RR Auctions Walt Disney Contract

In the contract that made Disneyland a reality, Disney “intends to open to the public a large exhibition park containing educational, scientific and amusement features"

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Remarkable DS, twice signed at the conclusion, “Walter E. Disney,” four onionskin pages, 8.5 x 13, March 24, 1954. A “television agreement” between Walt Disney Productions (hereinafter referred to as Productions) and the American Broadcasting Company “for the broadcasting of certain television programs.” The contract goes on to provide a description of the fledgling Disneyland as a “California corporation with an issued and outstanding capital stock of 2500 shares without par value, of which 2400 shares have been issued to Walter E. Disney and 100 shares have been issues to W. E. D. Enterprises,” which “intends to open to the public a large exhibition park containing educational, scientific and amusement features…Productions is entering into an agreement with Disneyland under which Productions will pay to Disneyland a sum equal to 10% of the program basic rate for the filmed television programs, to be furnished by Productions to ABC, as a royalty for the use of the copyrights and format of Disneyland. In addition, Productions will pay Disneyland a sum equal to 5% of such basic rate as a prepaid location charge…If under the television agreement Productions shall receive a price for its filmed television programs in excess of the amount referred to in said agreement, the excess over such minimum price may be paid by ABC delivering to Productions first mortgage bonds of Disneyland at par. The minimum price under the television agreement is $50,000 per program for the first year; $60,000 per program for the second year, and $70,000 per program for the third year.” Also signed at the conclusion by Roy Disney, Lloyd Wright, and the vice president of ABC. In very good condition, with the top left corner of the first page missing, a crease to the bottom left corner of the last page, and the expected document staple marks, creasing, pencil notations, and edge chips.

Disney dreamed about opening a theme park for years, but only secured the necessary capital by collaborating with the television network ABC in 1954. He had created WED Enterprises to undertake the planning and production of the park, but difficulty in raising the necessary funds for the project brought him to look toward television as a revenue source. ABC—the newest and weakest of the television networks—leaped at the opportunity. Leonard Goldenson, ABC’s chairman, was desperate to forge an alliance with Disney for programming. Goldenson championed the deal, and ABC traded a stake in Disneyland the park for the one-hour television series Disneyland. ABC and Walt Disney Productions announced the agreement in a joint press release on April 2, 1954, promising “an entirely new concept in television programming.” Disney would later joke, “ABC needed the television show so damned bad, they bought the amusement park.” Both the show and the park were tremendously successful. An extraordinary document that made Disneyland possible and Disney into a television icon. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA. 

http://rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=709

RR Auctions James A. Garfield

Extremely rare printed DS as president, one page, 17 x 14, May 16, 1881. President Garfield appoints Edwin F. Tomlinson “Postmaster at Plainville in the County of Hartford, State of Connecticut.” Signed at the conclusion by Garfield, and countersigned by Postmaster General Thomas James. In very good to fine condition, with central horizontal and vertical fold, mild overall toning, just a bit heavier at edges, a few trivial bends and wrinkles, a couple minor spots to borders, and a bit of slight color transfer from ribbon. The gold foil seal is intact and just slightly worn, and retains its red ribbon. Interestingly enough, when Garfield took office, the Post Office Department was the largest department in the federal government—and highly prone to corruption—an embarrassment to both the president and his Republican Party. Documents signed by Garfield while in office are extremely rare, ranking second only to William Henry Harrison in scarcity, with this piece being of a particularly nicer quality than usually encountered. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.


http://www.rrauction.com

RR Auctions Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Extremely rare Tchaikovsky hand-penned musical quotation

Esteemed Russian composer (1840–1893) whose colorful, dramatic, and expressive works represent the epitome of the Russian Romantic tradition and take a place among the most beloved staples of the concert repertory. Rare and extremely desirable AMQS on a 5.5 x 3.75 light green album page. Tchaikovsky pens three bars of an unidentified work, adding “And non hype,” above the quote, and signing “P. Tchaikovsky, London, 19 Apr. 1889.” Matted and framed, with an engraved portrait of the composer, to an overall size of 11 x 16. In very good condition, with a central vertical fold, some mild toning to edges, and a few stray ink marks. Tchaikovsky had served as director of the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society during the 1889-1890 season, where he invited a number of international celebrities to conduct,  but he started the year with a European concert tour in January 1889. London was the tour's last stop where he appeared at the Philharmonic Society in Saint James' Hall on April 11, conducting Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat and Suite No. 1. He was also composing his second ballet, Sleeping Beauty, for which he had been commissioned the previous December, writing his brother Modeste that he felt it was one of the best compositions he had ever written. It was completed in 1890, but an unidentified, unused 14-bar Suite in D-minor was discovered among his sketches for the ballet with no other mentions in his notes or letters. The highly desirable unidentified 3-bar exemplar offered here, also written in D-minor, is an uncommon and beautifully well-preserved quote from one of the most important figures of Western music.

The March 2012 Auction closes on Wednesday March 14, 2012

RR Auctions Edgar Allan Poe check $54,966

The only Edgar Allan Poe check known to exist sold for $54,966 in the February auction

http://www.rrauction.com

RR Auctions Love Letters from Elizabeth Taylor

                            RR Auctions Love Letters from Elizabeth Taylor

Before Richard Burton, before Eddie Fisher, before any of her many other husbands, there was another dashing young man who was the secret love of Elizabeth Taylor's life. (rrauction.com)


She fell head-over-heels in love with William Pawley Jr., the 28-year-old son of a former U.S. Ambassador, during a family vacation in Florida.

Taylor's first love is now 90 years old and he's speaking for the first time about the screen goddess.

Pawley told INSIDE EDITION's Les Trent, "It was love at first sight, I'll tell you that."

Trent asked, "If you had married her, do you think your marriage would have lasted?"

"I do," replied Pawley.

They met in 1949. Taylor was just 17 years old and was already a breathtakingly beautiful movie star.

On pale blue stationary she wrote him: "I've never known this kind of love before. It's so perfect and complete."

She called him "Bill darling" and "My dearest baby," and told him, "You are my whole life."

She inscribed: "Bill, until tomorrow. Love, Elizabeth" on the back of one of her photos.

They broke up over 60 years ago, but Pawley told Trent he spoke to Taylor just last year.

"She didn't forget me completely, but she tried to, I think," said Pawley.

Now, Pawley has decided to sell the 66 unpublished love letters Taylor wrote him. They'll be auctioned online in May by RR Auctions of Amherst, New Hampshire.

Bobby Livingston of RR Auctions told INSIDE EDITION, "You can feel her emotion and attachment to this man and how much she wants to love somebody and be loved."

It was so serious, an engagement notice actually appeared in a Miami newspaper.

He gave her a white diamond ring—the first of many diamonds she'd be given by adoring lovers.

But studio bigwigs did their best to keep her relationship with Pawley under wraps. The studio wanted Taylor to date famous football player Glenn Davis.

An angry Taylor wrote: "I don't care what they say anymore. From now on, I'm going to live my life the way I want to."

Her letters to Pawley are filled with sweet moments like: "As I'm sitting here writing to you, I'm just stuffing myself on a box of candy. Honestly, I've got to stop eating so much."

She even offered to give up her career for him. Taylor wrote in one letter: "I'm only ready to say farewell to my career and everything connected to it."

In the end, Pawley was jealous of all the attention showered on his beautiful fiancée. Their engagement ended after six months and a heartbroken Taylor returned his ring.

In a letter to Pawley, Taylor wrote: "I know with all my heart and soul that this is not the end for us. It couldn't be. We love each other too much."

She married her first husband, Nicky Hilton, just eight months later.

Trent asked Pawley, "Were you heartbroken?"

"I was indeed. I didn't marry for 25 years," said Pawley.

"Did it take you that long to get over Elizabeth Taylor?" asked Trent.

"I haven't gotten over her yet," said Pawley.

RR Auctions Einstein print sells for $74G

One of the original signed prints of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out at photographers has been sold by a New Hampshire auction house for $74,324.

“Every kid has it in their dorm room on the wall,” Bobby Livingston of RRAuction.com in Amherst said Saturday. “It’s such an iconic display of freedom of speech.”

The picture was taken in 1951 by UPI photographer Arthur Sasse after a 72nd birthday celebration for the physicist. As Sasse tried to coax a smile for the camera, Einstein stuck out his tongue.

Two years later, at the height of the McCarthy anti-Communist hearings, Einstein signed the photo and gave it to broadcaster Howard K. Smith as a gesture of his admiration of Smith’s work.

Translated from German, the inscription says: “This gesture you will like, because it is aimed at all of humanity. A civilian can afford to do what no diplomat would dare. Your loyal and grateful listener, A. Einstein ’53.”

By 1953, Einstein had begun speaking out against McCarthyism.

“Einstein, escaping Nazi Germany, fully understood what was happening in this country and was commenting on it,” Livingston said. “That’s what makes it so special, he wrote on it and explained his intentions.”

David Waxman of Great Neck, N.Y., is the new owner. He is a specialist in important scientific books and autographs.

Waxman said the image probably is the most well-known picture of Einstein, appearing on T-shirts and even currently on a New York City billboard.

He said Einstein’s inscription makes it even more valuable.

“It’s one of a kind, highly important, speaks to the culture, speaks to anybody who looks at it and thinks about it a bit,” Waxman said. “It’s a message of intelligent nonconformity.”

Waxman intends to put the photo up for sale, perhaps with other photos of famous scientists

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/06/21/news/a7-albert.txt?viewmode=fullstory

RR Auctions Disney Signed Book

Signed book: Walt Disney’s Treasury. First edition. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1953. Hardcover, 10 x 13, 140 pages. Signed and inscribed in fountain pen on the title page, “To Dave & Jean, Best wishes, Walt Disney.” In very good condition, with weak, but intact spine, some mild toning to fore-edges, a few pencil notations to table of contents, missing spine, and some peeling and loss to protective outer coating. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA. 

http://rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=656

RR Auctions AC/DC For Those About to Rock

Color limited edition 22 x 27.5 lithograph entitled ‘For Those About to Rock’, numbered #AP21/50, signed in the lower border in black felt tip by Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Phil Rudd, and Cliff Williams. Rolled and in fine condition. Accompanied by a composite photo of all five members taken at time of signing. Pre-certified Roger Epperson/REAL and RR Auctions COA. 

http://rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=713

RR Auctions Franklin D. Roosevelt Rare oversized signed portrait of FDR’s unprecedented third inauguration

Historic vintage matte-finish 13 x 10 photo of Roosevelt being sworn in as president for the third time on the steps of the US Capitol, signed in fountain pen, as president “Franklin D. Roosevelt.” Also signed “Charles E. Hughes, Jan 20, 1941,” as chief justice, “Cordell Hull,” as Secretary of State “H. A. Wallace,” as Vice President, and “Charles Elmore Cropley, January 20, 1941,” as clerk of the Supreme Court, who held Roosevelt’s family bible as Hughes administered the oath of office. Matted and framed to an overall size of 17.5 x 15. Some light contrast and a bit of irregular ink adhesion to portions of Roosevelt’s signature, a few scattered light creases, and last letter of Wallace’s signature matted out, otherwise fine condition.

After serving eight years in the White House, FDR faced the difficult choice of running for office again, but worldwide events swayed him to run for an unprecedented third term. He must have felt the ominous tides of war after Hughes administered the oath and heard the thunder of guns when Supreme Court clerk Cropley dropped his family's Dutch bible so soon after he had touched it and sworn the oath. In his inauguration speech, he declared, "In this day the task of the people is to save that Nation and its institutions from disruption from without."

Isolationism in America was coming to an end and Roosevelt felt the pressure of unfolding world events as Winston Churchill on the day of his inauguration admonished neutral nations to support the Allied cause and Japan expanded in intelligence budget to $500,000 to spy on the United States. Surely as he delivered his speech, the president knew the threat as he spoke "In the face of great perils never before encountered, our strong purpose is to protect and to perpetuate the integrity of democracy. For this we muster the spirit of America, and the faith of America. We do not retreat. We are not content to stand still. As Americans, we go forward, in the service of our country, by the will of God." On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor and America finally entered World War II. A remarkable image from an unprecedented and historically-significant event. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA. 

http://rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=107

RR Auctions Edgar Allan Poe’s only known check

Edgar Allan Poe’s only known check, Vladimir Lenin’s ultra-rare handwritten letter, and one of FDR’s only known inauguration photos are only a few of the notoriously scarce items being offered in RR Auction’s February collection.

Edgar Allan Poe gained instant notoriety after the 1845 publication of his poem, The Raven. He would go on to buy out the Broadway Journal, a move that would validate him in terms of becoming the professional writer he always wanted to be. This entirely handwritten check-the only known example in existence-dated May 14, 1846, was penned with instructions to his lawyer and owner and publisher of Godey’s Magazine and Lady’s Book, Louis A. Godey, to draw thirty dollars from his account to pay Harden & Co., the express mail service he utilized to deliver his articles for publication.

In January of 1917, Vladimir Lenin was waiting to seize his moment—the moment that would deliver him from exile in Zurich back into his native Russia. Postmarked on the 16^th of the month, Lenin penned a quick and urgent letter inviting a supporter to rendezvous with himself and Polish socialist leader, Mieczyslav Bronski. Within weeks of this meeting, Bronski would deliver the piece of news that delivered Lenin his big break: the Tsar of Nicholas II’s abdication of the throne. This event sent Lenin forging through a war-riddled Europe as he prepared to gain support for the October Revolution, an event through which Lenin would radically shift Russia’s ideology, giving way to the birth of the Soviet Union. Any written correspondence from Lenin is exceedingly scarce, especially those so floridly signed.

An exceptionally rare and oversized signed photo of FDR’s unprecedented third inauguration on January 20, 1941, the day he would become the only American president to serve three terms. This image marks the first time in the last 35 years that any images of Roosevelt’s ground-breaking inauguration have been offered in public auction.

Also included in this month’s robust auction are a fantastic oversized image of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, inscribed in 1969; a spectacular document signed by Henry VIII; an elusive Geronimo signature; a second generation Dezo Hoffmann photo of the Fab Four; and a magical gathering of artifacts from the original masters of the craft, including Houdini.  All of these coveted items and more will be available for auction on January 27.

For information, visit the RRAuction web site at

www.rrauction.com or contact 

Bobby Livingston at bl@rrauction.com

RR Auctions first American Patriots Auction

RR Auction is pleased to announce our first American Patriots auction on January 27. This stunning assemblage of letters and relics come straight from the very hands that birthed our nations’ freedom on August 2, 1776, as Hancock, Adams, and Franklin signed the formal copy of the Declaration of Independence. Boasting over 40 of the 56 signers, including three notoriously scarce individuals like George Taylor, Thomas Nelson, Jr., and the most obscure of all, Thomas Lynch, Jr., the American Patriots auction will breathe fresh life into the revolution, once again honoring the congressmen, delegates, generals, and soldiers who laid the foundation for our nation as we know it.

On March 1, 1776, Thomas Lynch, Jr. penned a florid letter on behalf of this father, Thomas Lynch, Sr., a South Carolinian delegate to the First Continental Congress. As a result a cerebral hemorrhage, Lynch’s father was rendered paralyzed; Lynch was forced to take leave of his post in the South Carolina militia, assuming his father’s place as the 52^nd declaration signer. Lynch’s overwhelming scarcity was made destiny by an ill-fated sea voyage he and his wife would embark on in 1779, never to be heard from again. His library and estate was scattered, destroyed, and lost, making this unlikely signer the most invaluable, even in comparison to Button Gwinnet; this 1776 handwritten letters represents only one of three known to exist.

Thomas Nelson, Jr., who has been categorized as “very rare” in Kenneth W. Rendell’s, History Comes to Life, provides a lengthy piece of correspondence, brimming with political opinion, penned on February 18, 1775, exactly two months before the British would unleash their fury upon the shores of Massachusetts.

Also falling under Rendell’s “very rare” category is last minute signer, George Taylor.  This war-dated letter, written on the 18^th of November, 1780, provides a first-hand look at Taylor’s ironwork business, a trade that won him a contract with the Pennsylvania’s Committee of Safety, making him the first ironmaster to provide cannon shot to the Continental Army. This letter is only the second letter known to ever appear in auction, qualifying its insurmountable scarcity.

An exceptionally uncommon letter from Thomas Jefferson to President George Washington dated February 17, 1791, concerning expansion of settlements northwest of the Ohio during the Northwest Indian Wars. Any correspondence between Jefferson and President, especially referencing the very fibers of the nation’s territorial acquisitions, is of the utmost rarity.

Other offerings of paramount rarity include General George Washington’s prized map, outlining the Theater of War northeast of the Delaware River, illustrating the critical victories at Trenton and Princeton from December 26, 1776 through January 3, 1777, remains in remarkably clear condition, as does his September 11, 1799 letter concerning the purchase of materials used for the construction of the nation’s capitol, Federal City. Martha Washington’s uncommon correspondence to her favorite niece, Fannie Bassett, dated October 18, 1794, provides a substantial example of the First Lady’s hand.

And last, but certainly not least, an impeccably-preserved and magnificently scarce set of six silver spoons, crafted by none other than the Midnight Rider himself, have stood the test of time and, after 220 years, remained steadfastly together. One of the most celebrated and sought-after silversmiths of his time, Revere personally crafted this set for the prominent Boston couple, Daniel and Mary Turner Sargent. This original set heralds from the prized collection of noted silversmith and Revere collector, George Gebelein, who first came into possession of the collection in 1938.

This specialized collection, also including an entirely handwritten financial account of New Hampshire delegate, Josiah Bartlett’s, compensation for signing the Declaration; an ironically hopeful letter from John Andre, penned just a month before his execution after being captured as a spy; a riveting letter from Colonel Azor Orne, and many, many more desirable signatures and relics, will be available for bidding January 27. For details, go to http://www.rrauction.com

RR Auctions is America’s Autograph Auction

Every month we offer collectors more than 1,250 quality, fully guaranteed signed items, including photos, documents, letters, and books from a variety of categories—just as we have for more than 30 years.
Each autographed item is accompanied by a full 100% lifetime guarantee of authenticity. We proudly employ not only well-respected, in-house experts to examine every item sent to us, but coordinate with third-party authenticators in various fields including Civil War-era notables, classical and contemporary music, historical figures, sports figures, and space explorers to confirm our opinions. Read more about them here.
Every month, all items are beautifully presented in a full-color catalog, with many full-page displays and numerous benefiting from detailed research descriptions. When you are an RRAuction registered bidder, you will also have access to our company’s auction archives.
You may rest assured that every consignment—and every consignor—is treated with ultimate respect. As soon as you ship us your item, that piece is covered by our own insurance, so there’s no need for you to worry about any extra cost. We offer competitive rates and fast consignor pay-offs.
When you’re an RRAuction client, you can always buy and sell with the confidence…a confidence that 30 years of experience and customer satisfaction brings with it. Entrust your autographs to professionals who have built a reputation to deliver consistently remarkable results!
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