George Washington Letter Sold for $3.2 Million
Posted By Steven on December 14, 2009
An emotional letter from George Washington to his nephew Bushrod, written soon after the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 has sold at Christie’s for a record $3.2 million dollars (including buyer’s premium.) This smashes the previous record of $834,500 set in 2002 for a Revolutionary War military report in his hand.
In the letter, Washington praises the positive qualities of the Constitution to preserve and strengthen the young United States, until then struggling for survival under the Articles of Confederation. He says in part “If . . . the Union of the whole is a desirable object, the parts which compose it must yield a little”. Washington had presided over the Constitutional Convention, and was an ardent supporter of the document. Answering critics and foes of a stronger central government, he writes
“The power under the Constitution will always be with the people… It is entrusted for certain defined purposes and for a certain limited period to representatives of their own chusing; and whenever it is exercised contrary to their interests . . . their servants can, and undoubtedly will be, recalled.”
The letter, sold by an unidentified British descendant of the first President, was given an estimate of $1.5 million to $2.5 million, not only because of the author, but also because of the historically important content. Some observers expressed skepticism at the estimate, citing the depressed economy, but the results showed that items as historically significant as this one will sell well in any market. The bidding rapidly rose from the opening of $950,000 and concluded in a duel between two phone bidders, with the hammer coming down at $2.8 million. The buyer’s premium (auction fee) brought the final price to $3.2 million.
This sale continues a trend that started gaining momentum in the late 1990s, where content can play as significant, or in many cases, a larger role in the price of a manuscript than the author’s signature. This is readily evident in the US Civil War market, where letters with good content from an enlisted man can fetch more than a signature of the average general. Even “camp letters” that are not written about a large battle can fetch good prices with the right research presented to the buyer to put the letter into context.
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