A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one. - Alexander Hamilton

From Sotheby's:

On Thursday in New York, Sotheby’s auction of Alexander Hamilton: An Important Family Archive of Letters and Manuscripts achieved an outstanding total of $2,645,750, surpassing its pre-sale high estimate of $2.1 million. All 77 lots on offer – representing hundreds of individual documents – found buyers, marking a rare ‘White Glove’ auction. Eleven lots broke the previous auction record for any document handwritten by Hamilton – a record that had held since 2001.

Viewed by thousands of visitors over the past week at Sotheby’s New York, the collection of letters and manuscripts by and relating to Alexander Hamilton drew a diverse audience: from politicalscience enthusiasts to theater lovers, newly-impassioned historians, and institutional collections – even the company of Hamilton: An American Musical.

This remarkable archive of highly-personal documents had descended through Hamilton’s family for the last two centuries, with many of the manuscripts previously unknown to historians.

Selby Kiffer, Senior International Specialist for Sotheby's Books & Manuscripts, noted: “We have been thrilled to be part of the cultural movement that has re-established this Founding Father's rightful place in history. The results of today’s sale are an indicator not only of the tremendous public interest in Alexander Hamilton, but also of the appetite among both new and established collectors to own historical documents.”

A highlight of the auction was the document responsible for Alexander Hamilton’s foray into the public sphere: Alexander Hamilton’s Appointment as Aide-de-Camp to General George Washington from 1777, which sold for $212,500. This appointment jumpstarted Hamilton’s political career, leading to subsequent positions as congressman, founder of the Bank of New York, member of the Constitutional convention and more.

The auction was led by A Previously Unrecorded Autograph Draft of Pacificus Essay No. VI, which achieved $262,500. One of the most important essays written by Alexander Hamilton, under the pen name Pacificus, Pacificus VI is particularly vital to the storyline of Hamilton as no manuscript copies of The Federalist Papers – considered by many to be his most famous work – survive.