CORAL GABLES, FLA.- A signed letter from then-General George Washington, a book signed by John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy in Christmas 1962, and a signed letter from Albert Einstein are expected top lots in an Internet-only auction ending September 10th at 8 pm Eastern time by One of a Kind Collectibles. Online bidding is open now, at www.OAKauctions.com.

Remarking on the online event, David Gindy of One of a Kind Collectibles said, “This auction truly has a wide array of historic and scientific items. So many of these rare autographs and books capture poignant moments in history. Many of the lots in the auction showcase prominent figures throughout history, American history in particular. It truly is a collector’s paradise.”

Estimated to bring $15,000-$20,000, the 1776 letter from Washington to Abraham Yates, Jr. is a strong candidate for top lot of the auction. The one-page letter was written in the hand of Washington's aide-de-camp and signed by Washington. After the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Long Island, Washington implored Yates (a New York politician and lawyer) to send “four large Albany sloops...with as much dispatch as possible” to move wounded troops from New York City up the Hudson River to Orange Town.

The JFK and Jackie Kennedy signed copy of The White House: A Historic Guide was given as a gift at the White House’s 1962 Christmas party. JFK wrote and signed it, “For Chris with the affectionate regards of his friends John Kennedy...Christmas 1962.” After his signature, he left a space for Jackie to sign, “and love from Jackie.” The signed book, a memento of the Kennedys’ final Christmas together in Camelot, should gavel for $6,000-$8,000.

A one-page letter typed and signed by Albert Einstein warns in German of the dangers of Nazism, specifically Der Stürmer, an anti-sematic German propaganda newspaper. In the letter, postmarked March 1, 1935, Einstein describes Der Stürmer as a “monument to German barbarism” that may be used to “inform the local non-Jewish circles about the true nature of Hitler's regime.” The letter and envelope should achieve $9,000-$12,000.

A first edition copy of Alexander Hamilton’s notorious Reynolds Pamphlet is expected to reach $10,000-$12,000. In the pamphlet, which is featured prominently in the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton admits to his affair with Maria Reynolds, while also denying the charges of financial impropriety levied against him. Hamilton’s family destroyed as many copies of this pamphlet as they could, so first editions of this work are exceedingly rare.




An 1895 police recruitment press release signed by Theodore Roosevelt, then President of the New York Board of Police Commissioners, should earn $1,200-$1,500. The press release advertises an initial salary of $1,000 a year and qualifies that, “No weakling, no man of bad moral character and imperfect physical development need apply.” Signatures from figures, including notable pedestrian Edward Payson Weston, are included in the lot. “The lot is one of only two pieces we have handled from this period,” Mr. Gindy remarked.

A one-page document signed by Abraham Lincoln, dated July 16, 1861, measures 18 inches by 11 ¼ inches. The partially typed letter appoints Jonathan C. Havens as Deputy Postmaster of Chicopee, Massachusetts and is countersigned by Secretary of State William H. Seward. Lincoln-signed documents are popular with collectors and have sold well in prior auctions. This document, which is in impressive condition, is expected to earn $7,000-$8,000.

Baseball’s Connie Mack once described Christy Mathewson as “the greatest pitcher who ever lived.” A copy of the book Won in the Ninth, signed by the Hall of Famer and a co-writer, has a pre-sale estimate of $7,000-$10,000. Mathewson’s signature appears on a book plate that is affixed inside the book and holds a typed attribution to its original owner. Mathewson’s supreme relevance to the game of baseball and early death in 1925 make his autograph rare and valuable.

Traveling across the Atlantic, a 4-volume copy of Le Musée Français Recueil Complet Des Tableaux, Statues, Et Bas-Reliefs by Simon-Celestin Croze-Magnan, documents the Louvre’s holdings and collectibles. The work, which was dedicated to Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, is one of only 600 printed copies and contains 344 engraved plates and eight vignettes in text. It should achieve $4,000-$6,000, but may reach more, as it sold for $10,000 in a previous auction.

A 1931 autograph from Alan Turing, the British mathematician and computer scientist who was famous for breaking German code during World War II, has a pre-sale estimate of $4,500-$6,000. The signature and the date “18th-21st December” [1931], comes from a page that was removed from the visitors' book for Abbey Grange and Westcott House, a boarding house associated with Sherborne School, which Turing attended from the age of 13.

A copy of George’s Secret Key to the Universe, signed by Professor Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy Hawking, should hit the mark between $2,000-$3,000. Co-written by Stephen Hawking and Lucy, this children’s novel about an outer space adventure employs real scientific material. The book was signed by Stephen Hawking using an authorial thumbprint, next to which is inscribed, “This is the right hand thumb print of S.W. Hawking.”

A 1939 copy of Finnegan’s Wake, signed by its author, James Joyce, is bound in publisher’s full red cloth and is housed in the original yellow slipcase and custom full red morocco clamshell box. One of 310 large paper copies printed for sale in America, this book measures 10 inches by 6 ¼ inches. This attractive work, signed by the influential Irish novelist in green ink on the limitation page, should fetch a healthy $6,000-$8,000.