
Peter Klarnet
Senior Specialist, Americana | Books & Manuscripts
Peter joined Christies in 2016 after twenty years working with manuscript Americana, spending the first portion of his career cataloging for, and later managing, a Connecticut auction house…
Peter joined Christies in 2016 after twenty years working with manuscript Americana, spending the first portion of his career cataloging for, and later managing, a Connecticut auction house specializing in historical autographs. In 2005 he left that firm to pursue opportunities as a consultant, agent and dealer. Although his primary interests center on early America, especially the American Revolution and Early Republic, Peter has appraised and cataloged a wide range of material from the 17th to the 20th century including the Leonard Finger Theatrical Collection, the collections of Henry E. Luhrs, Donald Dow, John Lattimer, Douglas O'Dell, the papers of Ernest O'Malley, Louis Filler, and Frederick Towers.
Since joining Christie's, Peter has worked with several important collections including the papers of the Marquis de Chastellux, The Findlay-Wright Papers, the Roger Judd Collection of American Historical Autographs and the Louisiana Purchase Collection of A. J. Tullock as well as the Albert Einstein God Letter, bringing $2.89 million—a world record for an Einstein letter at auction.
Peter holds a B.A. in History from Antioch College, and a M.A. in History from the University of Delaware with a certificate in museum studies. He has curated several exhibits including a major exhibition at Federal Hall in New York celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 2009. Peter is a member of the Bibliographical Society of America, the New York Historical Society, and is a Trustee of the Manuscript Society.
Since joining Christie's, Peter has worked with several important collections including the papers of the Marquis de Chastellux, The Findlay-Wright Papers, the Roger Judd Collection of American Historical Autographs and the Louisiana Purchase Collection of A. J. Tullock as well as the Albert Einstein God Letter, bringing $2.89 million—a world record for an Einstein letter at auction.
Peter holds a B.A. in History from Antioch College, and a M.A. in History from the University of Delaware with a certificate in museum studies. He has curated several exhibits including a major exhibition at Federal Hall in New York celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 2009. Peter is a member of the Bibliographical Society of America, the New York Historical Society, and is a Trustee of the Manuscript Society.