Auctions | October 30, 2014

Rice Paper Print Declaration of Independence & Early Cotton Gin at Heritage Auctions

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DALLAS—A rare and early working model of Eli Whitney’s revolutionary Cotton Gin, a cornerstone of museum exhibits from Michigan to Georgia, is expected to sell for $10,000+ in Heritage Auctions’ Nov. 8 Americana & Political Signature® Auction in Dallas. From a direct rice paper printing of The Declaration of Independence (est. $12,000+) to an original blueprint for Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece “Fallingwater” (est. $12,000+), the auction spans 200 years of American ingenuity, politics, and culture.

“The phrase “museum quality” is tossed around quite liberally these days, so we are pleased to present items that have quite literally been displayed in museums for decades,” said Tom Slater, Director of Americana for Heritage.

The evocative cotton gin dates to the early 1800s and spent more than 60 years in the Atlanta Museum before appearing in the important exhibition "Slavery on Trial-the Long Road to Freedom" at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Additional highlights include, but are not limited to:

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