Autograph Manuscript Signed, comprising his list of men recruited for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and an account of his travels and the resulting expenses in that effort.. Various places, March-August 1863

This newly discovered manuscript documents the realization of Frederick Douglass’s dream that Black soldiers would fight for the cause of freedom in the Civil War.

$350,000

Star Chart, flown and used on the Apollo 11 mission, annotated and signed by Command Module Pilot Michael Collins.. NASA, 1969

A key navigational aid in taking man to the Moon and back to Earth. The astronauts of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, used this very star chart to find their way to the Moon and back in July 1969. Collins has extensively annotated this star chart and written on it, “During the flight of Apollo Eleven, I used this chart to help me locate stars. (The numbers were entered into the Command Module Computer) Michael Collins CMP.”

$275,000

Autograph letter signed as President to Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas [with] American flag bunting from Lincoln’s box at Ford’s Theatre. Washington, Executive Mansion, May 27, 1861

Abraham Lincoln, writing at the outset of the Civil War, recommends that the Army admit three volunteers from the highly divided city of Baltimore. He advises Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas, “I hate to reject any offered from what is called a Southern State.” [offered with] Bunting from the presidential box at Ford’s Theatre.

two items: $275,000

Map of Beijing, painted on silk. [China, Daoguang Period], (1820-1850)

This splendid, enormous hand-painted map of Beijing shows and names the main streets, official residences of imperial family members, important buildings, temples, geographical features, fortifications and garrisons of the Forbidden, Imperial and Inner Cities.

$250,000

Typed Letter Signed as President to Lewis L. Strauss, Chairman, United States Atomic Energy Commission. The White House, Washington, DC, 7 June 1955

This is the document by which Eisenhower and the United States allowed Israel to become a nuclear power. Through Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace initiative, the United States shared atomic energy material and technology with several countries. One of the first of these agreements was the one sharing the secrets of atomic energy with Israel, as authorized by Eisenhower in this letter. This document laid the foundation for Israel’s ultimate deterrence against destruction by its enemies. It was perhaps the greatest gift possible to the new Jewish state from its greatest ally, the American people.

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Molecular structure of nucleic acids.  A structure of deoxyribose nucleic acid.. Nature, 1953

The discovery of the structure of DNA, the cornerstone event in modern genetics and biology and one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time.

$60,000

Autograph letter signed to his sister [together with] “To the Sun-Set Breeze” Original printer’s proof, signed by Whitman.. Camden, 1890; 29 June 1891

In this fine, warm letter to his sister, Whitman writes, “Love to you sister dear. The day has got along & I have just time to hurry this off to catch this evng’s mail. Much the same with me— hot wave here again. Am anchor’d here at my window as usual. 2 enc’d.” The latter comment may refer to Whitman’s enclosure of the accompanying broadside (see next item). Several well-known photographs capture Whitman in his final years seated at his window at a table overflowing with his papers.

$40,000

Ink and wash drawings of Jewish subjects and of musical instruments, Signed by Daguerre. “Dessiné le 12 Novembre 1822 LJM Daguerre.”, 1822

$38,000

Original drawing, “3rd Stage Satellite Vehicle (landed),” signed and dated 1952.. Huntsville, Alabama, 1952

This is an original signed drawing of a space ship by Wernher von Braun. The father of the American space program, Von Braun made this drawing for the epochal series “Man will Conquer Space Soon.” This publication played a central role in inspiring a generation of American rocket scientists and convincing the American public of the possibility of space exploration.

$35,000

Armstrong and Aldrin raising the U.S. flag on the Moon’s surface. NASA, [1969]

Signed by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first two men on the Moon. This image was taken by the Maurer Data Acquisition Camera (DAC, pronounced “dak”). The DAC made films through the Lunar Module Pilot’s window during the approach and landing of the LM and took stop motion photographs during the EVA at the rate of one frame per second.

$32,000