Freeman’s to Present How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X in Philadelphia on June 30
Thomas Jefferson’s “Birth of a New Nation” Letter Announcing the Definitive Treaty of Paris, Carried by a Jewish Patriot. Two-page Autograph Letter, signed, to Francois Jean de Beauvoir, Chevalier de Chastellux, January 16, 1784. | Estimate $100,000 – 200,000
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. This single-owner auction represents one of the most extensive documentations of American history in private hands. The collection spans the period before national independence through westward expansion, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Movement, and into the 21st century.
“It is an honor not only to put together an auction from the over one million items in Mr. Caren’s collection, but also to be able to personally choose the material with him that illustrates American history shown through objects that were meant to be saved but few survived,” said Darren Winston, Senior Vice President, Head of Department, Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia.
Eric C. Caren has been called “The Babe Ruth of Historical Collecting,” as he assembled a collection of over one million original items, including rare newspapers, books and pamphlets, broadsides, manuscripts, early photographs, ephemera, and printed records documenting pivotal moments in American and world history. The collection tells a broad and compelling story of America, highlighting communities and individuals whose voices have too often been overlooked. What distinguishes this sale is not only its scale and rarity, but the distinctly American narrative it presents.
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.
“Bombs &c keeping up a heavy bombardment on Fort McHenry” From the Logbook of a British Midshipman during the bombing of Fort McHenry.
Estimate $60,000 – 80,000
Auction Highlights:
Thomas Jefferson’s Birth of a New Nation Letter Announces the Definitive Treaty of Paris
Estimate: $100,000 – 200,000
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Annapolis, January 16, 1784. A very fine two-page autograph letter, signed by Thomas Jefferson to Francois Jean de Beauvoir, Chevalier de Chastellux.
At the dawn of American sovereignty, only two days after the Confederation Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris officially ending the Revolutionary War, Jefferson writes to his friend and fellow man of letters, the Marquis de Chastellux. Wide-ranging in content, this letter was delivered alongside official copies of the definitive treaty by Lt. Col. David S. Franks (1740-93), likely the first Jewish American employed in the nascent diplomatic corp, who had been working for Jefferson for nearly a year. Discursive in nature, Jefferson communicates the treaty, offers an appraisal of the young republic following the war, dispels rumors of American “anarchy,” and makes reference to preparations on the publication of his only published book, Notes on the State of Virginia.
When asked, Mr. Caren exclaimed that of the over one million items that he has collected in his lifetime, this letter is by far his favorite.
“Bombs &c keeping up a heavy bombardment on Fort McHenry” From the Logbook of a British Midshipman during the bombing of Fort McHenry
Estimate: $60,000 – 80,000
- Malden, Charles Robert. Log book kept by British Midshipman Charles R. Malden, RN, aboard the HMS Trave, May 1814 to May 1816. Extensive ship’s log kept by future Royal Navy officer Charles Malden while serving aboard the HMS Trave. Among the detailed entries for the night of September 13-14, 1814, is a first-person account of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812, and the fateful shelling of Fort McHenry, the inspiration for Francis Scott Key's Star-Spangled Banner.
"We have met the enemy and they are ours" Oliver Hazard Perry is Appointed Master Commander in the United States Navy During the War of 1812. One of the MostImportant Military Commissions in Private Hands
Estimate: $40,000 – 60,000
- Washington, D.C., August 28, 1812. Partially-printed military commission on vellum, signed by President James Madison, counter-signed by Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton, a year before Hazard’s stunning victory at Lake Erie. Engraved vignette at top and bottom, paper seal with ribbon intact at bottom.
One of the First Printed Announcements of American Independence
Estimate: $10,000 – 20,000
- The Pennsylvania Magazine: Or, American Monthly Museum for June 1776. Philadelphia: 1776. First edition. Possibly Postmaster Ebenezer Hazard's copy. Rare original stiff printed wrappers. Among the first of any type of publication to announce American independence, preceded only by the Pennsylvania Evening Post issue of July 2. Although dated June 1776, the monthly issues were traditionally published the first Wednesday of the following month, which would have been on July 3. Due to a temporary paper shortage, the printing was delayed until no later than July 4 or 5, allowing enough time to add at the end of the "Monthly Intelligence" section the important Congressional announcement, that on, "July 2. This day the Hon. Continental Congress declared the UNITED COLONIES FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES."
Born in the USA, July 4, 1776: First Day of Printing in the United States
Estimate: $10,000 – 20,000
- The Pennsylvania Evening Post, July 4, 1776. Philadelphia: Benjamin Towne, July 4, 1776. Vol. II, No. 227. An outstanding example of this important newspaper, the only one published in Philadelphia on the day of American independence.
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 EDT in our Philadelphia saleroom. Bidding will be available in person, over the phone, and via absentee or live online bidding.