U.S. Secret Service Archive

Slideshow by Ben Phelan
Appraised by Ken Gloss
$5,000-$10,000

This impressive collection of government papers from the early 20th century almost ended up in the garbage. Karl, who brought the collection to the Palm Springs ROADSHOW in June 2008, almost didn't take the boxes full of material that a friend offered him — but once he saw an engraving signed by Theodore Roosevelt, he changed his mind. A closer look revealed that the papers once belonged to John Elbert Wilkie, head of the U.S. Secret Service from 1898 to 1913, and included personal accounts from Wilkie and other agents of the September 1901 assassination of President William McKinley.

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