Potter & Potter Auctions to Hold Late Autumn Political and Historical Americana Sale on November 5

Top lots include a rare pewter-rim portrait of John Quincy Adams, a George Washington free frank, a Lincoln cabinet document collection, and a Susan B. Anthony suffrage badge

Chicago, IL — October 2026 — Potter & Potter Auctions will hold its Late Autumn Political & Historical Americana Sale on Thursday, November 5, 2026, beginning at 11:00 AM EST. The 425-lot auction will be presented live at the gallery at 5001 W. Belmont Avenue in Chicago and simultaneously live-streamed at potterauctions.com. The sale is the first conducted under the direction of Curtis Lindner, the house’s new Director of Americana, and spans materials from U.S. presidents, rare association and campaign items, Lincolniana, and important autographs and ephemera.

Presidential Campaign Items

Leading the sale is Lot 24, an extraordinarily rare pewter-rim portrait of John Quincy Adams, estimated at $15,000-$20,000. This small-format example, measuring 1-5/16 inches in diameter, dates to the contentious election cycles of 1824 or 1828, when Adams campaigned against Andrew Jackson. The front presents a portrait of Adams; the reverse contains a mirror. According to Potter & Potter’s experts, campaign items of Adams of any kind are uncommon, and only a small number of examples in the larger pewter-rim format are known. The rise of popular campaigning during this era produced some of the nation’s earliest presidential election ephemera.

Presidential Autographs and Documents

Lot 2, a free frank signed envelope panel from George Washington addressed to Governor George Clinton, is estimated at $10,000-$15,000. The 7-by-8-3/4-inch panel, in Washington’s hand, reads: “His Excelly Governor Clinton Private 13 Poughkeepsie Geo Washington” and is docketed “26th Nov. 1782 Letter from Genl. Washington Private.” Washington addressed the panel to New York’s first governor while stationed at his military headquarters in Newburgh, NY. The panel is believed to have enclosed a letter to Clinton dated November 26, 1782, discussing the British occupation of New York City. Potter & Potter’s experts describe this as unquestionably one of the rarest of all free franks.

Lincolniana

Lot 56, an exceptional collection of 13 documents and letters, each signed by President Abraham Lincoln or a member of his cabinet, carries an estimate of $15,000-$20,000. The entire collection is presented in a custom album bound in black Morocco with gilt tooling and red moiré silk endpapers. Each item has been expertly inlaid to an 11-by-14-1/4-inch sheet, and the presentation is enhanced with similarly inlaid period engravings of the men represented.

Items in the album include a partially printed war-date document signed as President by Abraham Lincoln, related to a consular appointment; a signed letter from Vice President Hannibal Hamlin; a war-date letter from Secretary of State William H. Seward to Senator Charles Sumner on a diplomatic matter; a letter from Secretary of the Treasury S. P. Chase; a war-date letter from Secretary of War Simon Cameron regarding a military appointment; a document signed by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; a letter from Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles; letters from Attorney General Edward Bates and his successor James Speed; a letter from Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch to the editor of the New York newspaper the Independent; a document signed by Postmaster General W. Dennison naming a Virginia postmaster; a war-date letter from Secretary of the Treasury William Pitt Fessenden; and an ink signature from Secretary of the Interior J. P. Usher.

Women’s Suffrage

Lot 143, a Susan B. Anthony Minnesota Woman’s Suffrage Association badge, is estimated at $4,000-$6,000. The 1-3/4-by-3-1/2-inch badge features a photographic portrait medallion of Anthony, suspended from a silk ribbon inscribed “Annual Meeting Minnesota Suffrage Association.” From 1881 to 1920, the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association worked to secure women’s right to vote; the legislature ratified the 19th Amendment in 1919. Potter & Potter’s experts note that this elusive suffrage badge rarely, if ever, appears on the market.

Presidential Artifacts

Lot 166, blotter paper from the Oval Office desk of President John F. Kennedy, is estimated at $5,000-$7,500. Kennedy used an Esterbrook fountain pen to sign most documents, photographs, and letters during his time in office, and would blot the ink after signing. This paper blotter bears numerous signatures from extensive use and measures 3 by 9-1/2 inches, framed to an overall size of 14 by 14 inches. A wood blotter roller from the same desk sold at a Dallas, Texas, auction in 2013 for $40,625.

Director of Americana Curtis Lindner notes that the catalog spans presidential material ranging from George Washington to Barack Obama, items related to the University of Chicago’s nuclear experiments, a fine selection of photography, and additional highlights across the 425-lot sale.

For catalogues and bidding information, visit Potter & Potter Auctions.