Harper Lee, the author of the classic “To Kill a Mockingbird,” was back in the news recently. Her second, much anticipated book “Go Set a Watchman” which deals with the characters 20 years later, is set to be released soon. Usually that makes collectables sell for a lot more. Often times a movie adaptation of a book will spike interest also.

Christie’s in New York recently had private letters from Lee that failed to sell. The six were written in the late ‘50s (but undated), and were expected to sell for over $150,000. The bidding opened at $80,000 and promptly stopped at $90,000.

During this time, she was working on her classic novel. The seller, a book collector named Paul Kennerson, might try to sell them in the future.

I’m not sure they realize that letters don’t command as big of a price as say…an early draft of the book with handwritten notes. For example, a first edition Edgar Allan Poe “The Raven and Other Poems”, from 1845, went for $221,000. There was also a single leaf from the first edition of “Canterbury Tales” by Chaucer. That went for almost $7k.

Obviously song lyrics from John Lennon or Jimi Hendrix would sell for a million. Yet if it was a personal letter they sent to a friend, that’s valuable for the autograph and handwritten note, but would probably get around $5,000 at auction. Perhaps more if they wrote something along the lines of “I’m working on a song about there being no religion, or heaven and hell. But with the controversy I had when I mentioned The Beatles being more popular than Jesus…I’m not sure I want to even go there.”

A letter Albert Einstein wrote to one of his sons in 1945, where he explains the connection between his theory of relativity and the a-bomb that had just been dropped on Japan, went for $62,500 at Profiles in History. Now that letter has some hardcore historic significance.

There were 26 other letters they sold, going for a combined price of around $420,000.

Now, I’d love to bid on the comb or hairbrush that belonged to Einsten. That would look nice on the shelf next to the signed Mickey Mantle ball.