in San Francisco to write a treaty... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
A Volume from the Complete Works of Friedrich Schiller, Inscribed by Mark Twain to His Wife, Olivia
by Mark Twain
1884. This is the first signed gift of Twain to his wife, Livy, that we have ever hadMark Twain spent significant time in Germany, notably living in Heidelberg in 1878 and Berlin in 1891-1892, both of which he wrote about in his travel book A Tramp Abroad and other writings. He also lived in Vienna, Austria, from 1897 to 1899. He studied the German language in preparation for the trip to Heidelberg. He came to speak German, if with... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Ship’s Passport Signed by President John Tyler and Secretary of State John C. Calhoun, for the Whaler MOCTEZUMA, Which Operated in the Indian and Pacific Ocean for Three Years Under This Passport
by John Tyler
09/07/1844. The Ship MOCTEZUMA was built in New York in 1835 and operated out of New Bedford, MA. Its Master was William E. Tower. It had two decks, three masts, square stern, and a billet head (a decorative piece of woodwork that adorns the bow of a ship. In many cases it is a figurehead or a bust). Its purpose was whaling. It left on a whaling voyage to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific on July 10, 1844,... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Former President John Tyler Eloquently Supports the Compromise of 1850, Attacking Its Opponents on Both the Pro- and Anti-Slavery Sides, and Hoping “there is still intelligence and patriotism enough in the community to baffle their narrow and illiberal designs.”
by John Tyler
12/03/1850. On southern opponents and John C. Calhoun’s speech: “It is too ultra and his ultimata impracticable. How is agitation to be quieted or an amendment to the Constitution to be obtained and how above all, can it be expected, that the North will concede a power which has grown up under the Constitution and by our own concessions?…I regard his speech as calculated to do injury to the Southern Cause, and in that view I regret its delivery…” He... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
President John Tyler Appoints a Commander in the Navy Who Had Captained a Ship in the Famed Wilkes Expedition
by John Tyler
01/02/1845. In 1838, six U.S. Navy vessels set out on a great voyage of exploration. Aboard were several hundred seamen and scientists under the command of Lt. Charles Wilkes. Authorized by Congress, the U.S. Exploring Expedition (also known as the Wilkes Expedition) would explored and mapped the Pacific, Antarctica, and the northwest coast of the United States. A tremendous feat of navigation, the expedition broadened knowledge of uncharted areas of the world and helped expand American commerce, industry, and... Read More
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President John Tyler Appoints Robert E. Lee’s Cousin the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia
by John Tyler
03/07/1841. Philip R. Fendall was a Virginian and an aide to his uncle Richard Bland, who was placed by President Madison as an overseer in charge of reconstructing the new Capital after the British burned the city during the War of 1812. He was afterwards Editor of the newspaper The National Journal. Fendall was a friend of Henry Clay, who gave him a position in the State Department during Clay’s term as Secretary of State. President Tyler named him... Read More
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President John Tyler Officially Authorizes a Treaty With Mexico, the Mexican Rejection of Which President Polk Later Used to Help Justify War
by John Tyler
16/02/1844. This is the earliest official ratification between the two countries we have ever seen on the market; The Mexicans refused to ratify the changes the United States made in this document An important stepping stone on the path to War; This convention predates the first formal treaty between the two countriesThroughout the late 1830s, US Embassy officials in Mexico City were inundated by the complaints and claims regarding the seizure of American vessels, mistreatment of American citizens, and alleged... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
John Tyler Letter Signed as President Sending his Autograph
by John Tyler
05/02/1844. Letter Signed as President, Washington, February 5, 1844 to F.W. Smith. “In compliance with your polite request of the 29th January it affords me pleasure to send you my autograph.”
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
President John Tyler Asks for Help for an Impoverished Wisconsin Newspaper Editor Who Had Supported Him
by John Tyler
14/07/1843. John Tyler was the first vice president in American history to succeed to the presidency upon the death of an incumbent president (William Henry Harrison). In the 1840 presidential campaign Tyler, a Southern Democrat, ran with a northern Whig on the top of the ticket; he was chosen for political reasons rather than his suitability as a successor. Upon Harrison’s demise, most Whigs regarded Tyler as “His Accidency,” a usurper. Because the Constitution was vague about how to... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Composer Giuseppe Verdi Manages the International Distribution of His Operas
by Giuseppe Verdi
1860. Being to his publisher Leon Escudier, and relating to another publisher, Giulio Ricordi, it thus encompasses the two men who did the most to popularize Verdi’s musicIn 1839, at age 26, Verdi completed his first opera, Oberto, with the help of fellow musician Giulio Ricordi; the opera's debut production was held at La Scala, the opera house in Milan. Over several decades following this, Verdi produced many of the greatest operas ever composed among them are La Traviata... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
The Dawn of the Victorian Age: Victoria Summons a Member of the House of Lords to Her Coronation
by Queen Victoria
09/05/1838. The Victorian era was a time of monumental importance for the world, and it was so named for the great British monarch who sat on the throne of the world’s dominant power for six decades. It was a time of the rise of science, industrial explosion, literature eminence, broad imperial expansion, exploration, and great political reform. She so bestrode her age that to this day, we speak of people as Victorians in a way we do not of... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Document Signed by Queen Victoria at Age 18, Just Two Months into Her 63 year Reign
by Queen Victoria
29/08/1837. Document Signed as Queen, August 29, 1837, appointing Thomas Hamilton a major in the Nineteenth Regiment of Foot of the British Army. Very good, some foxing, with a paper and wax seal. An extremely early example of her autograph as Queen, and the earliest document we can find of hers having reached the public sale market in the past decade.Victoria became Queen on June 20th. It is particularly interesting to note that Hamilton’s promotion to Major was to... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Queen Victoria Writes the Dean of Windsor’s Widow With Her Personal Condolences, and Saying the Pain of Loss Will Last a Long Time
by Queen Victoria
18/10/1882. “It has been a great pleasure for me to mark my respect & gratitude to my beloved friend, in doing any thing for you. I fear the blank, the dreary objectlessness comparatively speaking must increase for some time.”Gerald Wellesley, nephew of the great Duke of Wellington, was appointed personal chaplain to the Queen in 1849, becoming Dean of Windsor in 1854. He married Magdalen ‘Lily’ Montagu, daughter of Lord Rokeby, in 1856. The couple were in constant contact... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
An Unpublished, Firsthand Account of the Opening Act of the Siege of Sevastopol, A Crucial Moment in the Crimean War and One of the Last Classic Sieges in History
by Queen Victoria
17/10/1854. Written from the British flagship, it describes the Agamemnon's shelling of Fort Nicholas, memorialized in art and literature today The manuscript comes with the author's record of service, signed by the Captains of the various British vessels on which he sailedThe Crimean war pitted the Russian forces against the French, British, Turkish and some others. It was a great power conflict that stretched from 1853-6 and saw the latter alliance ultimately victorious.The Siege of Sevastopol is one of the... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Card Signed by King Edward VIII and His Bride for Whom He Gave Up the Throne, Wallis Warfield Simpson
by King Edward VIII
King George V died on January 20, 1936, and his son and successor, Edward VIII, was proclaimed King the next day. The period of mourning for the dead King followed, and the new monarch’s Coronation was set for May 13, after mourning would be concluded. The Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England, traditionally officiates at coronations, and Edward would be crowned and invested with the regalia of Kingship.Edward was in a relationship with divorcee Wallis Simpson.... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Just Two Weeks Before Lexington and Concord, George Washington Tends to Mount Vernon’s Iconic Roof
by George Washington
03/04/1775. Washington's own file copy, with his docket on the backShingles act as a primary protective barrier on a building's roof, shielding it from rain, wind, snow, and sunlight. They prevent water from entering the structure, reduce mold growth, and add aesthetic value.Wood was the overwhelming choice for the composition of Virginia roofs in George Washington's day. Washington purchased hundreds of thousands of wooden shingles for Mount Vernon during his lifetime, most of them split from cypress trees cut... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
A Lost and Fascinating Fragment from the Hand of George Washington, Attesting to the Roman Influence on the Founding Fathers
by George Washington
Cut up and disseminated by Washington historian Jared Sparks in the early-mid 19th century, the original manuscript has been lost This phrase was not known to have existed - no example of this phrase appears anywhere else in his known worksThe Founding Fathers consciously looked to ancient Rome as a model when designing their new republic. Educated in the classics, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison studied Roman history and political theory, seeing in the Roman Republic... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Daniel Webster's Last Autograph Letter Signed Known to Be in Private Hands
by Daniel Webster
15/09/1852. After two terms in the House of Representatives, Webster became a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and served until 1841. He became nationally famous in 1830 for his thundering defense of the Union in his replies to South Carolina Sen. Robert Hayne during the first states’ rights controversy, and was the acknowledged leader of the North during the Nullification Crisis that followed. He returned to the U.S. Senate from 1845 to 1850.Webster served as Secretary of State to Presidents... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Daniel Webster Promotes Nationalism Over Just Sectionalism After Compromise of 1850
by Daniel Webster
14/05/1850. ""There have been those who desire to uphold all sorts of local ideas, prejudices, and animosities, by the general strength of the Whig cause. If we cannot free ourselves from these counsels, the Whig Party must inevitably cease to be the great, strong, and conservative party of the country.""The new Federal territories obtained from Mexico in 1848, and whether they were to permit slavery, brought the nation again to a crisis. The subject had immediacy because with the... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
The Subtreasury and Specie Crisis of 1838: Daniel Webster Predicts That the President Van Buren’s Subtreasury Bill Will Not Pass
by Daniel Webster
09/04/1838. A fascinating letter and assessment of the great issue of the dayUnder a system of specie payments, it is required by law or custom that money in the form of bank notes or government paper money issues, be redeemed at par and upon request of the issuing bank or the Treasury in metallic coin. And that meant gold or silver. The temporary suspension of specie payments was a general feature of 19th century specie standards. Banks would unilaterally... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Sen. Daniel Webster Writes the Cashier of the Bank of the US Over a Conflict With Sen. John Tyler Over the Bank
by Daniel Webster
20/01/1831. But Sen. Daniel Webster, a Friend of the Bank, Advises the Bank There Was No Easy Way to Avoid a Senate Request for Its Books and Records “He has a right to summon you,” writes Webster, “and perhaps also would have a right to what are called a ducus tecum - that is an order to bring in the books, if he should show the necessity… for the parties of proving what they contain…”John Tyler was a foe of... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Four Language Passport for the Whaling Ship Sarah, Signed by Millard Fillmore as President
by Millard Fillmore|Daniel Webster
14/07/1851. The noted whaling ship Sarah was out of Nantucket but often docked in the whaling hub of New Bedford. A book speaks of this ship, and reveals the length of its journeys and value of its cargo, stating that “In1830 the whaling ship Sarah returned home to Nantucket Island, carrying 3,500 barrels of valuable whale oil after a voyage of nearly three years.” This amount of whale oil would have been worth about $90,000 back then, equal to... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
A Presidential Rarity: An Autograph of William Henry Harrison Signed During His One-Month Presidency
by William Henry Harrison|Daniel Webster
03/1841. https://vimeo.com/1048137478?share=copy The Jacksonian era was one of adversity for Harrison, the military hero who had been a supporter of Henry Clay and former President John Quincy Adams, and opposed President Andrew Jackson. Having aspirations for the presidency, he promoted his candidacy by touring the country during 1835-6. This was the first time a person had campaigned for president himself, rather than through his friends. Anniversary celebrations of the battles of Tippecanoe and the Thames glorified his military career, friendly... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC