There is Babe Ruth's 60th home-run bat...
Sitting Bull's bow and arrow...
These are the greats, the one-offs, items of the utmost rarity... items that tug at the heart-strings.
We've had a few of our own in recent years.
The Albert Einstein correspondence collection sold for £175,000 ($240,000).
John Lennon's child-hood stamp album went off to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. (proof that institutions have the funds and desire to purchase top-end collectables).
Then there was the unique block of ten Penny Black first day cover sold to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Royal Philatelic Collection (undisclosed figure, privacy, you understand).
And now we have another.
If you were to see this item in a world famous museum you wouldn't think it out of place.
Presented in its original leather travel case we have a Swedish made 'Halda' typewriter in excellent condition, fully functional, with the ribbons and keys intact.
The travel case is, well... well traveled, as would be expected.
It has somewhat tattered transportation stickers from both the American Export Line and the French Line, both international shipping lines of the 1950s.
It's these tags that give away the identity of the owner.
Both tags have the crucial identification, in another hand, signed, 'Hemingway'.
Think about that for a second: 'Hemingway'. We're all aware of many thousands of famous names, but few can be identified by surname alone.
Ernest Hemingway is one of the few and today we are thrilled to be able to offer you an absolute one-off: his personal typewriter.
1953 Pulitzer Prize winner.
1954 Nobel Award Winner for Literature.
This typewriter was the source of some of the greatest pieces of American literary history.
Research indicates Hemingway did, indeed, travel on both of these shipping lines. He was a very reluctant flyer after being physically unnerved by two plane crashes in 1954.
However, more important, is the provenance of this typewriter.
It was obtained from the famed author A.E. Hotchner who wrote the definitive biography of Ernest Hemingway, "Papa".
Hotchner in turn obtained the typewriter from the heirs of well-known Hemingway friend Bill Davis.
Davis maintained a house in Malaga, Spain and it is there that Hemingway typed portions of his bullfighting narrative "The Dangerous Summer" on this very typewriter.
The first part of "The Dangerous Summer" appeared in Life Magazine on September 5, 1960.
Hemingway was upset by the photographs in his The Dangerous Summer article.
At this point in his life he was already receiving treatment for high blood pressure and liver problems... he reportedly suffered significant memory loss as a result of the electric shock treatments.
He later blamed his memory loss, which he cited as a reason for not wanting to live, upon the electric shock therapies.
This may in fact have helped to precipitate his suicide in 1961.
Given the timeframes it is certainly possible that the works which would later become the posthumous memoir "A Movable Feast" were also typed on this very typewriter.
What remains is the fact that this typewriter is Hemingway's equivalent of Marilyn's 'Happy Birthday Mr President dress' (sold for $1.15m in 1999).
It's his equivalent of Jack Kerouac's manuscript for 'On the Road' (recently sold for over $1m).
It's right up there with the best of them.
A
major piece of American Literary History.
And at a bargain price. Especially if you are paying in dollars.
Let me explain...
This item is valued at £125,000. Six months ago this item would have cost you in excess of a quarter of a million dollars.
However, luck is on your side as the British Pound has recently lost ground against the dollar on the foreign exchange rates.
What does it mean to your pocket?
In essence you can buy this incredible piece today for just $172,000. It represents an incredible 31% saving courtesy of the world-wide financial crisis.
Don't miss the opportunity.
Call on +44 (0)1481 708 277
Email aroose@stanleygibbons.co.uk
Toll Free from the USA 1 866 644 6146
Regards,
Adrian Roose