NOT SOLD (BIDDING OVER)
0.00USD+ applicable fees & taxes.
This item WAS NOT SOLD. Auction date was 2012 Sep 28 @ 11:00UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT
Angry and suspecting his father-in-law of misappropriating funds, Bell writes his wife: "I have contributed sufficiently to the pecuniary interest of the Hubbard family…it is now my duty to look after the Bells…"
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL. (1847 - 1922) American inventor of the telephone, formed the Bell Telephone Company, and established the Volta Laboratory which produced numerous related inventions and improvements on existing technology. Important and very fine content A.L.S. "Alec", 4pp., 8vo., [n.p.], July 2, 1880 to his wife threatening to withdraw from further business with her father, Gardiner Greene Hubbard who had financed Bell's early efforts with the telephone and had become de facto head of the Bell Telephone Company. In 1879, Hubbard founded the International Bell Telephone Company to promote sales abroad. As the company sought to file patents and begin operations in Europe and around the world, Bell grew suspicious of its increasingly convoluted business transactions. At the same time, he was gifting the foreign rights to his invention to family members, occasionally coming into conflict with Hubbard's actions as company president. During the summer of 1880, Bell's resentment boiled over, and he charged Hubbard with mishandling a trust held for Hubbard's own daughter and children.
Bell, in the midst of his rage against his father-in-law, penned this message to his wife: "I am sorry to pain you - but I am thoroughly aroused as to the necessity of instant action on my part if I wish to avoid being deprived of whatever rights I may possess in the countries yet remaining to me. The action of the International Company is simply inexplicable and your father's letter to Mr. Converse is so astounding (when we consider that he knows how dis-satisfied I have been) that I have determined that the International Company shall not be blindfolded regarding my feelings any more. I am sorry that the letter was sent to the wrong Mr. Converse-but I cannot be helped now. I enclose a copy of my letter to the directors of the International Bell Telephone Co.-and a copy of the whole correspondence with Converse, Forbes, and the Intern. Co. will be sent to Mr. Hubbard. I think that I have contributed sufficiently to the pecuniary interest of the Hubbard family, and think it is now my duty to look after the Bells."
When Bell married Hubbard's daughter, Mabel, in 1877, he gave her a valuable wedding present: nearly all of his stock, in order to ensure the financial interest of her family, which would provide much needed capital for Bell's early telephonic ventures. Now, in the summer of 1880, he proposed that the Bell family strike out alone using the monies from his recently-awarded Volta Prize ($10,000), and a piece of technology he still controlled outright: the Photophone which transmitted voice over a beam of light. He continues: "I propose organizing a company myself for their benefit, and forego my Laboratory Yacht. I shall convert if necessary all my Continental stock into cash & invest it in the new company. Charlie will be here tonight to help settle the preliminaries. We can send Willie Ker to Europe and give employment to Charlie himself if he so desires. We will go to Europe on the top of the Photophone and Volta Prize and I will make personal application for concessions &c. in the countries yet open to me and in this way try to place the members of the Bell family in as comfortable pecuniary circumstances as those of the Hubbard family. 'The Gods help those who help themselves' and I intend to manage telephonic matters in the future alone. I am worked up-tired-headaching-and all my nerves are trembling with excitement, so if there is anything in this letter extravagant, please excuse it. I will be with you Sunday morning. Don't ask me to recall my letters, I believe I have only done what a MAN should do, and if the International & your father will not recognize me. [I] see no reason why I should continue to recognize them."
According to biographer Robert Bruce, Bell, "Hubbard himself had planted seeds of doubt in 1878, when in wrestling with what turned out to be his last personal financial crisis, he got Bell's permission to borrow from the trust. In the summer of 1880 Bell's pent-up fretfulness burst out and nearly ruptured his relations with his father-in-law. Bell charged Hubbard with mishandling -- he came close to saying misappropriating -- a trust held for Hubbard's own daughter and grandchildren." Though deeply wounded by this, Hubbard made allowance for his son-in-law's temperament and paternal feelings and also drew upon his own in making a reproachful but self-controlled reply, which refuted the charges and pointed out his substantial salvage from the English venture. The air had been cleared, and no such clash troubled it thereafter. By 1887 the trust had grown nearly to its goal of two hundred thousand dollars, and after Hubbard's death in 1897 the family found that he had let it grow further to two hundred sixty thousand dollars." (Robert V. Bruce, Bell: Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude, 247.) Usual folds, light soiling, else fine condition.
Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000.
Download Our Current PDF Auction Catalog
Part I: Lots 1-979 - September 27th, 2012
Part II: Lots 980-1845 - September 28th, 2012
Auction Location:
860 Canal Street. Second Floor., Stamford, Connecticut, 06902, United States
Please note that lots purchased are subject to sales taxes where applicable unless a resale number is filed with us prior to the auction. Invoices not paid within thirty days of the date of invoice will incur a 1.5% per month late payment fee.
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
22.5% |
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
Handling, shipping and insurance charges will be added to the invoice. Note: Large, heavy and bulky itmes are not shipped by the auctioneer. Client is responsible for arranging shipments for these pieces.
Shipping & Mailing
In most cases, shipping will be by USPS Priority (for domestic) and USPS International Express (for International), or UPS at our discretion, at a fixed rate of $12.00 and $35.00 respectively. If an item is unusually heavy, odd-sized, require special packing techniques or is otherwise out of the ordinary, there may be additional charges. Requests for alternative carriers will be accepted when practical with any additional expense billed to the customer. Combined shipping will be accommodated whenever possible. Insurance is always included and direct signatures will be required.
IMPORTANT: As noted in the Terms and Conditions of Sale, we no longer ship oversized or heavy material. These lots have been identified in the catalog with a short note at the end of the description. We reccomend the following shippers for this material:
Alexander Services
94 Franklin St.,
Stamford, CT 06901
Tel. (203) 324-4012
The UPS Store
65 High Ridge Road
Stamford, CT 06905
Tel . (203) 356-0022
Payment Details:
Payment is expected immediately upon, (but not before) receipt of invoice. Payments may be made via mail, phone, fax, or in person. We accept checks, money orders, Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal (payable to sales@alexautographs.com). All accounts are payable to Alexander Historical Auctions. Payment must be made in U.S. funds. Wire transfer details are available upon request. Please note that lots purchased are subject to sales taxes where applicable unless a resale number is filed with us prior to the auction. Invoices not paid within thirty days of the date of invoice will incur a 1.5% per month late payment fee.
Accepted Payment Methods:
- VISA
- Master Card
- Money Order/Bank Draft
- Check/Cheque
- PayPal
- See Payment Details
- Wire Transfer
1. This auction is conducted under the laws of the State of Connecticut.
2. This auction will begin at 11:30 AM Eastern time on Thursday, July 21 and Friday, July 22, 2011.
3. There is a 19.5% Buyer’s Premium charged on the final hammer price of each lot. An additional 3% (for a total of 22.5%) will be added to lots purchased live through the Internet via icollector.com.
4. The Auctioneer reserves the right to reject any bid for any reason.
5. The Auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw any lot for any reason.
6. In the event of duplicate high bids, the earliest bid received will be the winner. (Please note absentee bids left with artfact.com do not reach the auctioneer until the lot opens during the live sale).
7. Some lots may carry a reserve beneath which the item will not be sold. Any reserve will always be at or below the low estimate.
8. Detailed descriptions of lots and photocopies are available upon request. Bidders are advised that we warrant ONLY printed descriptions and additional information set forth in the addenda and from the auction block.
9. Illustrations of lots in this catalog and our website may have had size and/or contrast modifications for display purposes.
10. Estimated selling prices are for your guidance only. Actual selling prices may be higher or lower than the estimate indicated, although our estimates tend to be accurate.
11. The placing of a bid legally binds the bidder to purchase the lot at or below the bid placed, plus buyer's premium (see item 3). Bids may not be retracted without our approval: those doing so will be banned from future participation and will be reported to the trade. Please think before you bid! You are legally bound once you do so.
12. Absentee Bidding. All bidding is undertaken in a competitive manner. The winning bid will always be one bidding increment over the second highest bid. The minimum acceptable bid for any lot is one-half of the low estimate given in the item description. Bidders may call us at 203-276-1570 during office hours to check the status of their bids. Live bidding: Bids entered during the course of the sale by bidders on the floor, on the phone, or live on the internet will be taken at the amount bid.
13. Payment is expected immediately upon, (but not before) receipt of invoice. Payments may be made via mail, phone, fax, or in person. We accept checks, money orders, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal (payable to sales@alexautographs.com). All accounts are payable to Alexander Historical Auctions. Payment must be made in U.S. funds. Wire transfer details are available upon request. Please note that lots purchased are subject to sales taxes where applicable unless a resale number is filed with us prior to the auction. Invoices not paid within thirty days of the date of invoice will incur a 1.5% per month late payment fee.
14. Handling, shipping and insurance charges will be added to the invoice. Note: large, heavy and bulky itmes are not shipped by the auctioneer. Client is responsible for arranging shipments for these pieces. Please see the page titled "Bidding Procedure" for contact information for reccomended shippers.
15. All autograph material in this sale is guaranteed genuine for the life of the original purchaser (unless otherwise stated or if contrary to other provisions of these terms). Any autograph item sold which is determined to be not authentic by two independent dealers or authenticators acceptable to both parties to the sale may be returned by the original buyer at any time for an immediate refund of the purchase price (only). Non-autograph items are guaranteed genuine for a period of twenty-one (21) days of receipt if determined to be not authentic by two independent dealers or authenticators acceptable to both parties to the sale. Any declarations of lack of authenticity by any party must be made in writing.
16. Items may also be returned if the catalog description differs significantly from the item’s actual state; such returns must be made within three (3) days of purchaser's receipt of the lot(s). All returned lots must be in the same condition as shipped. All items are in very good condition unless stated otherwise.
17. Any lot containing five or more items is not subject to return for any reason.
18. We do not examine the condition of items contained within frames beyond what is readily visible. Such defects may include, but may not be limited to: mounting, silking, marginal damage, closed tears, “mat burn”, etc. That being the case, we are not responsible for such hidden damage. Bidders are further advised that we are selling the autograph, not the frame, and therefore the condition of the frame shall not be considered reason for return. Shipping costs for framed items may vary greatly depending on the size and/or weight of the frame, and at times these charges may be quite substantial. Customers may request us to remove an autograph from its frame to reduce shipping charges. We will accommodate customers in that respect for an additional charge of $10.00 per framed item, but such service will be undertaken at our sole discretion. Alexander Autographs will be responsible for any damage caused to the VISIBLE area of the item as it appears in the frame. We will in no way be responsible for any pre-existing hidden damage or defect, nor will we be responsible for any damage caused by us to any previously hidden portion of the autograph, its mount, or any material matted with the autograph during removal from the frame.
19. Property purchased and paid for by successful bidders but remaining unclaimed after 120 days will be deemed abandoned and title will be ceded to Alexander Autographs, Inc.
20. The placing of a bid shall constitute acceptance of the preceding terms and conditions of sale as well as the Bidding Procedure guidelines posted in this catalog.
Please note that by submitting a bid in this auction you agree to all the Terms and Conditions of Sale as stated in this catalog or website.