Press Release
Atlanta, GA, USA, July 27, 2024 — A consulate appointment signed by President Abraham Lincoln brought $12,100 and a group of nine pieces of Chinese carved nephrite jade with six wooden stands realized $9,680 in two days of auctions held July 17th (Historical Documents, Books & Americana) and July 18th (Asian Works of Art) by Ahlers & Ogletree. The online-only auctions combined to gross a robust $321,997.
The Historical Documents, Books & Americana auction featured 354 lots of letters, signatures and ephemera from 42 U.S. Presidents; documents and pamphlets relating to the founding of America, the Revolutionary War and the American Civil War; a collection of Duck Stamp prints deaccessioned from the Morris Museum in Augusta, Ga.; and an important Southern historical documents collection.
The Asian Works of Art sale, the next day, contained 189 lots of Chinese and Japanese ceramics; works on paper; works in stone, wood and bronze; a selection of fine Chinese Export pieces; and a collection of Southeast Asian masks. Both the Lincoln- signed consulate appointment and the group of Chinese carved nephrite pieces sold above their high estimates and were the top lots of their session.
Most of the higher-dollar items came on July 17th. The consulate appointment, dated April 18, 1863, was signed by Lincoln using a dip pen. It also bore the signature of U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, and was accompanied by a JSA (James Spence Authentication). The document recognized Johannes Schumacher as the ‘consul for the Free Hanse of Bremen’, at the consulate office in Boston.
To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and their calendar of upcoming auction events on September 12th and 13th and October 2nd and 3rd, please visit www.aandoauctions.com. Updates are posted often. You can also follow Ahlers & Ogletree through social media on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.
