Robert E. Lee-signed Documents, ca. 1840
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GUEST:
Well, I found them when I was cleaning out my dad's apartment when he passed away. And I don't know anything about them. They were all in this little pouch, all folded up. And I just saw that the signature on some of them was "R. E. Lee." I don't know where he got them or anything. He was not into history or a collector or anything. His family was from Massachusetts, and his dad was a real historian, so they may have come from his dad, I really don't have any idea.
APPRAISER:
When you say, "R. E. Lee," they all are signed by Robert E. Lee. He was the general, the head general of the Confederacy.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
He signed a lot. But these are actually very interesting, because this was when he was still part of the United States Army. He was actually in the Engineering Corps. And...
GUEST:
How cool.
APPRAISER:
In the 1840s-- many people don't know this-- he was assigned to New York City. And his assignment was, they had forts up on the Hudson River, and they wanted them rebuilt, reconstructed, and that's what this is about. Fort Hamilton is here, then this one is Fort Lafayette. He was the one in charge of the fortifications. And this was the 1840s, and he was only a captain at the time.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
But he was in charge. This document, this is one, but it's actually signed on the back.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
This is a different document, but we just wanted to show how his signature would be on the backside of most of these.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
His documents during the war, after the war, are fairly common. Before the war, when he was still part of the United States government, the United States Army, they're much rarer. Have you ever had a valuation of this?
GUEST:
Probably about six or seven years ago, I took them to a hotel where they had people going around doing appraisals at a hotel, and they said about $800.
APPRAISER:
And that was for the group.
GUEST:
Yes, that was for everything. And I didn't take it-- I thought they were more interesting to me. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
You have seven documents.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
They're signed. A conservative retail estimate would be about $2,000 to $3,000 apiece.
GUEST:
Apiece?
APPRAISER:
Apiece.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh, wow. I thought for the whole collection I would be... oh, my gosh. (laughing) I'm shocked, I really am.
APPRAISER:
Well...
GUEST:
That's awesome. (laughing)
APPRAISER:
So basically $2,000 to $3,000 apiece is $14,000 to $21,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh. Oh... I had no idea. (laughs) My brothers and sisters don't know I have them. (both laughing) I found them at my dad's, but is it finders keepers, maybe?
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