250 Years of Printing, 220 Years of Auctioneering: Important Printed Americana from Philadelphia, Presented by America’s Oldest Auction House
Lot 64 | Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776, in The Pennsylvania Evening Post | Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000
From the Eric C. Caren Collection to be Offered June 30
This summer, Freeman’s is pleased to present How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X on June 30, 2026, featuring material spanning more than three centuries of American history. This single-owner auction represents one of the most extensive documentations of American history in private hands, and includes rare newspapers, pamphlets, books, and ephemera that trace the development of printing and publishing in Philadelphia. The history of printing and publishing in America is the history of printing and publishing in Philadelphia. The first paper mill in America was established by William Rittenhouseand his son in Philadelphia in 1690. Benjamin Franklin began printing there in 1728. The first printing of the Declaration of Independence in a newspaper was in The Pennsylvania Evening Post.
“Eric Caren’s collections—and this sale in particular—are a printed record of the history of the United States, not in a history book, but in over three hundred individual items that each tell a part of that history, many unique. Familiar voices, some never heard. How history unfolds on paper,” said Darren Winston, Head of Department, Books & Manuscripts.
The Freeman’s sale marks the tenth major auction of Mr. Caren’s extensive and carefully curated holdings. The previous nine sales have attracted international attention and strong institutional and private bidding.
Lot 52 | Early Report of the Boston Tea Party, Printed by The Pennsylvania Gazette, One of Most Vocal Voices of Colonial Opposition | Estimate $1,500 – 2,500
Auction Highlights:
Lot 64 | Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776
Estimate: $15,000 – 25,000
The Pennsylvania Evening Post
Philadelphia: Benjamin Towne, Thursday, July 4, 1776.This issue is significant for being one of only two newspapers printed in the United States on July 4, 1776, the other being The Maryland Gazette, although the Post was likely the first. They were the first newspapers to be printed after the United States formally declared its independence from Great Britain, marking a truly watershed moment in world history. The Post was also the first daily newspaper published in the United States.
Lot 52 | Early Report of the Boston Tea Party, Printed by The Pennsylvania Gazette, One of Most Vocal Voices of Colonial Opposition
Estimate: $1,500 – 2,500
The Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia: Hall and Sellers), January 5, 1774.
Rare issue of The Pennsylvania Gazette, containing an early contemporary report on the Boston Tea Party.
Lot 147 | A Very Early Philadelphia Museum Trade Card for Bowen's Exhibition of Wax-Work and Paintings, ca. 1792-93
Estimate: $1,500 – 2,500
A very early museum promotional card, advertising pioneering American museum proprietor and showman Daniel Bowen's (1760-1856) Philadelphia exhibition of wax-works and paintings.
Lot 142 | The Important and Increasingly Rare Robert Aitken Issue of the Journals of Congress for the Pivotal Year of 1776, Containing an Early and Complete Printing of the Declaration of Independence, 1777
Estimate: $6,000 – 9,000
This is the earliest obtainable printing of the Declaration to print the Signers' names, as the January 1777 broadside printing by Mary Goddard that first revealed the Signers survives in only nine known copies.
Preview Exhibition
Property from the sale will be on public view in Philadelphia prior to the auction.
June 22–26 and June 29, 2026
2400 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
How to Bid
How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X will be offered at auction on June 30 at 10 AM ET in our Philadelphia saleroom. Bidding will be available in person, over the phone, and via absentee or live online bidding.