Numismatic tidbits are endless in the Newman papers, and, while processing the "S" files, we ran across an interesting exchange between Eric P. Newman and Sotheby's in London. In a 1970 sale ofautograph letters and historical documents, Sotheby's described lot 548 of their May sale as follows:

Newman wrote to Sotheby's on June 12, 1970 requesting a photocopy of the Washington letter. Sotheby's demurred on June 16, explaining "I am afraid I cannot send you a photo-copy of the letter asthis is an unpublished document and it is a rule of the firm in this case not to give out photocopies to protect the potential buyer. The estimate on this lot is £600-800."

Today, of course, one simply visits the Founders Online site, and the full text of the letter is immediately revealed. This site has gathered together the edited papers and correspondence ofWashington, Jefferson, and others instrumental in the birth of the United States. This particular Washington letter currently resides in the Gilder Lehrman collection at the New-York HistoricalSociety (N-YHS), so it seems likely the letter was purchased out of the Sotheby's sale and later donated to the N-YHS. The full text reads:

Link to Newman/Sotheby's correspondence on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/534009

Link to Washington letter on Founders Online:
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-10-02-0293