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Mahatma Gandhi signed letter has peaceful victory at Nate D Sanders
A letter signed by the Indian pacifist and leader Mahatma Gandhi achieved $20,572 this week
Paul Fraser Collectibles, Thursday 13 September 2011
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Auctioneer Nate D Sanders completed their remarkable autograph auction on October 11, with some very different but highly covetable items going under the hammer.
Firstly, there was a napkin signed by all four Beatles - with an affectionate "Love from the Beatles" message handwritten by Ringo.
The signatures of the four together can be very valuable, and a typical photo signed by all four has increased by 336% since 2000, according to the PFC40 index. The example in the auction dated from circa 1963, just before they exploded onto the U.S. music scene.
It sold for a very reasonable $4,070. Collectors irritated to have missed it should take a look at this example of a Beatles-signed card, which is still available.
The big hit of the sale, however, was probably a letter by India's leader and near saint Mahatma Gandhi dated 24 February 1920 from the Sabarmati Ashram.
 'Peace with honour' - The signed Gandhi letter |
It deals directly with satyagraha, Gandhi's doctrine of nonviolence methods of resistance, and the relationship between the British and India.
The satyagraha non-cooperation movement led by Gandhi encouraged Indians to resist British occupation using nonviolent means, such as refusing to buy British goods. It went hand in hand with swaraj, the growing movement for Indian self rule.
This letter, to Edmund Candler, the Director of Publicity for the Punjab, follows a particularly brutal massacre by the British that took place in Punjab in April 1919.
The two page letter includes: "…You may depend upon my making a ceaseless effort to promote peace with honour and to avoid violence under all circumstances."
Expected to bring $7,000, the letter easily surpassed that delivering $20,572.
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