BLANCHARD’S AUCTION SERVICE
November 11, 2017 at 11:00 AM
1891 Morley-Potsdam Road
POTSDAM, NY 13676
The Mulford-Gardiner-Buell Papers 1667-1815
including John Holt’s New York printing of THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE and other rare and unrecorded Revolutionary broadsides and manuscripts, documenting the history of East Hampton, Long Island, The American Revolution, and Slavery in New York
All items in this auction have been part of a single family archive, the Mulford-Gardiner-Buell Papers, since the day they were written or received by one of the many East Hampton, Long Island, ancestors of the New York descendant who owns them to this day. In other words, Col. David Mulford’s copy of John Holt’s New York printing of the Declaration of Independence, for instance, has remained a treasured possession of a single line of his direct descendants during every one of the 241 years since the day it was handed to him in July 1776.
The manuscripts among the Mulford-Gardiner-Buell Papers are, by definition, unique. All the printed broadsides, and one of the books, are rare (in fact, known in six or fewer copies). Many have previously been known to exist only as exemplars secured long ago by old institutions. Others have not yet been recorded outside the pages of the catalogue.
LOT SUMMARIES
The Mulford-Gardiner-Buell Papers
Entire collection to be sold in two separate lots as follows:
Catalogue available for $25.00
Terms: A 20% buyers’ premium will be assessed and added to successful bids. Items are guaranteed to be genuine and sold as is. All sales are final.
A deposit of 20% of the total price of each lot is due immediately following the auction, to be followed within three business days by wire transfer of the remaining balance.
The documents will be transferred when payment of total hammer price plus buyer’s premium has been completed.
LOT A
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE and eight supporting documents, being Col. David Mulford’s exemplar of John Holt’s New York printing of THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (one of only five known, the present copy being the only one still in private hands) and eight later items documenting Mulford descendants’ ownership of this Declaration.
Estimate $500,000 to $1,000,000
LOT B
The rest of the MULFORD-GARDINER-BUELL PAPERS, that is, all The Mulford-Gardiner-Buell Papers except for those offered as Lot A (left), documenting in highly varied detail the history of East Hampton, L.I., New York, from 1667 to 1815, and including the family’s rare or unique exemplars of, e.g., Evans 1463, Evans 1841, an early product of John Peter Zenger’s press, Paul Revere’s early copperplate engraving for Long Islanders, an unrecorded New York broadside of William Pitt’s (the Earl of Chatham’s) 20 January 1775 speech to the House of Lords urging the withdrawal of His Majesty’s troops from Boston, Evans 14933, Evans 14937, Evans 14783, unrecorded broadside orders by William Howe, and many wholly manuscript documents recording (many of them uniquely) details of the history of East Hampton, Long Island, before and during the Revolutionary era, including important documents regarding the local enslavement of named African-American women, men, and children and other matters of historical interest and importance.
Estimate $25,000 to $50,000
Auctioneer: Kip Blanchard • 315-265-5070 or BlanchardsAuctionService@gmail.com
View photos and listing at www.blanchardsauctionservice.com
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