Historic letters, both public and private, from politicians, authors and even entertainers are set to go to auction in California.
A sale on December 18 by historic documents dealer, Profiles in History, will offer some 300 lots, with 50 items already on display in New York, Reuters reports.
The auction will host a vast range of items from past US Presidents, authors, artists and entertainers.
In the list is an autographed Charles Dickens manuscript, an autographed letter from Emily Dickinson, a private letter from Vincent Van Gogh, 10 letters from US President George Washington and documents from another former US President, Thomas Jefferson.
A more recent letter is an eight page draft by John Lennon to Eric Clapton in 1971.
Profiles in History's Senior Historical Consultant, Marsha Malinowski, says: 'There is an eight-page John Lennon letter that is probably the longest John Lennon autographed letter signed I've ever seen and it's to Eric Clapton. So the association is extraordinary. And John Lennon is looking to start up a new band. This is post-Beatles. It is 1971 and he thinks that Eric Clapton has the right stuff, he always did and he wants to work with him'.
This item is expected to reach between a $US20,000 ($A19,133) and $US30,000 ($A28,700) sale.
All items come from a collection by an anonymous American.
The December sale is expected to bring in an estimated $US5 ($A4.8) -$US8 ($A7.7) million, with the collection set to spark at least four planned auctions.
