Fine Arts: A wealth of historical treasures in Sotheby’s Americana sales

The New York auction is headlined by two hand-coloured engravings by Paul Revere, a silversmith, engraver and folk hero of the American Revolution

Paul Revere engraving of British war ships landing their troops in Boston in 1768, on auction through Sotheby’s ($600,000-$800,000)

Connoisseurs with pockets as deep as the Mariana Trench will revel in Sotheby’s Americana sales, taking place in New York this month. Headline lots start with two hand-coloured engravings by Paul Revere, silversmith, engraver and American Revolution folk hero following his midnight ride in 1775, immortalised in Longfellow’s poem.

The first shows British war ships landing their troops in Boston in 1768 ($600,000-$800,000). The second depicts The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street Boston in ...