Alderfer Auction to Offer One of the Earliest Known William Penn Signed Land Documents
On March 4, 1681 King Charles II signed a charter to William Penn granting him approximately 45,000 square miles of land in North America being what is now Pennsylvania and Delaware. The grant was issued to William by the King as part of the crown’s financial obligation to William’s father who served as English admiral and politician who served in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1670. In England at this time the Quaker religion was also being persecuted and Penn subsequently offered a possible mass emigration to the “New World” if land was available. For these reasons King Charles II and his royal council proceeded to issue the land grant making Penn the largest land non-royal land owner in the world.
Alex Katz: Bridging Realism and Abstraction in the Modern Era
Alex Katz (born July 24, 1927) is one of the most recognizable voices in post war American art. Raised in Brooklyn and later Queens, Katz studied at the Cooper Union School of Art and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. At Skowhegan he practiced painting en plein air and learned to work quickly, an experience he said gave him “a reason to devote my life to painting.” In the early 1950s he began exhibiting his work and soon developed a style that stood apart from the prevailing Abstract Expressionism. He destroyed much of his early output, but in Maine he produced small collages of still lifes, landscapes and figures, a foundation for later experiments.
Collecting Illustrator Art: A Spotlight on Original Characters and Animators
Animation has always blended storytelling and visual artistry. Before the digital age, every cartoon you watched was built frame‑by‑frame using hand‑drawn sketches and painted cels. Each cel is a one of a kind painting created by a studio artist to be photographed over a background painting to form a frame in the finished cartoon. Because these production cels were used in the creation of films and television shows, they are highly sought after by collectors; they capture a tangible moment of pop‑culture history and can fetch strong prices depending on character and scene.
Alderfer Auction to Offer Rare Autographs of U.S. Presidents and Historical Figures
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Alderfer Auction to Offer Rare Autographs of U.S. Presidents and Historical Figures from Noteworthy Family Collection. HATFIELD, PA – July 15, 2025 – Alderfer Auction is pleased to announce that its upcoming Collectors Auction on July 24, 2025, will feature a remarkable collection of historical autographs, meticulously preserved and passed down through the generations of the Robert Frank Lehman (1859-1931) and Robert Lehman Benner (1910-2002) families.This extraordinary offering provides a unique opportunity for collectors to acquire signatures from some of the most influential figures in American history. Highlights of the collection include autographs of several United States Presidents, such as Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, and Grover Cleveland. Beyond the Oval Office, the auction will also present signatures from numerous 19th-century United States Supreme Court Justices, distinguished military leaders, Vice-Presidents of the United States, state governors, and various prominent politicians.
Back by Popular Demand: Another Rare 1935 Maytag Toy Racer Hits the Market!
When a 1935 Maytag Toy Racer rolled into our auction this past April, it didn’t just turn heads—it turned into a headline. Bidding was fierce, interest poured in from collectors nationwide, and when the gavel finally fell, it sold for an impressive $18,000. We thought it might be a once-in-a-career consignment. But now, just months later, another remarkable example is revving its tiny engine—and heading straight into our auction lineup.
Alderfer Auction To Offer Important Historical Biometric Prosthetics As Part Of Collectors Auction
On July 24, 2025 Alderfer Auction, as part of Alderfer’s Collectors auction, will offer a pair of prototypes of biometric prosthetic arms that were developed in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s to provide a working mechanical limb for soldiers that had lost limbs due to injuries received in military actions during the Vietnam War.