From Jefferson to Hemingway: Rare Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection Achieves Strong Results at Freeman’s

Lot 80 | Thomas Jefferson at the Birth of a New Nation: An Important Letter Carried by a Jewish Patriot Communicating the Definitive Treaty of Paris, Projecting American Stability, and Preparations for the Publication of His “Notes on the State of Virginia”, January 16, 1784 | Sold for $108,800

 

Freeman’s How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X auction on June 30 brought together rare documents, manuscripts, and printed works chronicling pivotal moments in American history. Held just days before the nation’s celebration of its Semiquincentennial, the sale achieved a 103% sell-through rate by value, with 90%of lots sold and 25% of buyers participating with Freeman’s for the first time. 

“The Books & Manuscripts team is very happy with the results from this sale,” said Darren Winston, SVP, Head of Department, Books & Manuscripts. “It was a remarkable collection, and we are honored to have brought this material to market. We offered 316 lots to 1,002 registered bidders and sold 288 of them to 113 unique buyers, achieving a 90% sell-through rate. One man’s collection, built over 60 years and reflecting the breadth of American history ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary, was sold by a 221-year-old American auction house to 113 new owners living in 12 of the original 13 colonies, as well as collectors nationally and internationally.” 

Eric C. Caren has been called “The Babe Ruth of Historical Collecting” after assembling a collection of more than 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. His collection offers a sweeping and deeply personal view of the past, preserving the voices of individuals and communities whose stories have shaped the American experience. 

The June auction marked the tenth major sale of Mr. Caren’s extensive holdings. From the founding of the nation through moments of political, social, and cultural transformation, the material offered in How History Unfolds on Paper reflects the enduring importance of preserving the written record of history. 

Auction Highlights 

Lot 80 | Thomas Jefferson at the Birth of a New Nation: An Important Letter Carried by a Jewish Patriot Communicating the Definitive Treaty of Paris, Projecting American Stability, and Preparations for the Publication of His “Notes on the State of Virginia”, January 16, 1784 
Sold for $108,800 

The top lot of the sale, this defining document from the earliest days of American independence generated strong interest among collectors, ultimately selling for $108,800. This two-page autograph letter signed by Thomas Jefferson was written on January 16, 1784, shortly after Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris formally ending the Revolutionary War. Addressed to Jefferson’s friend and fellow intellectual François Jean de Beauvoir, Chevalier de Chastellux, the letter reflects Jefferson’s thoughts on the young republic following the American victory and responds to concerns about the stability of the new nation. 

The letter was delivered alongside official copies of the treaty by Lt. Col. David S. Franks, likely the first Jewish American employed in the emerging diplomatic corps. Of the more than one million items Eric Caren has collected, he has described this letter as his favorite. 

 

Lot 16 | The State of Minnesota Officially Certifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
Sold for $57,600 

This exceptionally rare official state certification of the Fourteenth Amendment attracted significant bidding interest, selling for more than seven times its low estimate. Certified by Minnesota Secretary of State Henry C. Rogers in 1867, the document records Minnesota’s ratification of one of the most consequential amendments in American history, establishing constitutional protections related to citizenship and equal protection under the law. 

The Fourteenth Amendment became a cornerstone of American constitutional law, shaping debates around civil rights and citizenship for more than 150 years. Freeman’s was unable to locate another official state certification of the Fourteenth Amendment in the available auction record. 

 

Lot 64 | Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776! 
Sold for $25,600 

This rare issue of The Pennsylvania Evening Post represents one of only two newspapers printed in the United States on July 4, 1776—the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Founded by Philadelphia printer Benjamin Towne, the publication was the first daily newspaper printed in the United States and was produced just blocks from the Pennsylvania State House, where the Second Continental Congress met. 

The example surpassed its $15,000 low estimate and is among the rarest surviving records of the nation’s founding moment. Freeman’s identified only one other surviving copy in addition to this example. 

 

Lot 102 | Madison Proposes the Bill of Rights in a Local New York Newspaper 
Sold for $25,600 

This exceptionally rare issue of The New-York Journal and Weekly Register reported on James Madison’s June 8, 1789 speech before Congress proposing amendments to the Constitution. Madison’s proposals ultimately evolved into the Bill of Rights, which was ratified in 1791. 

Selling for more than 20 times its high estimate, the newspaper is among the earliest printed accounts of Madison’s landmark proposal. Attesting to its rarity, Freeman’s was unable to locate another copy of this issue in the available auction record. 

 

Lot 315 | One of the Few Surviving Letters From Ernest Hemingway to His Third Wife, Martha Gellhorn, Written While a Front-Line War Correspondent in France 
Sold for $25,600 

This rare six-page autograph letter from Ernest Hemingway to his wife Martha Gellhorn was written in August 1944 while he was serving as a front-line war correspondent in France during World War II. Written just weeks before the liberation of Paris, the letter provides a firsthand account of his experiences—including a near brush with death—alongside advancing American forces and reflects on his role as both a correspondent and observer of the war. 

One of only an incredibly small number of surviving letters from Hemingway to Gellhorn remaining in private hands, this rare letter far surpassed its $7,000–10,000 estimate. 

 

Lot 117 | Plymouth Colony Seeks a Royal Charter: A Rare and Important Plymouth Colony Document 
Sold for $24,320 

This 1690/91 manuscript document from Plymouth Colony quadrupled its low estimate, reflecting the rarity and historical importance of early colonial material. The document records efforts by Plymouth leaders to secure a separate royal charter following the collapse of the Dominion of New England. 

Seeking to preserve the colony’s political and religious independence, the document outlines instructions for negotiations with representatives in England. Plymouth ultimately did not receive a separate charter and was later incorporated into the Province of Massachusetts Bay, making this manuscript an important record of a pivotal moment in colonial history. 

 

LEFT TO RIGHT 

Lot 252 | Extraordinarily Large Manuscript Petition Signed by a Who's Who of Colonial New York to Queen Anne from the Colony of New York | Sold for $24,320 
Lot 38 | John Jay's Copy of An Exact Abridgment of all the Statutes, in 8 Volumes, all Signed by Him | Sold for $15,360 

Additional Successes 

• Lot 252 
  Extraordinarily Large Manuscript Petition Signed by a Who's Who of Colonial New York Accomplished on Vellum to Queen Anne from the Colony of New York Seeking Reimbursement for a Failed Conquest of New France, November 12, 1709, With Reference to William Penn's Proprietary Colony of Pennsylvania 
  Sold for $24,320 

• Lot 38 
  John Jay's Copy of An Exact Abridgment of all the Statutes, in 8 Volumes, all Signed by Him 
  Sold for $15,360  

• Lot 146 
  One of the Earliest Printed Announcements of American Independence, in The Pennsylvania Magazine, June 1776, in the Exceedingly Rare Original Wrappers 
  Sold for $15,360 

• Lot 89 
  "The Two Big Guns of the N.Y. Yanks": A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands 
  Sold for $14,080 

• Lot 71 
  A Call to Arms in the Months Following the Declaration of Independence: An Early Continental Army Recruitment Poster 
  Sold for $12,800 

• Lot 189 
  One of the Earliest Printed References to Jewish Individuals Living in the New World, 1698 
  Sold for $12,800