The annual Skinner
Fine Books & Manuscripts sale was held yesterday morning; results can be found
here. As expected, the top seller was the 1776 Exeter, NH broadside printing of the
Declaration of Independence, which sold for $380,000 (including premiums). The buyer was Bill Reese. The
Thomas Jefferson letter sending a copy of his plan for UVa to a new college made $59,250; a collection of
John Miers artwork depicting life in Chile (1820-24) made $47,400 (much more than the $3,000-4,000 estimate); Robert Fulton's copy of
The Federalist sold for $10,073; and Audubon's
White Pelican fetched $44,438.