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Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

BITTER RIVALRY BETWEEN ALEXANDER HAMILTON AND THOMAS JEFFERSON TO BE EXPLORED IN A ‘FLASH’ EXHIBIT THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th

The event will be held in conjunction with a One Day University lecture – Hamilton vs. Jefferson: The Rivalry That Shapes America – given by prize-winning historian Louis Masur. Original documents are from Seth Kaller, Inc.’s unique Alexander Hamilton Collection.

NEW YORK CITY – Fans of Hamilton the Broadway musical can dive deeper at an exhibit and lecture this coming Sunday, September 10th, titled Hamilton vs. Jefferson: The Rivalry That Shaped America.

The One Day University event will be held at Loews AMC in Lincoln Square – bringing Hamilton farther uptown on Broadway, at 1998 Broadway at 67th Street.

Through words, original artifacts and documents, the epic rivalry that pitted two of the most powerful political figures in American history will be explored, as the men battled over the future of the nation prior to Hamilton’s death in a pistol duel with Aaron Burr.

A “flash” exhibit, from 9 am until noon, will showcase unique, historic documents gathered over many years by Seth Kaller, a leading collection-builder and dealer in rare historic documents based in White Plains.

The exhibit will feature Hamilton’s own draft of his rallying cry to defeat Jefferson at all costs for the presidency, after Washington declined a third term (Hamilton’s tune changed four years later when his more dangerous nemesis Burr was on the stage); a lock of Hamilton’s hair, preserved in his family for generations; and a steamy letter to his future wife, Eliza.

Also on display will be George Washington’s signed Sept. 11, 1789 letter, in which he sends to the Governor of Connecticut the Act of Congress that founded the Treasury Department. The same day Washington signed the letter, he nominated Hamilton to lead the new department. Remarkably, the Senate confirmed Hamilton on the very same day. This letter has never been seen in public before.

In one of Hamilton’s most revealing love letters to Eliza, he writes, “You are certainly a little sorceress…and have rendered me as restless and unsatisfied with all about me, as if I was an inhabitant of another world.” According to Kaller, he’s seen all kinds of people break out into singing Lin Manuel Miranda’s lyrics – “I have never been satisfied…” – upon seeing this letter. The Reynold’s Pamphlet, which exposes Hamilton’s adultery, is also in the exhibit. Copies are very rare, as Eliza reportedly burned as many as she could find.

Mr. Kaller talks about the relevance today of these 200-year-old documents: “They provide an authentic connection to the people who wrote them and the events that shaped America. The Founding Fathers were able to transcend their personal flaws and political conflicts to lay the groundwork for our great nation.”

Hamilton, born in Nevis the West Indies, was a young orphan. After Nevis was devastated by a hurricane, admirers sent him to be educated in America. He joined the army at the start of the Revolutionary War, and became like a son to George Washington. After the war, as Masur pointed out, “Jefferson fought bitterly against the Federalists and his election as president ushered in the ‘revolution of 1800.’ In an ironic twist, it would be Hamilton who helped assure Jefferson’s triumph over Aaron Burr.”

Tickets to the lecture and exhibit are $50 and may be acquired online at the One Day University website www.onedayu.com. Mr. Kaller’s Hamilton collection can be viewed at www.AHamilton.com.

The Alexander Hamilton Collection is being offered for sale by Mr. Kaller, intact, for $2.3 million. The archive consists of the historically significant original documents described above, plus hundreds of other pieces. Interested parties may call Mr. Kaller at (914) 289-1776, or e-mail him at [email protected].