Americana:
A unique offering
to our US clients

We need your help with this one; it's why we're only offering this item to our American clients.

At the moment it's taking pride of place in our showroom in London, carefully on show behind our custom-made glass display.

It's proving to be quite a hit with visiting American tourists.

But it shouldn't be in the UK. It should be at home in America. After all, it's one of the most desirable pieces of Americana to come onto the market in a long time.

The problem is... we have no idea of its true value.

We have an original manuscript with the hand written lyrics of 'America' (My Country 'Tis of Thee), written in February 1832 & signed by Samuel Francis Smith:

My country! 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my father's died,
Land of the pilgrim's pride,
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring.
 
My native country! thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love the rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills:
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.
 
Let music swell the breeze,
And sing from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence brake,
The sound prolong.
 
Our father's God! to thee,
Author of Liberty!
To thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by thy might,
Great God, our King!
 

This incredible piece is fully framed and measures an impressive 21x16 inches.

The lyrics have been written by Samuel Francis Smith in February 1832, and then signed by him at the later date of October 1st, 1892, three years prior to his death. 

Signed manuscript copies of Smith's immortal lyrics remain one of the most desirable prizes for serious collectors of Americana. 

Considering its size this is an incredibly unique item in such fine condition. 

'America' was first performed on July 4th 1831. The hand written lyrics we offer were written by Smith in February 1832.  

We believe this is prior to their first publication in 'Union Collection of Church Music' by Lowell Mason (Boston, Mass 1832). 

So how do you value an item like this?  

After all, on August 8th 1963 Rev Martin Luther King quoted Smith's lyrics when he stated from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial 'I have a dream' and called on the nation to 'let freedom ring'.  

Considering our Mozart lyrics were on offer at $228,000 we are really struggling to agree a price for this item. 

We've asked ourselves... 

Is it historically more important than the Einstein letter archive that we sold for $332,500? 

Should it be worth more than Jimi Hendrix's guitar that sold for $497,557? 

Our research shows a letter handwritten and signed by Samuel Francis Smith, with the first verse of his song, "America" ("My Country "Tis of Thee"), sold for $33,350 at an auction sale held in May 2005 in Fairfield, Maine. 

But that letter only included the first verse, and the sale was more than three years ago. Our item has to be worth more than that. But it's a good starting point. 

You can see that at times it is very difficult to put a value on history. Especially history that is not our own.  

After all, we're a British based company, and this is a major part of American history. This item should be in the US. 

So how can we determine the correct selling price of this amazing piece of Americana? 

Just as importantly: How can you be sure you're paying a fair price? 

Well, here's the deal. 

We're going to auction it. We're going to make sure we don't sell it for less than it is truly worth. It's the fairest route we've come up with.  

We're going to hold this item in stock for one week and accept bids for it. 

At the end of one week the highest bid wins.  

We think it's the fairest way to repatriate this item to a deserving home in America. 

And the successful bidder can rest assured in the knowledge that they have paid a fair price. 

You'll be bidding on a superb piece of Americana, the likes of which we have not seen before. 

We have placed a minimum bid level of $7,500 to kick start the auction. 

To place a bid simply email me your name and address and your bid amount in dollars. We will keep you informed of the status of your bid at all times. 

It's the fairest way we could think of to ensure this unique item returns to its homeland. 

And to ensure we don't sell it too cheaply!

Call on +44 (0)1481 708 277

Email investment@stanleygibbons.co.uk

Toll Free from the USA 1 866 644 6146

Regards

Adrian Roose