Swann Galleries’ auction of Autographs in New York on November 7 includes a signed letter (above) George Washington sent to his spymaster Benjamin Tallmadge, New Jersey, 1780. It is the top-estimated lot of the sale, guided at $25,000-35,000.
A less formal view of the presidency comes in the form of a c.1950s inscription and drawing by John F Kennedy on Senate stationery showing the PT-109 torpedo boat he commanded during the Second World War (estimate $3000-4000).