SOLD! for $768.00.
(Note: Prices realized include a buyer's premium.)
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Selling with Case- Low Estimate: $350.00
- High Estimate: $450.00
- Realized: $768.00
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Archive related to two families: the Wheelocks of Scotland/Manhattan, and Wall Street tycoon George Briggs Buchanan and his daughter, Janet Buchanan Wheelock, circa 1890-1930, including FDR signed letter, mining related ephemera, multiple scrapbooks/photo albums and receipts related to furnishings in a Robert Lorimar designed Scottish mansion called Bunker Hill. Part 1 – George Briggs Buchanan (1875-1939) was an American businessman who made his fortune on Wall Street. His obituary in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle stated he was "a special partner of the firm of Thomson and McKinnon…a noted trader in corn products. Fishing was his hobby and his show place, just south of Bear Mountain, was the gathering place of many prominent persons". He named his summer home Orak (after Karo syrup, which helped build his fortune; Orak is Karo spelled backwards). Buchanan's wife, Eula Blair (1884-1919), died at the age of 34, leaving him with a five year old daughter, Janet, upon whom he clearly doted. Janet (1914-1999) grew up to marry Thomas G. Wheelock, son of William and Margaret Wheelock (whose family papers are also represented in this archive). Contents of Buchanan Archive: Scrapbook containing ephemera related to Wall Street Tycoon George Briggs Buchanan, including March 10, 1930 ALS from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Buchanan championing the Boy Scouts; Boxing program from the RMS Mauretania 1922, Cunard menus from the Adriatic and Mauretania, newspaper clippings on BuchananÕs career and activities from the early 1900s through 1936, New York Stock Exchange letterhead memo to Mr. Buchanan dated Feb. 2, 1905 and stating "Dear Sir – I take pleasure in informing you that you have this day been elected a member of the New York Stock Exchange. – Wm. McC-"; broker's license, hand drawn caricature cartoons; assorted letterheads, photos, cards and letters from his daughter, Janet Buchanan Wheelock (some on Cunard lines stationery), fellow Wall Street businessmen such as Arthur Curtis James, and others including Horace Hotchkiss of the US Seniors Golf Association (1926), several clippings from 1929, year of the stock market crash; 1904 patent papers for "G. Buchanan's Telephone Attachment", and more. 46 pages front and back. Condition: Pages have all come loose from their binding. Most items glued down. Roosevelt letter glued at top 1" edge, signature lightly faded. Photograph album #1 labeled "Winter of 1919-1920? Royal Palms Miami". 49 pages front and back with black and white photos of young Janet Buchanan Wheelock and her father, Wall Street Tycoon George Briggs Buchanan. Photos of note include "Warren G. Harding at Rooney", candid shots of Miami Beach, a shot of "The burning of the Osiris, Miami FL Feb. 12 1921", and about a half dozen shots of Seminole Indians. There is also a typewritten "Log of the 'Rowena'" by George Briggs Buchanan detailing a 1921 fishing trip with George Shearer, Lucius Wilmerding, and Norman Davidson, with several accompanying photographs. Note some photos also dated 1922. Condition: back cover detached, some photos missing, general light discoloration, photos overall good condition. Photograph album # 2 with gilt lettering "Maine to California" with ten pages of early photographs of mostly Western scenes. Condition: considerable fading and discoloration. Photograph album #3 containing 15 photographs of several people, likely the Buchanan family, on vacation at Casa Marina (Key West). Good condition. Photograph album #4 "My Memory Book" circa 1930 containing photos of Janet and George Briggs Buchanan vacationing in Miami Beach, Beverly Hills, Long Key, and at home during the winter in Orak, NY. Approximately ten pages of photos. Covers loose/torn, some fading to photos. Black and white framed photograph of Buchanan, circa 1930s (11" x 9") and a framed cartoon referencing Buchanan's "sample giving habits". Part 2 – Wheelock Family (George, William and Margaret). William Addison and Margaret Graham Carmichael Wheelock (b. Edinburgh, 1875- d. 1952, New York) divided their time between their manor home in Scotland and Manhattan, where Margaret was a founding partner (along with her sister, Jessie Farquharson), in the successful couture company of Farquharson & Wheelock. The sisters started their dressmaking firm around 1906 and within 5 years were designing fashionable frocks from a shop at 724 Fifth Avenue. (In 1920 the business expanded into the Louis P. Hoyt mansion next door, paying a headline-making price of $600,000). Tragedy struck the family in 1912 when Jessie's daughter (MargaretÕs niece), Mary Graham Carmichael Farquharson and her new husband, Daniel Warner Marvin, booked passage on the Titanic to return from their honeymoon. Marvin was drowned; his young (and newly pregnant) wife survived. American born William Addison Wheelock (1863-?) seems to have been inseparable from his "adopted brother" George A. Wheelock (1853-1922) from at least the age of 17, when the two are listed in the 1880 census living in St. Louis, Missouri. By 1900, both were in New York and listed themselves as "bookmakers" at the same address. George went on to become head of the Metropolitan Turf Association, while William seems to have had a connection to mining in the Western U.S. and inventing. In 1922, following GeorgeÕs death, William challenged his widow, Julia, for control of George's estate on the grounds that he was incompetent when he made his will, but he seems to have been unable to officially prove a adopted relationship. (This archive contains several papers related to George Wheelock, as well as William Wheelock). William and Margaret Wheelock's home in Scotland, "Bunker Hill," (designed in 1904 by Sir Robert Lorimar, originally for Robert Craig) remained in the family until the early 1980s. Contents of Wheelock Archive: Album 1 – Contains receipts for furnishings purchased for Bunker Hill, the Wheelock family Manor home in Scotland, circa 1920s, from various, mostly Scottish, establishments. Includes silver, furniture, porcelain, fabrics, etc. on early letterheads. Some of these items are believed to be included in this auction. Album 2 – New album containing 6 pages from an old album with photos circa 1909, locations cited include the Oriental Hotel, the Mauretania, Lake Windemere, Chester Lodge. 1 news clipping photo of Mrs. Patrick Campbell (see archive related to the famous actress in this auction); otherwise these appear to be mainly family photos. Very few subjects are identified. Most photos in good condition.Album 3 – Approximately Forty-four (44) letters mostly to William A. Wheelock from family members circa 1890s-1905. The majority are written on letterheads from some of the world's finest hotels and cruise ships including the Grand Hotel, Paris, Grand Hotel du Bazar Slave in Russia, the Hotel Athene, the Hotel Vendome, the Ritz, the RMS Empress of India, and the USMS Philadelphia. Content is mostly personal and related to "the amusements and fine living" of Europe, although some world events are referenced such as the 1901 burning of the hotel Metropole. Also included are several newspaper clippings referencing George Wheelock, who made his fortune in bookmaking, and the couture firm Farquharson and Wheelock, along with a telegram addressed to Margaret Wheelock from Mrs. R.W. Bingham and dated Jan 24, 1937. (About 3 of the letters in this album are addressed to Margaret Wheelock, most are to William). Also included are a few loose items of general ephemera, 1920s-1950s: two March 18, 1953 newspapers (one picturing the Atom Explosion in the U.S.; yellowing, creases); Harvard and Cambridge ephemera; programme for dinner honoring anti-Nazi activist Dorothy Thompson. Album 4: Collection of 45 pages of letters and receipts dating 1886-1904 relating to Mrs. Warren (Esther) Ellis, E.R. Cooper, and William A. Wheelock, many originating from Denver, Colorado and written in reference to a placer mine in Iron Mountain. Both family news and business matters are discussed. A certificate for 15 shares in the Uncle Sam Mining Company, issued by the State of Michigan to E.B. Smith in 1888 is also included. Album 5: Photograph album with name SG Wheelock (Stephen Wheelock) written inside cover, approximately 12 pages front and back of photographs and 18 pages front and back of news clippings, mostly wedding and engagement notices; photographs circa 1920s-30s, rural scenes, cruise ship pictures (and menu), university or school photos, British manor house photos. Condition: some minor discoloration/fading, binding loose. Other items: 3 Envelopes of material related to William Addison Wheelock's patent for improvements in bottle tops and locks. 1 Envelope of material related to and including the Tiend Roll of the Parish of Dirleton, circa 1939, name of Mrs. Margaret Wheelock on cover. 9 old college magazines, Europa and The Granta, circa 1930s, good condition, minor wear. 2 Real estate folders with sale listing information on Bunker Hill, the Wheelock family Manor Home in Scotland, dated 1981. Provenance: a Middle Tennessee estate, by descent from Thomas G.B. Wheelock. Note: Thomas G.B. Wheelock was known as an astute collector of African Art and co-author of the book "Land of the Flying Masks: Art & Culture in Burkina Faso". He also inherited a sizeable collection of Asian, British, and military related antiques from his grandparents, Wall Street tycoon George Briggs Buchanan of New York, and William and Margaret Wheelock, who owned a Scottish manor home known as Bunker Hill, designed by Robert Lorimer. (Margaret Carmichael Wheelock was also a founding partner of the fashion firm Farquharson & Wheelock in New York). See other related lots in this auction, including an archive containing receipts for furnishings for Bunker Hill. CONDITION: Toning, scattered foxing, some items adhered to albums with glue/tape. See item description and refer to photographs.