A letter by George Washington sold for an auction record $3,218,500 in New York, according to Christie's. An Edgar Allen Poe poem snagged $830,500, a world record for a 19th-century literary manuscript, A rare first edition of Poe's first book, "Tamerlane and Other Poems," reached $662,500, the highest price ever paid for a 19th-century book of poetry. Cormac McCarthy, author of "No Country for Old Men," parted with his typewriter for an eye-popping $254,500. It had been estimated to sell for $15,000 to $20,000.