An oversize albumen photograph of the exterior of the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul by the photographer Pascal Sebah. The view is taken from outside a stone wall pierced with grilled windows. The monumental structure rises behind the wall. Pascal Sebah (1823-1886) was born in Constantinople. His photographic studio there opened in 1857. In the lower left in the negative, “68. Mosquee St. Sophia” and lower right “P. Sebah.” The image is 10 ¼ x 13 1/8 inches (26 x 33 cm)...

An oversize albumen photograph of the exterior front of the Beylerbeyi Palace on the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul. The palace was built from 1861 to 1865 as an Imperial summer residence. The photograph is by Pascal Sebah. In the lower left in the negative, “38. Palais du Sultan a Beyler Bey,” on the lower right also in the negative, “P...

An interesting view of the monumental Hagia Sophia rising above houses on either side and a man standing in a square(?) that is probably some distance from the mosque but with the perspective appears quite close. No writing in the negative and the identification of the view in pencil appears later than the image which is around 1880. It is attached to a thin paper page that from the roughness of the back side might have been an album page that was separated. The mat is protective...

Original map printed in the year 1739 in Nuremberg, Germany, titled in cartouche at upper left "Imperii Russici et Tartariae Universiae", published by the heirs of important cartographer Johann Baptiste Homanns. The attractive map shows most of Asia from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and from the Arctic Ocean to India, including the Korean peninsula, Japan, and Taiwan. The map measures 20" by 22 1/2" inside the mat and 25 1/2" by 28" as framed. Condition is excellent...

This is an actual antique page (not a reprint) from the Illustrated London News issue of April 1, 1843, the article describing in detail the efforts at the time to manufacture a flying machine powered by a light weight steam engine. The decorative and most interesting page features three detailed drawings of these primitive contraptions, all of which failed; Kitty Hawk was sixty years in the future...

Early map titled "A Description of the Land of Goshen and Moses passage through the desert", 1614, by the English cartographer William Hole. Hole was active in cartography from about 1601 to about 1624. The map measures 10 3/4" by 14" inside the present mats (not examined out of the frame but would be happy to do so upon request). This is an uncommon map with a compass rose at lower right and cartouches at upper portion, the cartographer's name at lower left edge...

A set of five antique atlas maps, titled, "Oceanie", "Amerique Septentrionale", "Amerique Meridionale", "Europe", and "Asie", published in 1856 by A. Combette, and printed by Alfred Lemercier, Paris, after cartography by Victor Levasseur. The set is framed identically in dark, "distressed" style modern framing of good quality (each measures 15" by 22"). Maps are very clean, considering the age, with only the stray fox mark here and there...

A fine black and white classic photo of Edward ("Ted") Kennedy, 1932-2009, United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, brother of President John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, hand signed and inscribed in ink, in the collar area: "To Ronald with this appreciation for your good work in August campaign/Ted Kennedy". (Last words difficult to decipher but this is my best guess of those final words)...

A nicely framed photograph of famed American naive artist GRANDMA MOSES (1860-1961) with a bold ink signature of the artist on a card, along with a charming and rare historical handwritten letter dated May 21, 1960, postmarked Eagle Bridge, New York, from Mrs. Forrest Moses, the daughter-in-law, to a fan in Lonoke, Arkansas who had requested an autograph or photo...

This is an interesting association item: at right, a color offset print of a tree in spring in full blossom, the work of the noted popular Italian contemporary artist MICHELE CASCELLA (1892-1989). In the blank left hand area, the artist wrote in French "Pour Jane Kroc, con touti saluti (avec mon coeur!), and signed by the artist and dated "Ott. 1971"...

For collectors of historical marine items and specifically memorabilia relating to the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic in the year 1912, here is a rare opportunity to acquire not only an interesting item relating to that sinking, but, also, a fine piece of American art. This is a pencil signed engraving, measuring 14" by 21" (the sheet itself), by the noted American artist FRANCIS DAVIS MILLET (1846-1912), who was one of the 1,000 people who perished on that infamous ship. Millet was a high...

Scarce and desirable autograph signature of the 5th president of the United States, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (1767-1848), **AND** of GEORGE GRAHAM (1772-1830), early Texas coast explorer/land grant commissioner, on a land grant document measuring 9" by 15", in a 7/8" wide simple wood frame. The land grant is referring to an 80 acre parcel in Wayne County, Michigan Territory (Detroit), and is dated February 1, 1827. Adams was the son of President John Adams and served as US president himself from 1825...

Map of the South American continent, titled "Amerique Meridionale", by Felix Delamarche, 1822. The map is on old type laid paper, and measures 12 3/4" by 16 3/4". There is a distinct plate mark and a central fold. The borders of Brazil, Peru, Chile, Patagonia and French Guyana are colored in green, yellow and blue. I do not know if the map is laid down, not having opened it up, but would be happy to do so upon request. There are seven separate dark stains, all except for one in the margins,...

For the collector of things relating to the history of the state of Missouri, here is an early survey map drawn completely by hand, titled at top "Estate of Jos. Hickam decd. in 1848...", signed at bottom right by the surveyor, one W.W. Trent of Cooper County. Cooper County is near today's I-70, roughly between Boonville, Missouri and Columbia, Missouri. I googled these names and found considerable information on the surveyor, who apparently was in the records until at least 1889 from what I h...

This is a very detailed map of Worcestershire in western England, first engraved by noted London map maker Robert Morden in 1695 for Camden's Britannia, and issued in several later editions in the early years of the 18th century. The map measures 14 1/4" by 16 5/8" inside the mat (17" by 19" as framed). Like most of its type it has been hand colored at a later date. The condition is good, with fresh excellent color, minimal oxidation, and some light handling creases at lower left and upper ri...

Found in New Hampshire, this is a beautifully and meticulously drawn map of the South American continent, from the Isthmus of Panama to Cape Horn, signed at lower right one "Rosa W. Miner" (or, "Mines"). The work, which measures 13" by 10" in a simple earlier 20th century frame, is drawn in pencil, with watercolor forming the borders of the various countries. Evidently, at some point, educators supplied the school children with pre-printed blanks, so that there would be no need to draw the lat...

This is a miniature map, 3 3/8" by 4 7/8" inside the mat, titled at upper right "EUROPA", and bearing at lower right the name of the engraver cartographer, Pieter van den Keere (Petrus Kaerius). The entire sweep of Europe is shown, from Greenland and Atlantic islands on the west to as far east as Turkey, the Middle East, and "Tartaria". Kaerius (circa 1571-1646) was born in the Low Countries and fled to London due to religious persecution, in 1584. There he became established in engraving map...

Wilshire Theater "The Oldest Living Graduate " Henry Fonda signature. Signed on the front with an illegible inscription. Carl laemmle Jr autograph collection. 7.24" 4.25"