A major sale in Dallas this month brings together contrasting American stories: the gangster, Meyer Lansky, the Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, and the man who oversaw the execution of the Abraham Lincoln conspirators.
Heritage Auctions are hosting the sale, which could potentially realise a total in the millions.
It includes a large collection of letters by Meyer Lansky, written towards the end of his extraordinary life.
Lansky was born in Imperial Russia in 1902 and died in Florida in 1983.
Lansky is believed to have been a major player in setting up the Flamingo, a mob-financed Las Vegas hotel.
He's now considered one of the most successful US organised crime figures, a friend of Lucky Luciano and one of the driving forces of the mob move to Las Vegas. His official record is clean with the single exception of a minor illegal gambling conviction.
In 1970 though, Lansky was under some uncomfortable attention. Facing investigation over his tax affairs, he attempted to use Israel's Right of Return laws to find shelter there.
In the end, although he was Jewish, Lansky was kicked out of the country before being cleared of the tax charges back in the US.
While in Israel he met a young woman with whom he had a long, sometimes romantic, relationship.
The letters he wrote to Zali de Toledo are at the heart of this archive, which includes more than 600 papers.
In them Lansky opines on world affairs, US foreign policy and the fate of Israel.
The collection carries a $125,000 reserve with buyer's premium.
A speech from a more legitimate figure in US official history is also due to sell.
Thomas Jefferson's address to the Cherokee Nation in 1806 urged the Native Americans “to adopt European-American agricultural practices and settle into a sedentary lifestyle, which he argued would lead to prosperity and stability,” say sellers Heritage Auctions.
It's a rare presidential signature from Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers and the third President of the United States.
It was prepared using a duplication machine called a polygraph that Jefferson used avidly.
The speech is the most valuable item in the sale, with a $150,000 reserve.
Among the most collectible US presidents is Abraham Lincoln.
A man who helped avenge his death is at the heart of another major set of papers in the sale.
Mary Surratt was executed for her role in the Lincoln Assassination; many believe she was innocent of any serious involvement in the plot.
Christian Rath was a Civil War officer. His papers stand out, and carry a $50,000 estimate, because of his final military duty: overseeing the imprisonment and execution of three men and a woman who were convicted for their part in the conspiracy to murder Lincoln.
His letters, diaries and cards are joined by a pair of handcuffs that match those worn in photographs by the conspirators.
Also in the sale, a signed Abraham Lincoln photographic visiting card is currently under offer for $57,500. A letter from JRR Tolkien is predicted to realise $42,000, and an Albert Einstein signed letter has a reserve of $30,000.
The sale is online and will close on March 28.
