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America: The Quarter Millennium Now Open For Bidding
Discover 250 years of United States history with 70 rare artifacts from Bill Clinton, NASA, Steve Jobs, and more.
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History is rarely a straight line; although its winding road is woven from the moments when personal and political landscapes often collide. As the United States approaches its semi-quincentennial, the artifacts left in the wake of the last 250 years serve as more than mere curiosities. They are the tangible markers of a nation’s trajectory — the instruments of its joy, the documents of its diplomacy, and the witnesses to its most profound struggles.
To look at these objects is to see the "Quarter Millennium" not as a distant concept, but as a living, breathing narrative. Cue, the auction.
The Instruments of Power and Change
In January 1993, the sound of a 1929 Conn “Chu Berry” saxophone filled a ballroom in Washington, D.C. Played by Bill Clinton at his New York–Washington Inaugural Ball, the Stage-Played “E Street Band” Saxophone became a symbol of a new era in American leadership — one that leaned into the cultural vernacular of the time. It was a bridge between the stiff formalities of the past and a more accessible, media-savvy future.
Across the globe and decades earlier, another kind of cultural bridge was being attempted, though under much grimmer stakes. The 1954 commemorative photo album from Mao Zedong, gifted to mark the fifth anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, offers a rare, intimate look at the 20th century’s shifting tectonic plates. Documenting a Soviet delegation’s visit led by Nikita Khrushchev, the album captures the curated faces of a burgeoning superpower, reminding us how much of our history is written in the quiet margins of diplomatic gift-giving.
1. Lot #14. Mao Zedong | Signed and Gifted 1954 Founding of The People's Republic of China Anniversary Photo Album, 4. Lot #57. Bill Clinton | 1993 Inaugural Ball Stage-Played “E Street Band” Saxophone,
The Architects of the Modern Age
Innovation has long been the heartbeat of the American story. Sometimes, that innovation is found in a 1966 NASA Apollo Command Module control stick, a piece of hardware that bridged the gap between Earth and the lunar surface. Other times, it is found in the personal effects of the visionaries who brought the future into our living rooms.
Before the "uniform" of black turtlenecks and denim became a global shorthand for tech-disruption, there was a different Steve Jobs. The DiMitri Couture wool two-piece suit Jobs wore in 1980 to celebrate the retirement of his friend Ben Rosen (the future Chairman of Compaq) serves as a vestige of Silicon Valley’s formative, sartorial era. It captures a moment just before the digital revolution truly accelerated, when the titans of the future still moved in the professional circles of the present.
1. Lot #30. NASA Apollo Program | Original 1966 Command Module Control Stick, 2. Lot #33. NASA Apollo 11 | Astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins Signed Photo with Neil Armstrong Signed Card, 3. Lot #38. NASA Apollo 15 | Astronaut David Scott Signed “Flag Salute” Photo, 4. Lot #31. NASA Apollo 8 | Astronaut Frank Borman Signed Earthrise Photo, 5. Lot #35. NASA Apollo 11 | Astronaut Buzz Aldrin Signed “Old Glory” Photo, 6. Lot #39. NASA Apollo 17 | Astronaut Harrison Schmitt Signed “American Flag” Photo,
The Conscience of a Country
The true depth of a nation is often measured by its ability to confront its own image. The power of photography to shift the moral compass of the world is perhaps best represented by two iconic, signed images in this collection:
Captured by Fred Blackwell in 1963, this image of Anne Moody, Joan Mulholland, and John Salter Jr. enduring an angry mob at a Woolworth’s lunch counter remains one of the most visceral records of the Civil Rights Movement.
Kim Phuc Phan Thi’s handwritten statement on the famous photo of her fleeing a napalm attack during the Vietnam War transforms a global symbol of tragedy into a personal testament of survival and peace.
These artifacts, alongside fragments of the Berlin Wall and the handwritten diaries of soldiers at the Battle of Guadalcanal, remind us that history is not merely a collection of dates, but a series of choices made by individuals.
1. Lot #19. Civil Rights Movement | “Mississippi Sit-In” Fred Blackwell Signed and Handwritten Statement on Event Photo, 3. Lot #41. Vietnam War | “Napalm Girl” Kim Phuc Phan Thi Signed and Handwritten Statement on Event Photo, 5. Lot #55. Ronald Reagan | “Tear Down this Wall!” Peter Robinson Signed and Handwritten Speech Excerpt on Event Photo,
Join the Narrative
As we commemorate AMERICA | The Quarter Millennium, we invite you to explore these 70 extraordinary artifacts that continue to illuminate the American legacy.
