Archives International Auctions - Auction 114 June 23, 2026

Archives International Auctions - Sale 114 39 June 23, 2026 Archives International Auctions www.archivesinternational.com 201 201 Honduras. Poyaisian LandGrant, 1834, Class KGrant for 20Acres, I/U Signed by Sir Gregor MacGregor. Mosquito Territory (Honduras), 1834. 20 Acres, I/U, Class K Poyaisian Land Grant, S/N 204, signed by Gregor MacGregor. Black text in English and French, with elaborate coat of arms depicted at top center, featuring English and Scottish flags, faint watermarks at top. VF to XF condition with some toning, splitting, and holes along fold lines. General Gregor MacGregor (24 December 1786 to 4 December 1845) was a Scottish soldier, adventurer, and confidence trickster who attempted from 1821 to 1837 to draw British and French investors and settlers to “Poyais”, a fictional Central American territory that he claimed to rule as “Cazique”. Hundreds invested their savings in supposed Poyaisian government bonds and land certificates, while about 250 emigrated to MacGregor’s invented country in 1822–23 to find only an untouched jungle; more than half of them died. MacGregor’s Poyais scheme has been called one of the most brazen confidence tricks in history. He devised a tricameral parliament and other convoluted constitutional arrangements for Poyais, drew up commercial and banking mechanisms, and designed distinctive uniforms for each regiment of the Poyaisian Army. His imaginary country had an honours system, landed titles, as well as a coat of arms. A French court tried MacGregor and three others for fraud in 1826 after he attempted a variation on the scheme there, but convicted only one of his associates. Acquitted, MacGregor attempted lesser Poyais schemes in London over the next decade. In 1838, he moved to Venezuela, where he was welcomed back as a hero. He died in Caracas in 1845, aged 58, and was buried with full military honors in Caracas Cathedral. Fascinating piece of history from a famous con man. ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Est. $150-230 Ephemera - Photography - Native Americans Western States 202 202 Native American Portrait Group, ca.1870 to 1910s, Proof Vignette and Haynes Photograph. Lot of 4 photographic items including a Haynes, hand-tinted color portrait photograph of “Yamapi”, A Ute Runner for Chief Ouray; and 3, American Bank Note Proof vignettes used on U.S. Obsolete Banknotes, Checks, Drafts, and fiscal documents, all are printed on india paper that is mounted on manila cards with the plate number on the proof as well as on the top of the card, includes “Red Jacket” and two others, all 3 are circa 1870-1880s, all are in XF to Uncirculated condition. (4). �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Est. $120-200 Security Printing Ephemera New York 203 203 ABNC Employee Bicentennial Presentation Souvenir Card Folder and Cards, 1976. American Bank Note Co. folio given to employees in 1976. Lot includes letter from Chairman and President, and 6 intaglio printed vignette sheets. Highlighted by an intaglio printed “200 Bicentennial Note” in green on the front cover with a cut out for the portrait of Benjamin Franklin in the middle; a sheet of 11 portraits of famous Americans “Men in Currency”; a sheet of the signing of the Declaration of Independence surrounded by portraits of some of the signers with their signatures; A Lincoln’s Gettysburg Speech in green; portraits of Thomas Paine, The Statue of Liberty, and “America 1776-1976”., all are in AU to Uncirculated condition. ABNC. ���������� Est. $120-180