Cowan’s Auctions, Inc. will host their American History, Including the Civil War Auction on June 21, 2012. The 400-lot auction will be held in Cowan’s salesroom, in Cincinnati, OH, and will include scarce daguerreotypes, photographs of the American West, 19th century photography, manuscripts, books, maps, political campaign ephemera and flags.

“This sale is rich in diversity,” notes Katie Horstman, Director, American History Department. “From the stereoscopic colloidon negative produced during Abraham Lincoln’s last sitting, to the rare CDV of famed gunfighter and scout Wild Bill Hickok, the almost 400 lots featured in the auction represent the people, places and events that made our great country what it is today.”

Highlighted in the sale will be an Alexander Gardner Colloidon Glass Negative from Abraham Lincoln’s Last Sitting, estimated at $40,000/60,000. Descended in the family of M.P. Rice, this seated portrait of the president was taken on February 5, 1865, in what was generally acknowledged as the last sitting made in Gardner’s studio.

A rare Menu from the Atlantic Conference, signed by all guests, including Churchill and Roosevelt, is estimated to sell for $20,000/25,000.

A Vietnam Zippo Lighter Collection is expected to bring $30,000/50,000. This lot of 282 Zippo lighters features personalized and anonymous engravings written by U.S. soldiers, sailors, and airmen during deployment. American artist Bradford Edwards compiled the collection individually over several years in Vietnam in the 1990’s.

A number of photographs are also expected to perform well in the auction. A Photographic Archive of Miles City, Montana, by Montana Photographer Robert C. Morrison is estimated at $30,000/50,000. One of the earliest known Photographs of New Orleans, by Jay Dearborn Edwards, is expected to bring $10,000/20,000. A rare Panoramic Photograph of the Opening Game at Cincinnati National League Park, Chicago vs. Cincinnati, is estimated to bring $10,000/15,000.

Also offered in the sale will be a selection of miniature portraiture and CDV’s. A rare Wild Bill Hickok CDV by A.P. Trott, Junction City, Kansas, is estimated to sell for $8,000/10,000. A Thomas Jefferson Miniature Portrait by William Russell Birch is estimated at $10,000/15,000, and a George Washington Miniature Portrait after Edward Savage is expected to fetch $5,000/7,000.

Cowan’s will also offer historical flags in the sale. A Scarce William Henry Harrison Campaign Flag Banner is expected to bring $10,000/15,000. A Fine Civil War-Era 34-Star Flag, featuring American Eagle and Blood Stripe is estimated at $7,000/9,000.

For more information about the auction or to view the catalogue, please visit cowans.com or call Katie Horstman at 513.871.1670 ext. 46.

 About Cowan’s Auctions, Inc.

As one of the nation’s leading auction houses with sales approaching $20 million, Cowan’s

has been helping individuals and institutions build important collections for more than a

decade. To learn more about Cowan’s, visit cowans.com.

Contact:  Erika McMillan, Director of Marketing Communications

                 Erika@cowans.com           

                 513.871.1670 ext.30