The Pursuit of History: Early July 1776 Broadside Edition of the Declaration of Independence Sells at Heritage Auctions for $2,895,000

July 8 Historical Platinum event realizes $5,655,250, topped by Lincoln proclamation, Washington’s letter to George Mason and Neil Armstrong’s piece of aviation history DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT DALLAS, Texas (July 10, 2023) — Two hundred forty-seven years after its creation, almost to the day, the first broadside edition of the Declaration of Independence printed in Massachusetts sold Saturday at Heritage Auctions for $2,895,000. As expected, the historic broadside served as the centerpiece of Heritage's July 8 Historical Platinum Session Signature ® Auction, whose offerings encompassed politics, popular culture, the Wild West, literature and royalty. Over just a few hours, its nearly 90 lots realized a total of $5,655,250 thanks to the more than 750 bidders worldwide participating in the historic event. Its myriad treasures traversed time and space and included President Abraham Lincoln's April 1861 proclamation authorizing the Union blockade of the Confederacy's ports, which realized $471,000; Neil Armstrong's piece of the Wright Brothers' flyer brought to the moon, which sold for $137,500; and a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that disappeared for $103,125. "This is only Heritage's third Historical Platinum auction, after last July's record-setting debut, and in such a short time, our clients and collectors have to realize and appreciate the importance of this event," says Joe Maddalena, Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President. "Each one has spanned centuries of human achievement and contained milestone moments throughout history. The amount realized this weekend is just one tangible indicator of the import each auction provides." And in this event, nothing carried more weight than this stunning Declaration of Independence, one of only 13 broadside editions printed between July and August 1776. Each originated in print shops scattered across six states: Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Massachusetts. John Rogers printed this auction's example in Salem, at the shop owned by Ezekiel Russell, from which The American Gazette was published in 1776. There are only six recorded copies of this historic broadside. The Declaration that sold Saturday is just one of two in private hands, and its provenance is impeccable: This Declaration of Independence once belonged to Philip David Sang, who famously collected and studied 18th- and 19th-century American manuscripts often loaned to or donated to universities, museums and libraries nationwide. The other survivors reside at Harvard University, Georgetown University, the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Peabody Essex Museum. Its rarity and origin certainly set this Declaration apart, and so, too, its layout: This is the only Declaration broadside printed in four columns. Lincoln's proclamation was no less significant in impact: Just weeks into his presidency, and only five days after the fall of Fort Sumter to the Confederacy, the president authorized Secretary of State William Henry Seward to prevent between the Confederacy and other nations. In this letter, Lincoln authorizes the blockade of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas ports — some 3,500 miles of Confederate coastline. That proclamation, which realized $471,000, is dated April 19, 1861. Four years and one day later, Lincoln's Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, issued this broadside offering a $50,000 reward for the apprehension of the man who killed the president, John Wilkes Booth, and $25,000 each for accomplices John H. Surratt and David C. Herold (misspelled as "Harold"). This exceptionally rare first printing of perhaps the most infamous reward poster in American history realized $187,500. A missive written and signed by President George Washington realized $175,000 — partly because of its recipient, George Mason, the Founding Father who preached individual liberties as a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787. In this letter, dated Oct. 22, 1780, Washington informs Mason that Nathanael Greene has been made commander of the southern army and asks Mason to lend Greene whatever support he can. Washington then reports on the desperate state of the military and offers an argument in favor of expanding Congressional powers to prosecute the war. From the Gazette of the United States came one of the first public printings of the Bill of Rights, which realized $106,250. The full text of the 12 proposed amendments was found on Page 199 in the first and second columns. Just about two centuries after the United States declared its independence, this country sent three men to the moon — and one of them, Neil Armstrong, returned from that Apollo 11 mission with a piece of the Orville and Wilbur Wright's 1903 Wright Flyer, which took flight Dec. 17, 1903, just a few miles south of Kitty Hawk, N.C. In a signed letter dated Jan. 26, 1970, he wrote that "the wooden and fabric materials provided by the Air Force Museum were placed aboard Apollo XI and carried to the surface of the moon by the lunar module 'Eagle' on mankind's first lunar landing, July 20, 1969." That letter remains in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. This historical two-fer, consisting of a portion of the fabric Armstrong was allowed to keep, landed in a new home Saturday for $137,500. And the most thoroughly documented revolver belonging to one of the Wild West's most documented outlaws hit the bull's eye Saturday. It's not uncommon for collectors to aim a side eye at sidearms said to have belonged to mythic men; as our catalog notes, suspicion is warranted "because so many fakes or examples with undocumented histories appear on the market." But this Colt single-action .45 was identified by three generations of the James family as the Colt held and holstered by Jesse James. A gun with this full — and fascinating — provenance seldom comes to market, which explains why its new owner pulled the trigger at $125,000. Click here for a full list of Heritage's July 8 Historical Platinum Session Signature ® Auction results. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 1,750,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of 6,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter . Link to this release or view prior press releases . Hi-Res images available: Robert Wilonsky, VP Public Relations and Communications 214-409-1887 or RobertW@HA.com