This rare 1999 sketch, signed by Everest pioneer Edmund Hillary, echoes his legendary climb and lifelong dedication to the Sherpa people. One of only three known drawings, it reflects the quiet humility behind one of history’s greatest feats of endurance and generosity.
In 1877, Alfred Niaudet introduces Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone to France. Two letters capture the awe of the first voice heard over a wire in Paris, a scientific and human breakthrough that marked the beginning of a new era in communication.
Two of France’s greatest poets, Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud, shared a tumultuous bond. In this brief and poignant letter from 1891, Verlaine may have been awaiting confirmation of Rimbaud’s death, a quiet moment suspended between rumor and grief, captured in the poet’s own hand.
In the searing heat of Aden, far from his tumultuous youth left behind, poet Arthur Rimbaud writes home. No verses, only the raw voice of exile, fatalism, and fading hope. A rare glimpse into the final years of a literary legend who chose silence over fame.
Charles Dickens sends a young boy a desk, three books, and a letter bursting with warmth and wit. “Oh what a jolly old Godfather!” he hopes the child will say. An unpublished glimpse into the playful heart of a literary giant, writing not for the world, but for family.