Political Document
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Autograph Manuscript Ancient England US Independence Development of USA President Lincoln
Chronology : 18th century 1776 1780-1789 1787 1860-1869
See also : Autograph Manuscript Ancient England US Independence Development of USA President Lincoln
Chronology : 18th century 1776 1780-1789 1787 1860-1869
1297 The Magna Carta
2007 SOLD for $ 21.3M by Sotheby's
The Magna Carta contains the seeds of modern political regimes and announces the decline of the absolutisms.
In 1215 the English barons revolted against King John. Financial and military demands had not prevented the scathing failures. In a situation of civil war, the king is forced to accept the Magna Carta by which the barons take control of the taxes.
The Magna Carta undergoes several modifications, because the political circumstances change. De facto rejected by King John, the Council of Barons, which was the forerunner of a parliamentary regime, was canceled in 1216 when the child Henry III acceded to the throne. In 1225 Henry III simplified the Magna Carta to facilitate its legal application.
The idea of a Parliament is gaining ground. Edward I takes the habit of summoning his advisers to make decisions concerning taxes and their collection. The operating rules are defined from 1283. It only remained to give force of law to the Magna Carta, which the king assisted by the Parliament solemnly does on October 12, 1297. It is stipulated in 1300 that a copy will be available in each county to be read four times a year.
17 manuscript copies from the 13th century have survived. 15 of them are in British institutions and one in the Australian Parliament.
The 17th document is a copy from 1297. It was bought in 1984 by the US billionaire Ross Perot, who entrusted it for display at the National Archives in Washington DC. It was sold for $ 21.3M by Sotheby's on December 18, 2007. Its new owner, David M. Rubenstein, returned it to the Archives for a new long-term loan. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In 1215 the English barons revolted against King John. Financial and military demands had not prevented the scathing failures. In a situation of civil war, the king is forced to accept the Magna Carta by which the barons take control of the taxes.
The Magna Carta undergoes several modifications, because the political circumstances change. De facto rejected by King John, the Council of Barons, which was the forerunner of a parliamentary regime, was canceled in 1216 when the child Henry III acceded to the throne. In 1225 Henry III simplified the Magna Carta to facilitate its legal application.
The idea of a Parliament is gaining ground. Edward I takes the habit of summoning his advisers to make decisions concerning taxes and their collection. The operating rules are defined from 1283. It only remained to give force of law to the Magna Carta, which the king assisted by the Parliament solemnly does on October 12, 1297. It is stipulated in 1300 that a copy will be available in each county to be read four times a year.
17 manuscript copies from the 13th century have survived. 15 of them are in British institutions and one in the Australian Parliament.
The 17th document is a copy from 1297. It was bought in 1984 by the US billionaire Ross Perot, who entrusted it for display at the National Archives in Washington DC. It was sold for $ 21.3M by Sotheby's on December 18, 2007. Its new owner, David M. Rubenstein, returned it to the Archives for a new long-term loan. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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1765 Stamp Act Defiance Placard
2024 SOLD for $ 4.5M by Christie's
The British victory in the French and Indian wars near doubled the British national debt. Expecting the Americans to contribute, the British parliament emitted on March 22, 1765 a Duties for American Colonies Act. The new tax required that many printed materials in the colonies were to be produced on paper from London that would include an embossed revenue stamp. It was popularly known as the Stamp Act.
The defeated French were no more a menace and many Americans disagreed to maintain a British military force on their continent at their expense without a local political representation.
The implementation was scheduled for November 1 by the British. The protests became violent, reaching the streets in Boston, Providence and Newport in August.
An illegal Stamp Act congress met in New York City from October 7 to 25 to petition the King and Parliament. The first shipment of stamps for New York and Connecticut arrived at New York harbor on October 23. A huge angry crowd gathered. Manuscript placards appeared throughout the city warning that "the first man that either distributes or makes use of stamped paper let him take care of his house, person, and effects."
One of these defiance placards is titled Pro Patria and signed by a threatening anonymous Vox Populi also reading We Dare. This page on laid paper 156 x 192 mm was inscribed on the recto by two of its owners. It was sold for $ 4.5M by Christie's on January 17, 2024, lot 98.
Only one other example is surviving. It had been picked by the governor of New York for informing the Colonial Office in London, accompanied by a letter stating ‘The night after the ship arrived, papers were pasted upon the doors of every public office, and at the corners of the streets, one [of] which I enclose – all of them in the same words. His Majesty’s Ministers are the best judges of the means to curb this licentious factious spirit.’ It is kept by the British National Archives.
Vehement protests continued through the rest of the year. The Stamp Act was repealed in March 1766.
The defeated French were no more a menace and many Americans disagreed to maintain a British military force on their continent at their expense without a local political representation.
The implementation was scheduled for November 1 by the British. The protests became violent, reaching the streets in Boston, Providence and Newport in August.
An illegal Stamp Act congress met in New York City from October 7 to 25 to petition the King and Parliament. The first shipment of stamps for New York and Connecticut arrived at New York harbor on October 23. A huge angry crowd gathered. Manuscript placards appeared throughout the city warning that "the first man that either distributes or makes use of stamped paper let him take care of his house, person, and effects."
One of these defiance placards is titled Pro Patria and signed by a threatening anonymous Vox Populi also reading We Dare. This page on laid paper 156 x 192 mm was inscribed on the recto by two of its owners. It was sold for $ 4.5M by Christie's on January 17, 2024, lot 98.
Only one other example is surviving. It had been picked by the governor of New York for informing the Colonial Office in London, accompanied by a letter stating ‘The night after the ship arrived, papers were pasted upon the doors of every public office, and at the corners of the streets, one [of] which I enclose – all of them in the same words. His Majesty’s Ministers are the best judges of the means to curb this licentious factious spirit.’ It is kept by the British National Archives.
Vehement protests continued through the rest of the year. The Stamp Act was repealed in March 1766.
1776 US Independence
1
The Dunlap Broadside
2000 SOLD for $ 8.1M by Sotheby's
John Hancock, a very wealthy New England merchant, was particularly penalized by the new tax laws of the colonial power. His involvement in the bloody events of the resistance in Boston made him popular with the patriots. He became president of the second Continental Congress, opened in May 1775, after a health breakdown of the initially appointed president.
The Congress debates the strategy concerning England : equitable reconciliation or separation. The supporters of independence form a committee in charge of preparing a declaration which is written by Jefferson.
Hancock chairs the session of July 4, 1776 during which the delegates accept the text of the committee of the independence. Now time is running out. John Adams will say later : "We were all in haste". The document prepared by Jefferson is signed by Hancock and attested by the Congress secretary, Charles Thomson.
From then they are in a hurry to propagate the information in the thirteen colonies and to the army. They had no time left for preparing a clean copy of that draft amended during the debates or a fortiori to have it signed by the delegates who have just approved its text.It is immediately supplied to John Dunlap, a printer operating in Philadelphia who is the usual contractor for official Congress documents.
The broadside is printed during the night of July 4 to 5. The manuscript no longer matters : it is lost in this operation. Hancock organizes the distribution of the document while urging each recipient to disclose the text by any appropriate means.
The Dunlap broadside is the earliest surviving example of the final text of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. The number of copies is not known although the figure of 200 seems fair. 25 copies survive. Almost all are in US institutions or museums.
One of them was found in 1989 by a bargain hunter in the backside of the frame of a torn painting that he had just bought. It was sold for $ 8.1M by Sotheby's on June 29, 2000, a record at the time for an Internet auction.
The buyer was the television producer Norman Lear supported by Internet entrepreneur David Hayden. Lear is not a collector. He immediately organized the Declaration of Independence Road Trip, a non-profit organization committed for displaying this historic document to as many people as possible through tours from city to city.
To accompany the broadcast, Hancock prepares a letter encouraging its public proclamation. The letter is written by a clerk in thirteen copies on July 5 and 6, and mailed to either a personality or a committee in each of the thirteen colonies. A similar shipment was made to two war leaders including Washington. The letter sent to the state of Georgia as sold for $ 1.9M by Freeman's on May 4, 2022, lot 11.
Delegates had not been invited to sign beside Hancock and Thomson during the July 4 session. The original manuscript is lost, possibly destroyed by Dunlap after use. On July 19, the Congress decides to prepare a new manuscript copy on parchment to receive all the signatures.
The Congress debates the strategy concerning England : equitable reconciliation or separation. The supporters of independence form a committee in charge of preparing a declaration which is written by Jefferson.
Hancock chairs the session of July 4, 1776 during which the delegates accept the text of the committee of the independence. Now time is running out. John Adams will say later : "We were all in haste". The document prepared by Jefferson is signed by Hancock and attested by the Congress secretary, Charles Thomson.
From then they are in a hurry to propagate the information in the thirteen colonies and to the army. They had no time left for preparing a clean copy of that draft amended during the debates or a fortiori to have it signed by the delegates who have just approved its text.It is immediately supplied to John Dunlap, a printer operating in Philadelphia who is the usual contractor for official Congress documents.
The broadside is printed during the night of July 4 to 5. The manuscript no longer matters : it is lost in this operation. Hancock organizes the distribution of the document while urging each recipient to disclose the text by any appropriate means.
The Dunlap broadside is the earliest surviving example of the final text of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. The number of copies is not known although the figure of 200 seems fair. 25 copies survive. Almost all are in US institutions or museums.
One of them was found in 1989 by a bargain hunter in the backside of the frame of a torn painting that he had just bought. It was sold for $ 8.1M by Sotheby's on June 29, 2000, a record at the time for an Internet auction.
The buyer was the television producer Norman Lear supported by Internet entrepreneur David Hayden. Lear is not a collector. He immediately organized the Declaration of Independence Road Trip, a non-profit organization committed for displaying this historic document to as many people as possible through tours from city to city.
To accompany the broadcast, Hancock prepares a letter encouraging its public proclamation. The letter is written by a clerk in thirteen copies on July 5 and 6, and mailed to either a personality or a committee in each of the thirteen colonies. A similar shipment was made to two war leaders including Washington. The letter sent to the state of Georgia as sold for $ 1.9M by Freeman's on May 4, 2022, lot 11.
Delegates had not been invited to sign beside Hancock and Thomson during the July 4 session. The original manuscript is lost, possibly destroyed by Dunlap after use. On July 19, the Congress decides to prepare a new manuscript copy on parchment to receive all the signatures.
2
The Exeter Broadside
2026 SOLD for $ 5.7M by Christie's
The disclosure of the text of the Declaration of Independence in the thirteen founding states is essential for the success of the American Revolution. It uses two media : newspapers, from July 9, 1776, and broadsides. The printing of the latter did not need to be dated.
After the original broadside prepared by Dunlap and distributed on Hancock's orders, fourteen local editions of broadsides are known, including five without printer identification. The comparison with newspaper impressions allows an attribution. Beyond the number of the columns of the text, experts look for typographic variations.
An anonymous 50 x 40 cm two column broadside was printed in conformance with the New Hampshire Gazette also known as Exeter Morning Chronicle in its July 16 issue. It had two print runs, before and after correcting a mis-spelling on Hancock's name. A mis-spelling of Thomson as Thompson, also present on the Salem broadside, was not corrected.
A copy of the Exeter broadside was sold for $ 5.7M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on January 23, 2026, lot 205. The photo in the catalogue assesses the correct spelling of Hancock, meaning that is is from the second print run.
After the original broadside prepared by Dunlap and distributed on Hancock's orders, fourteen local editions of broadsides are known, including five without printer identification. The comparison with newspaper impressions allows an attribution. Beyond the number of the columns of the text, experts look for typographic variations.
An anonymous 50 x 40 cm two column broadside was printed in conformance with the New Hampshire Gazette also known as Exeter Morning Chronicle in its July 16 issue. It had two print runs, before and after correcting a mis-spelling on Hancock's name. A mis-spelling of Thomson as Thompson, also present on the Salem broadside, was not corrected.
A copy of the Exeter broadside was sold for $ 5.7M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on January 23, 2026, lot 205. The photo in the catalogue assesses the correct spelling of Hancock, meaning that is is from the second print run.
US Constitution
Intro
Relying on the document sold by Sotheby's on November 18, 2021, lot 1787, define the importance of the US Constitution, including worldwide legacy.
The document sold at Sotheby's on November 18, 2021 (lot from a dedicated single-lot auction, often referenced in context with related sales), was an exceptionally rare first printing of the final text of the United States Constitution. Printed in approximately 500 copies in September 1787 by Dunlap & Claypoole for submission to the Continental Congress and delegates to the Constitutional Convention, it represents the "Official Edition"—the first public dissemination of the Constitution's finalized wording after its adoption in Philadelphia.
Only 11–13 surviving copies are known today, with this one (from the Dorothy Tapper Goldman collection) being the last in private hands at the time; it sold for a record $43.2 million.
Importance of the US Constitution
This printing embodies the foundational moment of American governance. As described in Sotheby's materials and expert commentary (e.g., by Selby Kiffer), it marks the transition from debate over the Constitution's content to the ratification process, replacing the ineffective Articles of Confederation. It is regarded as the oldest continuing codified national charter in the world, establishing a durable framework for a federal republic with separated powers, checks and balances, and (later via amendments) protected individual rights. Sotheby's specialists emphasized it as "unequivocally the most significant document in United States history," the ultimate expression of democratic principles that transformed colonists into a unified nation and has endured for over 235 years through 27 amendments.
Worldwide Legacy
The U.S. Constitution's global influence is profound, serving as a model for written constitutions, federalism, separation of powers, judicial review, and rights protections. It inspired 19th-century Latin American constitutions, post-WWII documents in Germany and Japan, and many others in emerging democracies (e.g., Philippines, India). Studies note similarities in phrasing and principles in numerous national charters, promoting rule of law and limited government. While its direct influence has waned since the late 20th century (as newer constitutions incorporate broader social rights), it remains a benchmark for democratic governance worldwide, often called the primary influence on modern constitutionalism. As Sotheby's noted in related sales, it "will continue to influence the future of democratic principles in America and around the world."
The document sold at Sotheby's on November 18, 2021 (lot from a dedicated single-lot auction, often referenced in context with related sales), was an exceptionally rare first printing of the final text of the United States Constitution. Printed in approximately 500 copies in September 1787 by Dunlap & Claypoole for submission to the Continental Congress and delegates to the Constitutional Convention, it represents the "Official Edition"—the first public dissemination of the Constitution's finalized wording after its adoption in Philadelphia.
Only 11–13 surviving copies are known today, with this one (from the Dorothy Tapper Goldman collection) being the last in private hands at the time; it sold for a record $43.2 million.
Importance of the US Constitution
This printing embodies the foundational moment of American governance. As described in Sotheby's materials and expert commentary (e.g., by Selby Kiffer), it marks the transition from debate over the Constitution's content to the ratification process, replacing the ineffective Articles of Confederation. It is regarded as the oldest continuing codified national charter in the world, establishing a durable framework for a federal republic with separated powers, checks and balances, and (later via amendments) protected individual rights. Sotheby's specialists emphasized it as "unequivocally the most significant document in United States history," the ultimate expression of democratic principles that transformed colonists into a unified nation and has endured for over 235 years through 27 amendments.
Worldwide Legacy
The U.S. Constitution's global influence is profound, serving as a model for written constitutions, federalism, separation of powers, judicial review, and rights protections. It inspired 19th-century Latin American constitutions, post-WWII documents in Germany and Japan, and many others in emerging democracies (e.g., Philippines, India). Studies note similarities in phrasing and principles in numerous national charters, promoting rule of law and limited government. While its direct influence has waned since the late 20th century (as newer constitutions incorporate broader social rights), it remains a benchmark for democratic governance worldwide, often called the primary influence on modern constitutionalism. As Sotheby's noted in related sales, it "will continue to influence the future of democratic principles in America and around the world."
1
September 13 Committee of Style Draft (with Rufus King autograph)
2026 SOLD for $ 7.4M by Christie's
A copy of the printed working draft of the US Constitution discussed by the Committee of Style had been marked up during the debates by a delegate. It was sold for $ 7.4M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on January 23, 2026, lot 214.
Role of the Committee of Style Draft in the Preparation of the U.S. Constitution
The Committee of Style (formally the Committee of Style and Arrangement) was appointed on September 8, 1787, near the end of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Its task was to revise and polish the text of the Constitution based on the provisions already agreed upon by the delegates after months of debate. The committee consisted of five members: William Samuel Johnson (chair), Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Rufus King, and Gouverneur Morris.
Gouverneur Morris is widely credited as the primary author of the draft's elegant and concise language—often called the "Penman of the Constitution." The committee condensed the prior resolutions into seven articles and produced a near-final version. Notably, it introduced the iconic Preamble beginning with "We the People of the United States" (replacing an earlier enumeration of the individual states), emphasizing national unity over a loose confederation of states.
On September 12, 1787, the committee's report was presented, and printers John Dunlap and David C. Claypoole produced limited copies for the delegates' use. This printed working draft—the second of only two such drafts created during the Convention (the first was from the earlier Committee of Detail)—allowed delegates to review the text uniformly during final debates from September 12–15. Minor revisions were made, and the final engrossed parchment was signed on September 17, 1787.
This draft represents the Constitution in its almost-final form, capturing the framers' polished vision just before adoption.
Significance of This Specific Print (Lot 214 at Christie's, January 23, 2026)
The document at auction is one of approximately 12 known surviving copies of the Committee of Style's printed draft, making it extraordinarily rare. All other known copies are held in institutional collections (museums, libraries, or archives). This is the first such copy to appear at auction in over 40 years.
It belonged to Rufus King (1755–1827), a Massachusetts delegate (later representing New York) who served on the Committee of Style itself. King's personal copy bears his handwritten annotations, corrections, and suggested alterations, which were incorporated into the final signed version of the Constitution. These markings provide direct insight into the real-time deliberations and last-minute refinements during the Convention's closing days.
As a working document marked up by a key framer, it offers a tangible window into the dynamic process of finalizing the text—far more revealing than clean institutional copies (such as those annotated by George Washington or David Brearley, now in archives). Its provenance ties it directly to the debates, underscoring how delegates like King influenced the document's ultimate wording.
Offered in Christie's "We the People: America at 250" sale (with an estimate of $3–5 million), this artifact is among the most significant Constitutional relics in private hands, illuminating the collaborative yet meticulous crafting of America's founding charter.
Role of the Committee of Style Draft in the Preparation of the U.S. Constitution
The Committee of Style (formally the Committee of Style and Arrangement) was appointed on September 8, 1787, near the end of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Its task was to revise and polish the text of the Constitution based on the provisions already agreed upon by the delegates after months of debate. The committee consisted of five members: William Samuel Johnson (chair), Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Rufus King, and Gouverneur Morris.
Gouverneur Morris is widely credited as the primary author of the draft's elegant and concise language—often called the "Penman of the Constitution." The committee condensed the prior resolutions into seven articles and produced a near-final version. Notably, it introduced the iconic Preamble beginning with "We the People of the United States" (replacing an earlier enumeration of the individual states), emphasizing national unity over a loose confederation of states.
On September 12, 1787, the committee's report was presented, and printers John Dunlap and David C. Claypoole produced limited copies for the delegates' use. This printed working draft—the second of only two such drafts created during the Convention (the first was from the earlier Committee of Detail)—allowed delegates to review the text uniformly during final debates from September 12–15. Minor revisions were made, and the final engrossed parchment was signed on September 17, 1787.
This draft represents the Constitution in its almost-final form, capturing the framers' polished vision just before adoption.
Significance of This Specific Print (Lot 214 at Christie's, January 23, 2026)
The document at auction is one of approximately 12 known surviving copies of the Committee of Style's printed draft, making it extraordinarily rare. All other known copies are held in institutional collections (museums, libraries, or archives). This is the first such copy to appear at auction in over 40 years.
It belonged to Rufus King (1755–1827), a Massachusetts delegate (later representing New York) who served on the Committee of Style itself. King's personal copy bears his handwritten annotations, corrections, and suggested alterations, which were incorporated into the final signed version of the Constitution. These markings provide direct insight into the real-time deliberations and last-minute refinements during the Convention's closing days.
As a working document marked up by a key framer, it offers a tangible window into the dynamic process of finalizing the text—far more revealing than clean institutional copies (such as those annotated by George Washington or David Brearley, now in archives). Its provenance ties it directly to the debates, underscoring how delegates like King influenced the document's ultimate wording.
Offered in Christie's "We the People: America at 250" sale (with an estimate of $3–5 million), this artifact is among the most significant Constitutional relics in private hands, illuminating the collaborative yet meticulous crafting of America's founding charter.
2
September 17 Final Document
2021 SOLD for $ 43M by Sotheby's
Eleven years after the Declaration of Independence, the USA still needed to have a federal law accepted by the thirteen states. They were tentatively ruled since 1781 by the Articles of Confederation.
The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia from May 25, 1787 with George Washington as president. The final version of the US Constitution established by the committee was signed on September 17 by 39 of the 55 delegates.
The text was immediately edited in 500 copies for the use of delegates and congressmen. No public release was suitable at that time as it still had to be ratified by the federal Congress and the states. The 6-page 41 x 26 cm document printed by John Dunlap in partnership with David Claypoole includes in appendix the list of delegates who voted for it and a copy of Washington's letter urging the ratification by the Congress.
This original US Constitution is still in force today without fundamental changes. Such an unprecedented longevity is due to the remarkable political insight of the delegates who prepared it under the leadership of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton and to the foreseen capability to amend it as necessary.
Thirteen copies are surviving. One of them was sold for $ 43M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2021, lot 1787. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This piece is the top highlight from the collection of S. Howard Goldman and his widow Dorothy. It is sold for the benefit of the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation whose aim is to advance the principles of America’s founding documents through educational programs. Mrs Goldman introduces her collection and educational purpose in the video shared by Sotheby's.
From the same collection, a copy of the first separate printing of the so called Bill of Rights was sold for $ 1.53M from a lower estimate of $ 700K by Sotheby's on November 23, 2021, lot 71.
This 3-page 34 x 21 cm document is dated August 24, 1789. It was prepared for proposing to the Congress a resolution of amendments to the US Constitution. Such articles had been desired by US citizens for preventing the government to infringe the basic individual rights. They were approved on September 26, 1789 and constitute the Third to Twelfth Amendments.
The underbidder for the US Constitution had been an organization just created for the express purpose of raising money to acquire it. They gathered more than 17,000 contributors who, in a matter of only weeks, raised more than $ 40 million, not enough against the winning bidder, the fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin.
The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia from May 25, 1787 with George Washington as president. The final version of the US Constitution established by the committee was signed on September 17 by 39 of the 55 delegates.
The text was immediately edited in 500 copies for the use of delegates and congressmen. No public release was suitable at that time as it still had to be ratified by the federal Congress and the states. The 6-page 41 x 26 cm document printed by John Dunlap in partnership with David Claypoole includes in appendix the list of delegates who voted for it and a copy of Washington's letter urging the ratification by the Congress.
This original US Constitution is still in force today without fundamental changes. Such an unprecedented longevity is due to the remarkable political insight of the delegates who prepared it under the leadership of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton and to the foreseen capability to amend it as necessary.
Thirteen copies are surviving. One of them was sold for $ 43M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2021, lot 1787. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This piece is the top highlight from the collection of S. Howard Goldman and his widow Dorothy. It is sold for the benefit of the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation whose aim is to advance the principles of America’s founding documents through educational programs. Mrs Goldman introduces her collection and educational purpose in the video shared by Sotheby's.
From the same collection, a copy of the first separate printing of the so called Bill of Rights was sold for $ 1.53M from a lower estimate of $ 700K by Sotheby's on November 23, 2021, lot 71.
This 3-page 34 x 21 cm document is dated August 24, 1789. It was prepared for proposing to the Congress a resolution of amendments to the US Constitution. Such articles had been desired by US citizens for preventing the government to infringe the basic individual rights. They were approved on September 26, 1789 and constitute the Third to Twelfth Amendments.
The underbidder for the US Constitution had been an organization just created for the express purpose of raising money to acquire it. They gathered more than 17,000 contributors who, in a matter of only weeks, raised more than $ 40 million, not enough against the winning bidder, the fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin.
3
September 28 Archetype of the US Constitution
2024 SOLD for $ 11M by Brunk
A further print of the US Constitution was executed in 100 copies on September 28, 1787 in New York by John McLean on behalf of Dunlap and Claypoole, for being sent to the legislatures of the states. This 4 page folio 40 x 28 cm document known as the Archetype of the US Constitution is composed in two columns while the 6 page original edition of September 17 was printed in one column.
A copy signed by the Secretary of the Congress Charles Thomson has just surfaced in a North Carolina plantation ranch which had belonged to Samuel Johnston, the governor of that state from 1787 to 1789 and a later senator, a slave holder and Freemason leader who lived at that place since 1765. Johnston, who supported the project, presided over the two conventions in North Carolina, successively rejecting the Constitution in 1788 and ratifying it in 1789.
This document was sold for $ 11M by Brunk on October 17, 2024, lot 1509. Its condition is good overall with expected wear and a heavy central horizontal fold. No other example of the less than 10 surviving copies is in private hands. The September 28, 1787 resolution officially launching the ratification process is attached.
The 1787 Printed Archetype of the US Constitution refers to one of the approximately 500 copies printed on September 18, 1787, by John Dunlap and David C. Claypoole in Philadelphia, immediately following the Constitutional Convention's completion of the document. This printing was authorized by the Convention's Committee of Style and Arrangement (comprising William Samuel Johnson, Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, James Madison, and Rufus King) on September 15, 1787, and served as the working text for the Continental Congress. It was produced concurrently with the engrossed parchment version signed by delegates on September 17, 1787, but the printed archetype became the primary version distributed for ratification.
In the creation and ratification process, this archetype played a pivotal role. On September 28, 1787, the Continental Congress unanimously resolved to transmit these printed copies—along with the Convention's letter and resolution—to the legislatures of the 13 original states for consideration by popularly elected conventions, as stipulated in Article VII of the Constitution. Secretary Charles Thomson sent them via circular letters to governors, who forwarded them to state assemblies. States then produced their own printings for delegates and public dissemination (e.g., Virginia ordered 5,000 copies). This printed text was the exact version debated, voted on, and ratified by state conventions from December 1787 to November 1789, with the required nine states ratifying by July 1788 to establish the Constitution. It facilitated the transition from the Articles of Confederation by providing a uniform, authorized text for adoption, deriving its authority directly from the people through these conventions (as later affirmed by Chief Justice John Marshall in McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819).
specific copy sold at Brunk Auctions (lot 1509) on October 17, 2024, is notable as the only known privately held official ratification copy, discovered in 2022 in a filing cabinet at Hayes Farm in Edenton, North Carolina—once owned by Samuel Johnston, the state's governor from December 1787 to December 1789. It sold at a hammer price of $9 million, with a 23% buyer's premium bringing the final price to $11,070,000.
A copy signed by the Secretary of the Congress Charles Thomson has just surfaced in a North Carolina plantation ranch which had belonged to Samuel Johnston, the governor of that state from 1787 to 1789 and a later senator, a slave holder and Freemason leader who lived at that place since 1765. Johnston, who supported the project, presided over the two conventions in North Carolina, successively rejecting the Constitution in 1788 and ratifying it in 1789.
This document was sold for $ 11M by Brunk on October 17, 2024, lot 1509. Its condition is good overall with expected wear and a heavy central horizontal fold. No other example of the less than 10 surviving copies is in private hands. The September 28, 1787 resolution officially launching the ratification process is attached.
The 1787 Printed Archetype of the US Constitution refers to one of the approximately 500 copies printed on September 18, 1787, by John Dunlap and David C. Claypoole in Philadelphia, immediately following the Constitutional Convention's completion of the document. This printing was authorized by the Convention's Committee of Style and Arrangement (comprising William Samuel Johnson, Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, James Madison, and Rufus King) on September 15, 1787, and served as the working text for the Continental Congress. It was produced concurrently with the engrossed parchment version signed by delegates on September 17, 1787, but the printed archetype became the primary version distributed for ratification.
In the creation and ratification process, this archetype played a pivotal role. On September 28, 1787, the Continental Congress unanimously resolved to transmit these printed copies—along with the Convention's letter and resolution—to the legislatures of the 13 original states for consideration by popularly elected conventions, as stipulated in Article VII of the Constitution. Secretary Charles Thomson sent them via circular letters to governors, who forwarded them to state assemblies. States then produced their own printings for delegates and public dissemination (e.g., Virginia ordered 5,000 copies). This printed text was the exact version debated, voted on, and ratified by state conventions from December 1787 to November 1789, with the required nine states ratifying by July 1788 to establish the Constitution. It facilitated the transition from the Articles of Confederation by providing a uniform, authorized text for adoption, deriving its authority directly from the people through these conventions (as later affirmed by Chief Justice John Marshall in McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819).
specific copy sold at Brunk Auctions (lot 1509) on October 17, 2024, is notable as the only known privately held official ratification copy, discovered in 2022 in a filing cabinet at Hayes Farm in Edenton, North Carolina—once owned by Samuel Johnston, the state's governor from December 1787 to December 1789. It sold at a hammer price of $9 million, with a 23% buyer's premium bringing the final price to $11,070,000.
1789 Acts of Congress
2012 SOLD for $ 9.8M by Christie's
During the ten years following the Declaration of Independence of the United States, the Congress sets up a code known as the Articles of Confederation to manage the relations between the states. Too idealistic, this first law is a failure.
The founders of the nation are now trying to redefine the delicate balance between the executive and legislative branches while considering also the need for autonomy of each state. Their work is outstanding, since the system defined between 1787 and 1789 is still the foundation of the US law.
George Washington is one of the key figures in this success. On June 22, 2012, Christie's sold for $ 9.8M his personal copy of the main acts of Congress, lot 1. It gathers the Constitution, various acts including the creation of major Executive Departments, and the first draft of twelve articles known as the Bill of Rights for an effective and pragmatic definition of freedoms.
This collection was a working document for the new President. It is also a much valuable autograph : signed on the title page, it includes handwritten notes in the margin of several acts.
These 53 sheets 30 x 19 cm from 1789 are assembled in a binding probably made in the same year. They are in excellent condition.
Please watch the video shared by Fox News :
The founders of the nation are now trying to redefine the delicate balance between the executive and legislative branches while considering also the need for autonomy of each state. Their work is outstanding, since the system defined between 1787 and 1789 is still the foundation of the US law.
George Washington is one of the key figures in this success. On June 22, 2012, Christie's sold for $ 9.8M his personal copy of the main acts of Congress, lot 1. It gathers the Constitution, various acts including the creation of major Executive Departments, and the first draft of twelve articles known as the Bill of Rights for an effective and pragmatic definition of freedoms.
This collection was a working document for the new President. It is also a much valuable autograph : signed on the title page, it includes handwritten notes in the margin of several acts.
These 53 sheets 30 x 19 cm from 1789 are assembled in a binding probably made in the same year. They are in excellent condition.
Please watch the video shared by Fox News :
1864 Emancipation Proclamation
2026 SOLD for $ 6.8M by Christie's
On 22 September 1862, President Lincoln issued an ultimatum to the secessionist states : slavery shall be abolished on January 1 in all states that will not come back into the Union before that date.
At the promised date, January 1, 1863, Lincoln proclaimed an executive order abolishing slavery in the ten states on which he had no control.
Of course, this statement was not sufficient to end the US Civil War. In mid 1864, charity gatherings organized by the US Sanitary Commission are held everywhere to support the Union troops.
The President, always ready for personal commitment, then accepts the project of the authorized edition of the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the initiatives to raise funds.
The document consists of a title and 52 lines of text printed in a single page on a watermarked Whatman paper sheet 55 x 44 cm. The typed field is 37.4 x 17 cm.
The 48 copies edited by Leland and Boker bear the signatures of Abraham Lincoln, of the Secretary of State William Seward and of John Nicolay, private secretary to the President, certifying the authenticity of the other two autographs. They were made available for purchase with a price tag of $ 10 each at the Great Central Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia in June 1864. 27 copies are surviving as of 2025, including 18 kept in institutions.
That strategy confirms that in the mind of Lincoln the end of slavery is a main issue of the Civil War beside saving the Union. Without alienating the states loyal to the Union, it gave such a boost to the slaves that their emancipation had no more obstacles, entering into the constitution through the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.
A copy was sold for $ 6.8M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on January 23, 2026, lot 230.
At the promised date, January 1, 1863, Lincoln proclaimed an executive order abolishing slavery in the ten states on which he had no control.
Of course, this statement was not sufficient to end the US Civil War. In mid 1864, charity gatherings organized by the US Sanitary Commission are held everywhere to support the Union troops.
The President, always ready for personal commitment, then accepts the project of the authorized edition of the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the initiatives to raise funds.
The document consists of a title and 52 lines of text printed in a single page on a watermarked Whatman paper sheet 55 x 44 cm. The typed field is 37.4 x 17 cm.
The 48 copies edited by Leland and Boker bear the signatures of Abraham Lincoln, of the Secretary of State William Seward and of John Nicolay, private secretary to the President, certifying the authenticity of the other two autographs. They were made available for purchase with a price tag of $ 10 each at the Great Central Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia in June 1864. 27 copies are surviving as of 2025, including 18 kept in institutions.
That strategy confirms that in the mind of Lincoln the end of slavery is a main issue of the Civil War beside saving the Union. Without alienating the states loyal to the Union, it gave such a boost to the slaves that their emancipation had no more obstacles, entering into the constitution through the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.
A copy was sold for $ 6.8M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on January 23, 2026, lot 230.
1865 The Thirteenth Amendment
2025 SOLD for $ 13.7M by Sotheby's
The founding fathers of the USA stated that all men are created equal. The slavery of the Negroes is seen as a disgrace by President Lincoln, not for moral or economic reasons but indeed because it opens up the possibility for a persecution of other minorities.
The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution was a major political achievement by Lincoln. It was not an easy operation, especially as the President did not want to wait for the end of the Civil War.
On 8 April 1864 the Senate voted at 38 against 6 a resolution in favor of the thirteenth amendment, but its embedding into the Constitution also required the approval of the House of Representatives and of 3/4 of the States.
In the House, the required 2/3 majority of voters was impossible to achieve in 1864 but the new elections have strengthened the power of Lincoln. The text was accepted on January 31, 1865 at 119 against 56 plus 8 abstentions after a first negative vote.
The official copy is signed by President Lincoln, Vice President Hamlin representing the Senate and Speaker of the House Colfax. It is kept in the National Archives in Washington DC.
Slavery was abolished in the United States of America in December 1865 when Georgia becomes the 27th state to ratify the thirteenth amendment, eight months after the death of the President.
In the enthusiasm of this joint Congress achievement, some manuscript duplicates are prepared from February 1 on the official paper of the Congress.
The clerk of the House of Representatives had a few copies signed by the three official signers plus the Senate secretary Forney, for their own use plus one for himself. Three examples are surviving.
Somebody managed to have manuscript commemorative copies signed by nearly all the congress members who had voted in favor of the amendment, in addition to the four officials. Lincoln endorsed them as 'Approved'. After six days he stopped providing his signature on new examples.
Nine examples are known to survive with the signatures of 36 to 38 senators plus 109 to 117 representatives.
One of them, a large vellum folio 52 x 39 cm with the signatures through five neatly ruled columns, was sold for $ 720K by Christie's on March 27, 2002, lot 95 and for $ 13.7M by Sotheby's on June 26, 2025, lot 27.
Some copies had the signatures of the senators but not of the representatives. The three known examples were signed at the same time by 36 of the 38 approving senators. One of them is in private hands. This document 55 x 40 cm was sold for $ 2.4M by Sotheby's on May 25, 2016, lot 79.
The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution was a major political achievement by Lincoln. It was not an easy operation, especially as the President did not want to wait for the end of the Civil War.
On 8 April 1864 the Senate voted at 38 against 6 a resolution in favor of the thirteenth amendment, but its embedding into the Constitution also required the approval of the House of Representatives and of 3/4 of the States.
In the House, the required 2/3 majority of voters was impossible to achieve in 1864 but the new elections have strengthened the power of Lincoln. The text was accepted on January 31, 1865 at 119 against 56 plus 8 abstentions after a first negative vote.
The official copy is signed by President Lincoln, Vice President Hamlin representing the Senate and Speaker of the House Colfax. It is kept in the National Archives in Washington DC.
Slavery was abolished in the United States of America in December 1865 when Georgia becomes the 27th state to ratify the thirteenth amendment, eight months after the death of the President.
In the enthusiasm of this joint Congress achievement, some manuscript duplicates are prepared from February 1 on the official paper of the Congress.
The clerk of the House of Representatives had a few copies signed by the three official signers plus the Senate secretary Forney, for their own use plus one for himself. Three examples are surviving.
Somebody managed to have manuscript commemorative copies signed by nearly all the congress members who had voted in favor of the amendment, in addition to the four officials. Lincoln endorsed them as 'Approved'. After six days he stopped providing his signature on new examples.
Nine examples are known to survive with the signatures of 36 to 38 senators plus 109 to 117 representatives.
One of them, a large vellum folio 52 x 39 cm with the signatures through five neatly ruled columns, was sold for $ 720K by Christie's on March 27, 2002, lot 95 and for $ 13.7M by Sotheby's on June 26, 2025, lot 27.
Some copies had the signatures of the senators but not of the representatives. The three known examples were signed at the same time by 36 of the 38 approving senators. One of them is in private hands. This document 55 x 40 cm was sold for $ 2.4M by Sotheby's on May 25, 2016, lot 79.
