12/15/99--There was some true insanity (in my opinion) on eBay this week when a Neil Armstrong uninscribed signed photo sold for a staggering $1800. I just don't think a photo such as that justifies the price, since they are much more common than people think. It was interesting to note that some dealers bid high prices for the photo.
I remember that when the Sanders guide in 1992 listed an Armstrong for $75 I thought that was too much, but of course times have changed many times over since then.
Charles Schulz has retired his "Peanuts" strip, because of poor health. He used to be a good signer up until a few months ago when he stopped signing entirely. Don't waste your time getting an autograph; get-well wishes are much more appropriate now.
I have been in a bit of a slump in acquiring new items for my collection, although I have purchased several interesting items, including photos signed by Gene Cernan, Buzz Aldrin, David Scott, and Jim Lovell (through the deal that Destiny Space had).
12/7/99--I updated the "Links" page to include recommended eBay sellers. I thought this might be a good way to promote some of the good dealers on eBay, the ones who try to weed out all the fakes and do a good job of it.
12/7/99--I updated the reference books section today. Be sure to take a look. You can purchase the books directly through my page from Amazon.com. I get a small amount from each sale, and so far this program has almost paid the money to maintain the web page. So be sure to check my page first before ordering autograph-related books, please.
12/6/99--Today I went to the John Glenn booksigning in Atlanta. I had a great time, and was lucky enough to see Glenn and his wife, although I almost didn't get the chance!
I was late for the signing because I got a little lost on the way and arrived thirty minutes after the signing began. I made a beeline to the counter and bought three books and was told to go around the back to wait in line. There was a line wrapping around the building (outside the store) with probably around 500 people in it. I walked to the end of the line, only to be told by an employee that they had closed it down and that I could not get my books signed.
I went back to the counter and was in the process of getting a refund for the books when a lady came to the desk and said that they would open the line again for anyone who had purchased the books. So I got a little orange sticker that permitted me to be in line, and again I went to the back of the building as the fifth to last person to see Glenn!
I waited about three hours, most of which was outdoors in freezing weather. The guys in line around me joked about starting a bonfire out of spare Glenn books. (It was hilarious at the time, believe me.) The bookstore employees kindly brought out hot tea, coffee, and cider for those waiting.
Glenn's assistants came around several times and told people that he would sign the books through the mail, but that there would be long delays. (That's good information to know if there is not a Glenn signing in your area.)
After a very long wait I finally got the chance to meet Glenn. Glenn was suffering from the flu and could not even speak because of laryngitis but he took the time to whisper a hoarse "thank you" and shook my hand. His wife Annie was also on hand and signed my books. She even had some candy for the people in line and offered me some.
I was very impressed with how striking a couple they were. They look very different than they do in photos. It's obvious that Glenn has a great deal of charisma, which is something that isn't imparted through the media.
I was wondering while I was in line how many collectors there read my web page. To answer my curiosity, please drop me a line and let me know if you were there. In case you are wondering, I was the guy at the end of the line in the blue jacket who was shivering uncontrollably in the freezing weather. :-)
12/6/99--Here is an article from CNN that concerns a document signed by Paul Revere. It is a good illustration I think of the importance of preservation of signed documents.
11/30/99--This week someone pointed out an interesting scam to me. There is a seller on Yahoo Auctions who is selling color printouts of scans from my web page! He is currently selling my four presidents and moonwalkers photos, which have been printed out as 4X6 copies.
I certainly don't authorize this, but I suppose as long as the auctions are clearly worded then he's doing nothing wrong. But it does bring up an interesting point. It's pretty easy to take a scan from a web page, so how do you know that autographs illustrated on eBay and elsewhere aren't really just scans stolen from some source on the web?
11/22/99--Probably the boldest use of the autopen since its creation was Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park Autographed Gift Edition." This was a 1993 version of the book and was advertised as an authentically-signed edition of "Jurassic Park." It sold at a great premium but was actually signed with an autopen, although this was not clearly stated.
I remember going into a bookstore in Atlanta once and spotting several copies on the shelf. This place had a rare books division, but was highly overpriced. It was a "high-pressure" part of the bookstore, one of those places that always make you feel uncomfortable to shop there because someone is always watching over you to convince you into buying books.
The saleslady noticed that I was looking at the copies of Jurassic Park and told me that it was a "steal" at $65. I told her that they were signed with an autopen and she laughed at me and said "Of course not" in a rather condescending way. I pulled two copies off the shelf, compared the signatures, and watched as her smirk became a frown.
I was interested to note that the "official" Michael Crichton web site addresses this issue, in a FAQ written by Crichton himself. Here's what it says:
Yes. It caused quite a lot of commotion at the time. I don't think anybody really thought it through, or we wouldn't have done it. (But of course, someday the autopen signature will be more valuable than the real one. Just wait.)
"Wait," perhaps, but a search of copies of this book on Bookfinder.com shows that they are selling for as low as $20 each, which is less than half of what the Atlanta bookstore wanted. By the way, that place never pulled the books or indicated that they were autopens--perhaps that is one of the reasons they went out of business several years ago.
11/16/99--A few days ago I wrote up the story of my four presidents photo for my "Autograph Notebook." Today I included a few more scans, so be sure to check it out.
11/9/99--Some material I submitted to the Pen and Quill was published in this issue. I gave them a list of translations of "Do Not Bend" for mailing requests, three autopen patterns, and a group STS-95 photo signed with facsimile signatures. They actually made two mistakes--they credit me with discovering a "brand-new method" of producing fake signatures. Actually, collectors before me have pointed this out, so I can't actually claim credit for the discovery. Also, the translation of the Finnish version of "Do Not Bend" ("Valokuva - älä taita") had typos. Oh well.
11/3/99--Jeremy Theoret is having a special at Apollospace. Three photos during the month of November are only $12. He now provides an excellent selection of photographs related to the manned space program.
There was an interesting article on CNN's website today about eBay fraud. A man was arrested for bilking eBay customers out of $37,000. As always, I say that you should only risk the amount of money on eBay that you would be willing to lose.
I have a few ideas for the website coming up. The biggest project I will do soon will be to expand the presidential and astronaut autopen libraries. I have several more presidential autopens (Nixon, Reagan, Bush) and many more astronauts to include. Also, I would like to hear some ideas about how to improve the site. If anyone has any ideas about what they would like to see, please email me.
11/2/99--Here's an odd web site that shows copies of U.S. presidential income tax returns, which are signed in most cases by the president and first lady: http://www.taxhistory.org/presidential.
10/31/99--The web site for the George Bush Library is selling copies of Bush's new book "All the Best." The books, which sell for $45 each, have a signed bookplate attached inside. I recently got a copy from the Connecticut signing at Just Books, but for those who missed that opportunity this is a good alternative to buying the book for $75 on eBay.
In general, presidential libraries will occasionally have good bargains. Some years back the Reagan Library sold copies of "An American Life" and "Speaking My Mind" with autographed bookplates for $50 each. I bought two books like this, and wish I had had the foresight to buy two dozen more! (Although it was a well-kept secret that up until about a year and a half ago they would still give you a signed bookplate for free if you sent a book to his office--don't try it now because you will get an autopen.) I also bought a copy of Lyndon Johnson's "The Vantage Point" from the LBJ Library for $125, also signed on a bookplate. Most gift shops will sell autographs, but watch out for Nixon's, because they don't know how common his autograph is!
I've enjoyed reading the in-person stories, but would like more people to contribute. Also, please sign my guestbook if you haven't already.
This website now has one of those "shortcut" addresses. If you have trouble remembering the URL for the website, now all you have to do is enter "how.to/collect.autographs" as the address. The only drawback is a small pop-up ad that will appear when you do it.
10/27/99--eBay is having an auction of autographs from
the Joe DiMaggio estate. DiMaggio signed sports memorabilia before his
death, and they are being auctioned through the online auction service. All the
items are overpriced, but for those who want perfect provenence this is your
last chance to get an item that is unquestionably authentic. In any case, it's
interesting to look at the autographs.
I wonder how many signed items are held in reserve by DiMaggio's family. I
heard a rumor years ago that Mickey Mantle signed thousands upon thousands of
items for his family, to be kept in reserve until well after his death. This
gift was a way to help his family financially. I'm not sure if it's true, but if
so the items haven't been sold yet it seems.
I was informed by an experienced collector this week that most autograph
requests to U.S. Senators yield autopenned responses these days. Of 80 requests,
only 10 responded with what appear to be authentic signatures. The rest were
autopens. Those are dismal results in my view.
10/25/99--I have been notified that singer
Peggy Lee is no longer able to sign autographs, because of a stroke that
occurred last year.
Also in the news, Gerald Ford's office is now maintaining very tight
regulations on autograph requests, allowing only one signing per collector.
Items are returned with a note saying that the former president will not sign
for repeat requests and that any material sent in the future will not be
returned.
Thanks to everyone who have submitted in-person stories to my new in-person
message board. For the rest of you: please submit stories! (Click on the box in
the middle of the main page).
Recent autographs I've obtained have been a group photo signed by Walt
Cunningham, a book signed by George Bush (from the Connecticut signing), and a
contract signed by William Shatner from eBay. (From a reliable source--Golden
State Autographs).
Speaking of Shatner, I believe his autograph is undervalued at present.
Shatner used to be a good signer through the mail, but nowadays he has stopped
entirely except for those who donate a $100 fee to his Hollywood Charity Horse
Show. Those who join his fan club can get a signed photo, though, and the price
is reasonable since a $29 membership includes the photo. For details about all
this see his fan club website at http://www.shatner.com/ You can sign up online. Frankly I would
like to have the signed photo but am too anti-Trek-fanaticism to join the club.
While I'm on the subject of Star Trek, George Takei and Nichelle Nichols both have web pages from which they sell very
inexpensive signed photos. James Doohan will have one soon.
I tried desperately around 1994 to get a Trek cast photo signed. I got
Shatner, Kelley, Takei, and Koenig to sign a photo once. I met Nichols in person
in Atlanta and she refused to sign the photo (she said she doesn't sign group
photos anymore). I sent it to Nimoy and only the return envelope came back with
a message on the reverse "Misdelivered to wrong address and opened by mistake.
Sorry." There was no photo inside. That was definitely one of the most
unfortunate events of my collecting experience.
Does anyone have any interesting Star Trek autographs? Drop me a line to tell
me!
I was contacted this week by the owner of a new web page, called PrestigeCollector.
Though a commercial site, it seems to be quite an informative page for
collectors too. It deserves a look.
I also see that the Superior auction has brought space items "back to Earth."
This is further proof that the Christie's auction was a fluke. I hope the
Christie's "investors" who bought items at that sale took heed.
How do you like the Halloween page? It was a lot of fun to put together. I
thought a horror movie poster would be an interesting theme this year. Happy
Halloween!
10/16/99--In an effort to make my web page
more interactive, I am adding a new feature called "In-person Autograph
Experiences." This is a message board in which visitors to my web page can post
stories about their most interesting experiences collecting autographs. To write
a story, or to view others that collectors have already written, click on the
box in the middle of the main page. Please contribute--this will be a lot of fun
I think!
10/14/99--I just returned from a two week
trip to England, Holland, and Belgium. I had a fantastic time. Sorry to be so
late in answering emails and in updating the web page.
Charlie Duke, Walter Cunnigham, and Alan Bean have raised the prices of their
autographs. For details, see the CollectSPACE web page (with which I am now collaborating to
keep updated information on astronaut signing habits.)
I have decided to eliminate all addresses from my page. There are several
reasons why--primarily because it is too time-consuming to keep updating them. I
will keep the "Addresses of those who charge a fee" up for a while for anyone
who is interested in them.
John Glenn is launching a booksigning tour for his new book. For details, see
CollectSPACE. Also, George
Bush recently signed copies of his autobiography in Connecticut. (Of course
Steve Gruber was there--don't you just get jealous of this guy?!) No word yet on
whether Bush is doing additional signings.
Need a free fax number? Both Yahoo and Xoom have
launched free fax services. Both services give you a telephone number--if
someone faxes a message to the number a scan of the fax will be sent to you
through email. I think most collectors will instantly recognize the advantages
of this. Dealers can fax you examples of their autographs for sale and you can
receive it thorough email. This is especially wonderful for international
collectors who need a U.S. fax number! I've tried this and it works great (my
fax number is 208-246-1896 if interested).
9/29/99--This week I happened to notice two
autopen patterns of Ronald Reagan's this week for sale by major autograph
dealers. I notified each of them. I thought the results were interesting.
The first was being sold by Tom and Cordelia Platt. It was a Time Magazine
cover signed by George Murphy and autopenned by Ronald Reagan. Here is the
response, after I told them about the autopen examples on my web page:
Thank you for the note. We are in complete agreement with
you. We have many books on autopens and had not run across that pattern before.
We put many Presiedential items of ebay and have no objection to you checking
them. The auction was immediately stopped.
The second was being sold by a very prominent autograph dealer (who also
publishes a price guide) who shall remain anonymous. The item was a print signed
by Reagan, which was a perfect match to the pattern third down the left column
on my Reagan
autopen page. Here is the response:
Hello Stephen.... This is on a magazine page and there are
several indicators that the signature is good the primary one being the tail of
the D on Reagan and the O is broken...several small ink spots on the paper..it
tapers out ,unlike the samples on your page... We have several autopens of
Reagan and this one we feel is good.... I want to thank you for your concern and
truly appreciate your effort on your website....If you have any further
information I would be glad to hear from you...thanks
This of course is not true. It is a perfect match. I have even shown this to
a number of other dealers and collectors who concur.
The above examples should serve as a demonstration between good and bad
dealers. As I've said before, all dealers will make mistakes. Tom and Cordelia
Platt excel because they are willing to acknowlege their mistakes and learn from
them. They handle problems gracefully. The other dealer, who is a bit newer to
the hobby perhaps, does not share the same ethic.
What I find most disturbing about this is that this is an *autopen*, not a
secretarial or forgery which are harder to authenticate. I showed the second
dealer the pattern and he did not think it was a match. This should be a basic
skill for a dealer. Imagine trying to get a refund from this guy!
If a dealer can't detect an autopen it's time to find another line of work in
my opinion.
9/27/99--Today I posted a large update on
my "Links" page. I removed a lot of dead links or links to sites that aren't
updated, and I added a lot of new, interesting sites. Be sure to check it out.
CollectSPACE has the
results of the Christie's "Space Exploration" auction on their site. The auction
seemed to push astronaut autograph prices to new heights--or did it? I advise
caution in interpreting these results. Although it seems that space autographs
are exploding in value, consider the Jackie Kennedy auction some time ago. JFK
memorabilia sold for many times the estimated price, but a subsequent JFK
auction (based on material once owned by JFK secretary Evelyn Lincoln) had
miserable results. So I'm sure that dealers' catalogs in years to come will say
"This item sold for X amount of dollars in the Christie's auction, so it's a
bargain at this price," remember that auctions such as this prey on the whim and
frenzy of deep-pocket baby boomers and do not actually reflect market value for
average collectors.
There is a great web site on Thomas Jefferson at http://www.monticello.org/,
which is the official website of his residence Monticello. On this page you can
see an illustration of his famous polygraph machine, which was an instrument
used to duplicate letters and was a precursor to the Autopen. Unlike the
Autopen, however, it was not used to deceive the recipient, but was used to
create copies of letters so that Jefferson could have his own personal copy for
his records. There are other great facts on this site about Jefferson's writing
habits, including facts about his schedule (Jefferson spent much of the morning
answering his mail). Here is my favorite sentence from this web page, which
shows the burden of answering Jefferson's correspondence:
He wrote John Adams that he suffered "under the persecution of letters,"
calculating that he received 1,267 letters in the year 1820, "many of them
requiring answers of elaborate research, and all to be answered with due
attention and consideration."
9/23/99--Be sure to note that I have
updated the "How I Got this Autograph" page, which now has the story behind one
of my favorite autographs, my moonwalkers photo.
In general, the web page needs a big overhaul, which I plan to do in the next
three weeks. So keep checking!
9/4/99--I found some interesting manuscript
copies of George Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess" at this website, from the Library of Congress. This is a Gershwin
collector's dream. Other interesting items at the LOC: an an ice
cream recipe from Thomas Jefferson, an original
musical manuscript from Jelly Roll Morton (only handwriting of his I've ever
seen), and a handwritten copy of Robert Frost's "The Gift Outright." Again,
the web is a wonderful source of information regarding autographs and provides
unquestionable autograph samples for authentication purposes.
9/1/99--Christie's will have a huge space
auction on September 11th. (See story from CNN
or the official Christies's web site).
Many autographs will be sold at the auction, though the prices are too high in
my opinion.
I've found an interesting photograph source from an unlikely location. The
Mirror, the British tabloid, sells photos from their archives at http://www.mirrorpix.com/. There
are some pretty good photos available, and they take credit cards for easy
delivery. Photos are a bit pricey at £10 each (about $16 US) but that includes
international shipping. I haven't tried them yet, so I don't know about the
quality of the photos. (If anyone does buy photos from them please let me know.)
8/28/99--People often ask me about eBay and
the reliability of sellers. eBay is certainly an unusual environment these days
because it really is a mix of honest, professional dealers and complete scam
artists. As always, my rules for eBay are 1) never risk more money than you
would mind losing outright, and 2) always know a bit about the autograph before
you buy it.
Having said that, I've compliled a short list of people with whom I've dealt
in the past and can reasonably recommend. Go to eBay and click on "Seller
Search" and enter their eBay names to see what they are currently offering:
Caleb Gluck--goldenst82@aol.com This list certainly isn't a complete one. I'll add to this list later if
there's any interest (so let me know).
Speaking of Golden State, I've been told that there will be no more paper
catalogs issued by them in the near future, and that the business is completely
going through eBay from here on out. That is a telltale sign of the way the
Internet has utterly changed our hobby in my view.
More on eBay: I wonder if collectors realize that celebrities often search
the listings there to see how much their autographs are bought and sold there. I
know of recent visits by three astronauts--Gene Cernan, Alan Bean, and Buzz
Aldrin. So watch what you say and sell!
I've been thinking recently of very old autographs. I wonder what autograph
is the oldest that can be reasonably obtained by a private collector. My
understanding is that possibly authentic signatures of some Roman emperors (I
believe Claudius is one if the memory of my Roman history is correct, but I need
to verify) are extant, having been preserved on scrolls found in the deserts in
Egypt. But other than those examples, which are certainly in museums, what is
the oldest autograph of an important celebrity? If you have a very old autograph
write me so that we can discuss it!
I don't have too many autographs to report--it's been a sort of a lull season
for me as a collector unfortunately. Recently I purchased a signed photo of Hugh
Hefner, as well as a receipt signed by Jimmy Stewart. But I haven't had too much
success otherwise. Hopefully things will pick up by summer's end.
8/12/99--Jeremy Theoret has changed the
name of his website to "ApolloSpace" and has moved to a new url: http://www.apollospace.com/. Be sure to
update bookmarks.
8/4/99--Robert Pearlman has started a new
web page called "collectSPACE" that is excellent. I've teamed with him to provide
some information for his site, as well as a direct link to my astronaut autopen
patterns. Be sure to see his web page.
Speaking of the subject of autopens, I recently had a very unpleasant
experience. I was browsing the web and saw that someone else had an "autopen
library." When I took a look at it, I found that they were MY patterns! I
quickly told this person to take the patterns down and he complied, with the
excuse that he "forgot where he got them."
Autopen patterns aren't copyrighted, and I certainly can't claim possession
of the ones on my site (and I didn't even find most of them) but I did do an
awful lot of work to compile them and scan them in. I've also given credit to
the people who have helped. So it's a little frustrating to see that someone
else took all of our work and claimed it as his own. I'm happy to get the word
out about autopens, and I'm happy to collaborate in great projects such as the
Collectspace site, but we deserve the credit for our efforts--what do you think?
So in the future, if you are a webmaster who is planning to include info on
autopens, please link to my page and
don't take my scans.
Also, be sure to see the follow-up
article Steve Gruber wrote for my site, in which he describes meeting the
Apollo 12 crew.
8/2/99--And another long project completed!
I've been working on getting a photograph signed by scientists Watson and Crick
for SEVEN years. The problem? There are no photographs out there of the
two, unless you want a low-quality photo cut from a book or a high-priced photo
from a photograph agency. (One asked $650 to print an 8X10 for me.) But finally,
after a constant seven-year search I managed to track down two original photos
of them in a remote corner of the globe! (I'm not telling how as I'm keeping a
promise, but it's quite an unbelievable story. Perhaps it can be told someday.)
Crick signed for a fee, and Watson recently signed them for me as well, thus
completing the photos. I've never seen any photographs (other than the ones I
have) signed by both. I was especially nervous to send them to Watson, as he
really doesn't sign much anymore, but obviously he was in a gracious mood. I'm
elated.
You won't be seeing the photographs on my website as I have agreed not to
reproduce the photos in any manner.
7/23/99--As you can see from my "Autograph
of the Week" I completed my four presidents photo recently, with an in-person signature from
Bill Clinton. I'm ecstatic about this! I started working on the photograph in
September of 1993 and only now completed it!
7/20/99--What's the most notorious printed
autograph of all time? Hard to say, but I certainly have a vote.
In 1925 Irving Berlin published sheet music for the song "Always." The cover
featured a printed signature and sentiment that read "Always, Irving Berlin."
Thousands of these sheets were printed, and every year countless numbers of
people uncover them in attics, old pianos, etc. and believe them to be real. I
have had no fewer than four people ask me the value of these "signed" sheets
over the years, and I have heard from dealers who encounter them on a weekly
basis.
I did a quick check of eBay and found two of them for sale. One of the
sellers claimed that it was a real signature, and the other said he wasn't sure.
I took one of the scans from eBay to show what the sheet music looks
like.
The other printed "signature" that shows up commonly is that of Ulysses S.
Grant. Grant's memoirs were published after his death, yet the volumes contain a
printed sentiment from the former general and president. This is often believed
to be real by those who are uninformed about the history of the book.
7/9/99--Jeremy Theoret has a photograph
special in commemmoration of Apollo 11 at his website (Apollo 8.com). He's selling three
photographs for $11, which is a great deal. His photos are the best out there I
think.
There was an interesting article in this month's Pen and Quill about Neil
Armstrong. When he recently threw out a "first pitch" at a baseball game he
refused to sign autographs for many people, but when he did sign he signed his
name much differently than he normally does. The new signature is semi-printed.
This leads to speculation as to why he is doing that. Is he ill in some way? Is
he purposely trying to foil collectors?
Steve Gruber wrote an excellent follow-up to his recent moonwalkers article
for my web site. I'll post it next week, so watch for it. He describes his trip
to see the Apollo 12 crew, including Pete Conrad who died only thirteen days
later.
I'm still shaken by the death of Conrad. Here is the full story, which I
didn't report at the time of his death. Last week I found his email address and
sent him a message to see if he would respond. I asked him about his signing
habits and encouraged him to work on his web page. Here is his reply, in full:
----- Original Message -----
7/9/99--Charles Conrad Jr. was killed in a
motorcycle accident in California yesterday. Conrad was commander of Apollo 12
and the third man to walk on the moon.
His death will probably come as a shock to a great many autograph collectors.
Conrad was at the UACC show in Los
Angeles June 26th-27th and signed approximately 1300 autographs there for
UACC members. Steve Gruber, who wrote the great "Moonwalkers" article for my web
page, obtained some autographs from him for me at the show and I am very
grateful for them now.
It's really a shame that such a great hero has been lost. In the near future
I'll write more about Conrad in this "notebook" but I guess I'm too much in
shock now to write more.
7/5/99--....and ANOTHER ONE! Steven McClure
submitted this autopen pattern of Clinton's which was confirmed with a
matching signature.
6/29/99--We've done it again! Visitors to
the web page have identified ANOTHER autopen pattern! Steve Gruber and Adam
Jones have discovered a pattern currently in use by Bill Clinton.
Congratulations, guys!
6/24/99--J.D. Salinger, reclusive author of
"Catcher in the Rye," has undoubtedly the most valuable autograph of any living
person. (But forget about asking him for one unless you want to waste your
time.) Sotheby's just auctioned a stack of his letters. This
article from CNN reports on the sale, and, amazingly, that the letters are
being returned to Salinger.
6/12/99--DeForest Kelley of Star Trek fame
died yesterday. I was sad to hear this and immediately when I heard the news I
thought of the photograph he signed for me about six years ago. I wrote him and
told him I was a medical student who collected autographs. He sent a photograph
with the inscription "To Stephen, To the REAL McCoy (to be) from the REEL McCoy,
DeForest Kelley." I think this was the wittiest inscription of any autograph
I've ever received, and of course it's priceless to me now.
6/10/99--I think everyone who has visited
my webpage knows that I have a disdain for buying autographs from eBay. There are so many fake autographs sold there that I don't
recommend any transactions by beginning collectors. But eBay can be useful in
other ways--for instance, to help determine current market value.
To illustrate what I mean, let's say that you have discovered a letter that
Dwight Eisenhower wrote to your grandmother. You can use the Search feature to
see if similar Eisenhower letters have sold in the past on eBay, and if so, what
was usually paid for them. This will give you a general understanding of the
current market value, which is a more-important figure than the price guide
value.
6/5/99--It seems that Charles Conrad may
have stopped signing through the mail (again). The UACC show in Los Angeles may
be the last time he is available for autographs, except through AVD and more
expensive firms.
Check out http://www.circacatalog.com/. Circa is an overpriced company that
deals in unique items including autographs. For the most part the expense is too
much, but they do have a selection of inexpensive signed books. The new web site
shows a few of them.
5/23/99--I use a particular brand of
stationery for most of my correspondence. This company, Cranes, now has a web site. Online ordering will be
available soon. Cranes makes stationery (including acid-free paper) as well as
embossed cards, which I like to get signed. (Here is an example of
an embossed card signed by Sir Alec Guinness.)
5/22/99--German collector Jörg Wenk has
created the definitive web site on autographs of British royals and Prime Ministers. I
applaud Jörg's initiative in creating this site, which is both educational and
entertaining. It's a shame there aren't more web sites like this one.
5/18/99--Jerry Lee Lewis has a web site from which he sells signed
photographs. This is a good way to get his signature, which is quite scarce.
5/10/99--Space Images has a new website at
http://st5.yahoo.net/spaceimages/.
5/8/99--I've added a new feature to the
site, a "guest column." Steve Gruber wrote an article on his experiences in
collecting the autographs of the astronauts who walked on the moon. See the "Guest
Column" for his article!
4/29/99--There was an interesting article today on CNN's web site about how the recent
famous John F. Kennedy forgeries were detected.
4/23/99--Well, the "exciting" news I hoped
to report actually didn't work out (see last entry). I made a good effort to bid
on an important autograph. It was a George Gershwin AMQS in the Alexander
Auction, described as "four bars of unidentified music signed with sentiment at
bottom [dated] December 18, 1929." The "unidentified" music was actually the
"famous part" of Rhapsody in Blue, and was the only quote from this
important work I've ever seen on the market. I had hoped that no one else
noticed this fact, and I could outbid them.
Gershwin has been my dream autograph ever since I obtained my Louis Armstrong
signed photo several years back. I desperately wanted this autograph.
I bid at the high end of the estimate--$1500 (plus 15% buyer's fee)--but this
wasn't enough. At last check the bid was at $1700 and I'm sure it went quite a
bit higher when it was auctioned today. I wish I could have been able to bid
higher, but as tax season has just rolled around it wasn't a good idea for me to
over-extend myself in this way. So unfortunately I had to let this one go,
although I'm sure it will be "the one that got away from me" for many years to
come.
4/19/99--Steve Gruber is selling some
personal checks of Alan Bean's. I wrote about my collection of astronaut checks
in my "How I Got This Autograph" section several months ago, and since that time
I have been able to acquire checks from three other astronauts--Bean, Duke, and Carpenter. I got several checks of Alan Bean's from Steve. He is the only source for them
I know. He's selling them by e-mail
for $50 each, or 2 for $90, which is a bargain I think. This may be the only
chance to get one from Bean if you are planning to collect all the astronaut
checks on the market.
By the way, that means I have checks signed by Slayton, Carpenter, Schirra, Duke, Irwin, Conrad, Bean, Aldrin (as "Buzz" and "Edwin E."). Only Grissom is missing, for financial reasons!
Well, I fixed my scanner temporarily and was able to make a few scans. I've
finally been able to replace some of the stale "Autograph of the Week" images
with newer ones. Enjoy!
Also, I just bid on a fantastic item--I don't want to jinx myself but if I
get it it will be the best item in my collection. Hopefully by next week I will
have something very exciting to announce.....
4/17/99--Colonel Paul Tibbets, pilot of the
"Enola Gay" (the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb in World War II, now
has a website. He
is selling autographed photos and other memorabilia from the mission.
4/14/99--Jean Vander Pyl died. She was the
voice of the cartoon character Wilma Flintstone, and was a very generous signer
for many years. For more information go to this
article from CNN.
4/11/99--I've found that the International
Autopen Company has a small web page at this address. At this site you can see an illustration of a
typical autopen machine.
I've still not heard from anyone on ICQ. I think it would be fun to
communicate using this system. You don't need any special software at all...just
go to this page for information on
contacting me (if I am online.)
4/7/99--Jeremy Theoret has a new web site
at http://www.apollo8.com/.
This is a unique site that all collectors of astronaut autographs should visit.
At Apollo8.com, Jeremy sells high-quality photographs from original NASA
negatives, as well as authentic astronaut autographs. The photographs are
stunning and well worth the purchase price. Also, I've purchased a number of
autographs from Jeremy over the years and know him to be a good authenticator of
autographs. In short, this particular site is strongly recommended and I welcome
the addition of sites like this to the Internet.
4/1/99--I've been getting a lot of new
information that will be put on the web page. Recently I obtained some info on
John F. Kennedy secretarials that will be included on the "Secretaries" page.
I've also obtained new autopen patterns of Richard Nixon, and have found a good
illustration of a Helene Von Damm secretarial signature of Ronald Reagan. The last item was offered
for sale as legitimate on eBay, but the scan made a nice illustration so I
"borrowed" it.
I've still been having some troubles with making additions to the web page. I
recently bought a new computer but my old scanner card is not compatible with
it. So I can't scan anything right now until I get a new card.
I've been in a buying mood lately and have purchased a TLS from Harry Truman,
as well as autographs of Gregory Peck, Jane Russell, Margaret Thatcher, George
Bush, and many others.
Lately I've been thinking about what exactly my "dream autographs" are. I
think most collectors have "impossible items" that they want for their
collections. I think that if I had enough money I would like to have autographs
of the following (in order of want): George Gershwin (signed musical quotation
preferred!), Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ernest Hemingway, Billie
Holiday, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, and Abraham Lincoln. That's quite
an eclectic list, I have to admit. I think all of those are within approach,
however, so maybe in the next 30 years or so I will get them all.
3/24/99--On an experimental basis, I have
enabled visitors to my web page to contact me through ICQ. (Click on the link on
the bottom left of the main page to go to the ICQ interface, or go to
3/20/99--I finally got around to
redesigning the page. I revised the basic information on autograph collecting by
getting rid of the annoying background images and redesigning the pages to make
them easier to read. I also added two brand-new sections on values and selling
autographs. I also made an "Autograph News" page that will be updated when
interesting autograph developments occur.
I still have a few more ideas and I'd say that I'm about 1/2 done with the
changes I had in mind last month. So keep checking the page to see the new
stuff.
I also updated the "How I Got This Autograph" page. This month's feature is
special because I tell about how I got my favorite autograph, which is a signed
photo of Jimmy Stewart.
I've been thinking of having a few "guest columnists" write about interesting
autograph experiences similar to my "How I Got This Autograph" page. Autographs
would have to be of historically-important personalities (no John Wayne Bobbit
or Monica Lewinsky stories, sorry!) Is anyone interested in writing a column? I
would post it for a week or so.
3/10/99--The great Joe DiMaggio has died--I
never got an autograph from him, although he sent me a pre-print in 1981 and
hand-addressed the envelope. That's the closest I got. I wish I had purchased a
few inexpensive autographs when they were available several years ago.
This week I also had the pleasure of meeting Chip from "Chip's Celebrity
Addresses" in person. I had a good time discussing autographs with him. His
personal collection sounds fascinating, and it was fun to talk with such an
experienced autograph collector.
3/7/99--My article entitled "Photograph
Sources" was published in this month's issue of the Pen and Quill. It is
my second article for the publication. Be sure to take a look. Most of the
information is also presented on my photos
page.
Also, recently I've started to implement some ideas for changing the web
page. I've redesigned the "Collecting Guide" by revising some sections, and by
streamlining the pages so that they load faster. Soon I will split this section
to add information to hopefully assist more advanced collectors. I also have
some ideas to make the page more interactive, so keep looking for more changes
in the weeks ahead.
3/1/99--Dr. Glenn Seaborg has died. Dr.
Seaborg was a Nobel laureate whose accomplishments are far too many to describe,
but he is perhaps best known for discovering Plutonium and for being the first
Atomic Energy Commissioner. He also had the honor of being the only living
person for whom an element was named (Seaborgium). Dr. Seaborg was an excellent
signer through the mail, and was kind enough to provide autographs for me several times over the past ten years.
2/26/99--Autographs of America
recently came online. I've always liked this company and used to purchase a lot
of autographs from them in the past (though I haven't received their catalogs
for a few years).
In other news, the entire crew of Apollo 12 has been slated to appear in June
at the annual UACC convention. Visit the UACC web site for more
information.
2/24/99--This week marks the two-year
anniversary of my web page. I thought it might be fun to recall some of the
history behind the page.
I wrote a booklet in medical school about autographs and sold it over the
Prodigy network circa early 1994. The title of the booklet was the "Autograph
Collecting Manual," and I thought of the idea while doing a rotation in Ob/Gyn.
I literally sketched a rough draft of the booklet while waiting to deliver
babies of expecting mothers waiting in the Labor & Delivery suite. I
originally designed the booklet to give to friends who kept asking questions
about autograph collecting, but when the booklet was finished I started selling
them over Prodigy, and made a few extra dollars which at the time was like
mannah from heaven for a starving medical student.
Three years later I found that I still had the booklet on my computer's hard
drive, and decided that it would be fun to develop a web page with the
information. So I translated the booklet into a prototype of the web page in
February 1997. I had to learn HTML, and it proved to be a very pleasant
challenge, and I had a lot of fun.
I kept the web page secret, gathering advice and criticism from friends,
until a revised version of the page was announced to the public in August 1997.
The counter on the page reflects activity since that time.
I originally envisioned a web page in which there would be not only basic
information about autograph collecting, but also plenty of imformation and links
with changing subject matter. My goal would be a page that is an excellent
reference but also would be fun to visit it every day--similar to receiving a
copy of the Pen and Quill on a daily basis. Along the way I've added a
number of features to help move toward this concept, but for the most part I'm
unsatisfied, and am now trying to develop the page as more of a useful hub of
information for autograph collectors.
The web page has had some troubles. I've been disappointed in that I've had
to almost completely eliminate addresses and the posting of personal successes
to the page. I've had several complaints from celebrities indirectly who have
expressed disapproval that I posted their addresses to the web page. I currently
have limited addresses only to those who charge through the mail, but honestly I
may discontinue that too.
Also, I've cut back on posting my personal successes to the page, as I
noticed that many people have directly copied my successes. I think in the
beginning that was OK, as I certainly hope to help other collectors, but since
the web page gets about 100 hits per day you can see where the trouble lies. If
100 people bombard a celebrity with mail right after me, asking for exactly the
same thing, that person will assuredly stop signing. It's certainly not my goal
to adversely affect the hobby, so I have stopped posting my successes through
the mail. It's a shame, since I've received such fantastic items over the past
year! To help combat this problem, I only display autographs as "Autograph of
the Week" of celebrities who are deceased, who charge for their autographs, or
who have stopped signing through the mail. (As such I display only about 10% of
my collection!)
I've also had a number of rude emails. The most common offensive messages
I've received pertain to my policy against buying and selling autographs over
the Internet. I believe that the Internet is no place for beginners, and it's
easy to see why this policy is not popular among Internet-based autograph
dealers. Also, my list of celebrities who send fake autographs has been a
subject of hot contention over the past two years--mostly I've received mail
from people who misunderstood when I wrote that those celebrities
sometimes send fakes through the mail. I've gotten letters from
collectors who say they've had their autographs authenticated, and blast me for
not knowing my stuff, after which I politely point out that I worded my
statement carefully for a reason.
Then again, I get some bizarre email. Probably the strangest was from a
reporter in India who wanted to trade one of my Neil Armstrong sp's for a sp of
the Dalai Lama. No thanks. But letters like these have given me more of an
appreciation for the bizarre mail that celebrities must get. I don't blame
anyone for not signing through the mail anymore.
On the other hand, the benefits have vastly outweighed the downsides of
having the page for me. I've struck up a number of online friendships with a
number of brilliant people from all over the world. I greatly value this
correspondence, and this alone makes the trouble of the web page worthwhile. My
personal collection has also exploded in the past two years because of all the
wonderful ideas and tips that I receive from other collectors. This web page, in
short, is a lot of fun for me.
I think I will redesign the page soon to make it more in line with what I
originally intended. I want it to serve as the best reference for serious
collectors of autographs of historical celebrities on the Internet. The page has
been wildly successful--I never dreamed that two years later I would be
approaching 50,000 hits--but I think there is much improvement I can do to the
page to better serve the autograph community. I have some ideas, so keep
checking the page to see what I've updated. Also, be sure to email with comments
and suggestions for improvement whenever possible.
2/24/99--Dr. Gertrude Elion died today. She
received the 1988 Nobel Prize for her work in developing many revolutionary
medications which are commonly-used today, including allopurinol for gout,
acyclovir for viral infections, azithioprine which makes kidney transplants
possible, anti-malaria medications, and chemotherapy drugs. I was fortunate
enough to be able to correspond with her last year, and in her letter to me she
described some of her research and her perspective of the discovery of DNA, and
its future implications.
I think that I'm pretty lucky as a physician to live in this era. Most of the
scientists who have made great impact in my field are still alive. To have been
able to correspond with Gertrude Elion is for me as if an English professor
would have been able to correspond with William Shakespere. I am very sorry to
see that she has passed away.
2/19/99--If you're a little bored and want
something to do, browse the National Archives for autographic material. There are some
fantastic items on display. Some of my favorites include a
letter from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan giving advice on the Iran-Contra
affair, Nixon's resignation letter, a letter from President Reagan to Leonid Brezhnev, a telegram from Ho Chi Minh to Harry Truman, and (by far the best)
a
letter from twelve-year old Fidel Castro to Franklin Roosevelt asking him
for ten dollars.
These items can be fun to view, but also consider that they can be excellent
references when it's time to authenticate your autographic material.
2/15/99--There's been a particularly
disturbing trend lately in autographs. I've seen several lots in auction
catalogs with clips of ALS's of historically important celebrities. For example,
the description may read "Three words in Thomas Jefferson's handwriting. The
third president has written 'for your letter,' clipped from a larger piece. A
photocopy of the original complete letter is included. Minimum bid $50."
The implication is that a complete ALS was taken, cut up, and sold in parts.
Assuming, as with Jefferson, that a clipped signature is worth $2000, and a
hundred "clips" are worth at least $50 each, the seller is hoping to make a
profit from a letter that he perhaps purchased for only $5000.
This is not acceptable. These letters are hundreds of years old and contain
the complete original thoughts of the author, and any mutilation is simple
destruction of history. It seems impossible to me that there are morons out
there who would peform such a travesty. I ask everyone to avoid purchasing these
items to discourage these terrible acts, and perhaps to avoid auctions and
dealers who would sell these items.
2/14/99--Celebrity booksignings are a great
place to get autographs. If you can't attend in-person, bookstores often allow
purchases of signed books through the mail. There are two celebrity authors who
currently have books out right now that deserve mention--Gene Cernan and Hugh
Hefner. The autographs of these two are especially desirable, and this is a good
opportunity to obtain them. Details can be found on Lee Cochenour's
excellent web site.
2/12/99--Robert Morgan, pilot of the
Memphis Belle, has a web page from which he sells signed photographs.
The Memphis Belle is famous for being the first heavy bomber in the
European war theatre to complete 25 combat missions without casualties, a
significant feat since 80% of U.S. bombers were shot down during the first three
months of America's combat flights over Europe. The command generals at that
time had set 25 missions as an incentive for air crews to go home, and the
Memphis Belle was the first plane to achieve that honor. The plane and
her crew were portrayed in the film "The Memphis
Belle" in 1990.
I purchased two of these photographs recently, which are nice shots of the
plane and her crew.
2/4/99--My new computer had a malfunction,
so again I am without a computer. Please help me by not sending scans or large
files until I get a replacement. Fortunately, I scanned a number of autographs
before the malfunction so the "autograph of the week" shouldn't be affected for
a while.
2/1/99--Collector Carsten Vogt has
discovered a new autopen pattern used by John Glenn. It is on a crew
photograph from STS-95, which is also signed by an autopen for the rest of
the crew.
1/25/99--Here's an interesting page I found
today entitled "Author
Signatures and Illustrator Signatures" which does a superb job of displaying
authentic signatures from the literary field.
1/24/99--Ron Weber of Space Images told me
today that his father died. He will be away with his family for some time and
therefore photography orders through from Space Images will be delayed. Of
course I am certain that his customers will be understanding. Perhaps a note of
sympathy would be appreciated.
1/21/99--I have updated the "Favorites"
section. I asked some of the most outstanding collectors I know to participate
in this project, and they have provided scans of some outstanding autographic
material.
1/20/99--I just learned that R&R
Enterprises now has a web
site, complete with information on ongoing auctions.
R&R typically has a monthly auction that is outlined in a well-produced
catalog that is free of charge. The selection is quite good and usually very
interesting and rare items are included every month. The catalogs themselves are
collectors' items, as they are interesting to browse.
However, there is a catch. The items sold in each auction is usually sold at
about 1 1/2 times the fair market value. I've scanned the auctions and realized
values from time to time and I haven't seen many items I would consider
bargains, despite the fact that the minimum bids are deceptively very low. The
closing bid is almost always too high. So I would say that R&R is not a good
source of autographic material.
In general, I don't like auctions of any kind. I think of auctions as a
psychological device used by the seller to raise prices. Let me explain.
I collect coins as well as autographs, and I have a mentor of sorts who is a
coin dealer. He often gives me wise advice on all facets of collecting. He once
told me that he loves to sell coins at auction, because the customer is always
happy. I asked why, and he told me that customers enjoy setting their own
prices, even if those prices are higher than the ones he sets. People like to
have that kind of control over their purchases. This makes a lot of sense to me,
and I think the same phenomenon exists in autograph collecting.
Therefore, places like R&R, or Ebay, make money because "auction fever"
kicks in, and the buyer will often spend too much money for an autograph, then
is completely happy with the sale. The smart shopper will avoid this.
Thanks, Tom Platt
Paul
Hartunian--prpro@concentric.net
"spaceflori"--spaceflori
University
Archives (two listings)--universityarchives02, university
archives03
Autograph House (owned by George Sanders' wife
Helen)--4blindmice
JD Bardwell-- bardwell@nh.ultranet.com
Adam
Andrusier--aandrusier
Jeremy Theoret--apollospace
From: Pete Conrad
[conrad@spacelines.com]
To: Stephen Beck [sbeckmd@email.msn.com]
Sent:
Wednesday, July 07, 1999 10:08 AM
Subject: Re: hello
> Dear
Stephen
> The web page is slowly but surely developing. I hope you will
enjoy what we
> intend to do and I thank you for your interest. As for
signing, that is
> correct, I no longer sign through the
mail.
>
> Pete Conrad
As you can see from the date, it is only one day before he died. I
wrote a reply to his message and invited him to look at my web page. I was
curious to see what his response would be to a web site concerning autographs. I
really was disturbed last week when I checked my email to see if he had
responded, but instead got an email that he died in a motorcycle crash.
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