Lot 174

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Description:

Guglielmo Marconi Autograph, PSA/DNA Slabbed & Graded Mint 9!

An autograph by Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937), inscribed, signed, and dated by him as "Yours truly - / G. Marconi / On board the S.S. Ponce / Off Sandy Hook. / Oct 3d 1899." The right edge has a few minor closed tears and chips, with light overall toning, else near fine. PSA/DNA graded Mint 9. The fragment measures 6" x 3.625" while the slab measures 9.5" x 4.5."

Marconi, a 25-year-old Italian electrical engineer, had been invited to the United States by the "New York Herald" during the fall of 1899 to broadcast that year's America's Cup Yacht Race while simultaneously demonstrating the ease and efficiency of his new radio transmissions technology. Marconi installed a radio transmitter aboard the "S.S. Ponce," a New York and Porto Rico Steamship Company passenger ship then floating off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and supervised the erection of corresponding antennae at the Twin Lights site in Highland, New Jersey.

Marconi's radio successfully reported not only the results of the yacht race which took place between the Americans and British (when New York Yacht Club's "Columbia" trounced the Royal Ulster Yacht Club's "Shamrock"), but it also broadcast the arrival of Commodore Thomas Dewey's fleet into New York Harbor, triumphantly returning from the Spanish-American War. The U.S. Navy showed considerable interest in Marconi's technology; the first ship-to-shore radio-broadcast U.S. Naval dispatch was sent on September 30, 1899. Our autograph is dated just four days later, clearly from the same period when Marconi was aboard the "S.S. Ponce."

The attached photograph shows an oil on canvas depicting the "S.S. Ponce" sailing into New York Harbor in 1899, as depicted by Scottish-American artist Milton J. Burns (1853-1933).

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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November 11, 2020 10:30 AM EST
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000