A NEWLY discovered letter signed by poet Phillis Wheatley–the first black American to have a book of poetry published–sold for $253,000 to a private collector last November 22 at Swann Auction Galleries. (Photograph courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries.)

A college history major turned high-end autograph hound, Markowitz has brokered the sale of some of the country’s most valuable correspondence, including letters from Abraham Lincoln. He has also handled documents of lesser value that nonetheless provide a window into the daily life of national legends, such as a letter from Daniel Boone in which he transferred ownership of his Kentucky home to his nephew.

One item that gave Markowitz a true frisson of discovery was a letter that surfaced in spring 2005 signed by Phillis Wheatley, the first black American to have a book of poems published. Markowitz traveled to a private home in Maryland to examine the document, keeping his hopes in check.

"We are trained to be skeptical," Markowitz says one recent morning at Swann’s sunlight-filled gallery. The firm receives four or five calls every week from people claiming they have a signed copy of the Declaration of Independence. The callers are often unaware that these can be purchased from the Liberty Bell Museum Shop website, printed on antiqued parchment, for $6.95.

But the Wheatley letter turned out to be authentic. "As soon as the letter hit the table, my eyes popped out," Markowitz recalls, opening a portfolio with a flourish that is worthy of Harry Houdini (whose autograph he has also sold). Revealed is a yellowed, tissue-thin letter, initially remarkable only for its humbleness. Dated Feb. 14, 1776, it is signed with a sure, neat hand by Wheatley, who was born in Senegal in 1753 and sold as a slave in Boston in 1761. In the letter, written to Obour Tanner, another slave, Wheatley discusses the American Revolution.

Wheatley’s letter became the buzz of the autograph collecting world and was the centerpiece of Swann’s autograph auction last November. The high end of the auction estimate of $80,000 to $120,000 was twice the price fetched by an unsigned poem attributed to Wheatley in 1998. "Arriving at a price was difficult because with this, there weren’t any others like it," Markowitz says. The hammer price exceeded Markowitz’s expectations: $253,000 (including the 15 percent auction fee) paid by an anonymous collector of African-American art and literature. The sum was an auction record for a letter written by a black American, and may be a record for a letter written by a woman.

Washington Signed Here
The Wheatley letter is indicative of the prices in the high-end autograph market, where a letter signed by George Washington can easily fetch several hundred thousand dollars. In the past decade, the value of autographs has been rising steadily, spurred by interest from historically inclined investors. Many of the most famous documents have been snapped up by shrewd collectors and institutions. Experts in the field note that values are also supported by the dearth of new autographs emanating from contemporary notables, caused by the popularity of email and similar technologies that have replaced old-fashioned handwritten and hand-signed documents.

But aside from supply and demand, the market is buoyed by collectors’ passion for links to the best minds and crucial events in the past. Michael Horowitz, an attorney and fellow at the Hudson Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., was given a note from Walt Whitman–one of his favorite poets–to a professor at Trinity College in Ireland. It tells the professor that a copy of Leaves of Grass is in the mail under separate cover. "It is not just the autographs," Horowitz muses. "It is something that gives me the thrill of having an association with a figure in history." The note hangs in Horowitz’s living room, along with a document signed by Lincoln and several items from great women of the 19th century, including Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Beecher Stowe.