Autograph

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For other senses of this word, see autograph (disambiguation).

Autograph of king Charles XII of Sweden (1682-1718).

Image:Autograph of Martin Luther.png

Image:Linne autograph.png

Autograph of Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt (1820-1887).

Image:CGE Mannerheim autograph.png

An autograph is a document written entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one transcribed by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.

Autograph also refers to a person's signature. This term is used in particular for the practice of collecting autographs of celebrities. The collection of autographs is known as philography.

1 Customs
2 Charging for autographs
3 Demands on celebrities
4 Categories of celebrities
5 Autopen signatures
6 Forged autographs
- 6.1 Deceptive devices
- 6.2 World War II (1939-1945)
7 Glossary
8 References
9 See also
10 External links

[edit] Customs

In East Asia, an autograph from famous gentry is regarded as an honour. The value of an item bearing a high official's autograph could rise incredibly. In imperial China, an autograph from an emperor was considered priceless but to sell such an item could be a criminal offense.

In Europe and North America, asking a celebrity for their autograph was seen as a child's activity up to a few decades ago. The popularity of collecting autographs as a hobby came during the 1980s. Many memorabilia dealers took notice, and what once was an innocent hobby lost that innocence as dealers and celebrities began to charge money for their signatures.

That practice changes from country to country and in some locales charging for autographs could be considered mercenary.

[edit] Charging for autographs

Many celebrities still enjoy signing autographs for free for fans, keeping it an interesting hobby. Hilary Duff has publicly lashed out at other teen idol stars who avoid autograph collectors. Art Carney was another person who enjoyed signing autographs until his death in November of 2003.

Many people are not willing to distribute their signature—at least not for free. Sports personalities in this category include most baseball players, including the majority of the New York Yankees, Joe Dimaggio, and most notoriously, Barry Bonds. Other sports stars who try to avoid signing whenever possible are Bill Russell, who does not sign at all, and most NBA stars with huge contracts. Michael Jordan, would not and could not sign for most of his career because people's safety was at risk due to frenzied attempts to get his signature, which is worth hundreds of dollars. Jordan has frequently signed at more peaceful events, such as golf tournaments. It is also difficult to get Michael Jackson's autograph. A typical scenario is hundreds of fans in a crush waiting by Jackson's hotel, with Jackson signing five or ten autographs as he rushes to his vehicle.

[edit] Demands on celebrities

Many dealers also would wait for hours for a celebrity to emerge from a location, present several photos for the celebrity to sign and then sell most of them. Some dealers would locate a celebrity's home address and write to them asking for autographs multiple times. The celebrities would grow tired of that and make it a point to sign only one autograph per person. Because of the many autographs a celebrity might sign over time, some check requests against a record of past requests. Boxer George Foreman, for instance, records the names and addresses in his personal computer of every person that writes him asking for an autograph, so that whenever he receives a letter, he will know if the person is a fan who admires him or merely a dealer who wants more of his autographs to sell.

[edit] Categories of celebrities

Some of the most popular categories of autograph subjects are: sports and movie stars, teen idols, singers and music groups, politicians, social and religious leaders, scientists, astronauts and authors.

Some collectors may specialize in specific fields such as (Nobel Prize winners) or general topics (military leaders participating in World War I) or specific documents (i.e., signers of the Charter of the United Nations; signers of the U.S. Constitution; signers of the Israeli Declaration of Independence; signers of the Charter of the European Common Union; signers of the WWII German or Japanese Surrender documents). Image:Lions signed ball.jpg Sports memorabilia signed by a whole team can often be sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars.

[edit] Autopen signatures

Since the early 1950s almost all American presidents have had an autopen or robot signature-signing machine sign their letters. The Signa-Signer can even write out in ink an authentically looking handwritten message that has been typed into the machine. One book detailing the use of this machine by President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) is The Robot That Helped to Make a President." . Photographs and books that collectors have mailed in for autographing have often been treated similarly.

Since the 1960s, the practice of using an autopen has spread to U.S. Cabinet members and to U.S. Senators, who have a high volume of correspondence with constituents.

A photo signed by astronaut Neil Armstrong (c.1972) is an autopen signature; Armstrong declined to sign most of these items since 1980. Astronaut Alan Shepard acknowledged that NASA uses the autopen machine to sign the astronauts' voluminous correspondence. Many large corporations also use these machines for signing business letters. One might think that autopen signatures would constantly match one another. However, even autopen signatures will eventually change as the signature drum becomes worn and thereby alters the signature. Due to these professional imitations, one must be wary of buying presidential or astronaut signatures from unknown sellers.

In December 2004 a controversy arose when it was revealed that the United States' Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, was using an autopen to sign letters-of-condolence to families of American military members who had died during Gulf War II. Shortly thereafter, Rumsfeld announced that he would start to personally sign such letters.

[edit] Forged autographs

Autograph collecting is an enthralling hobby to collectors, who enjoy assembling a series of historical documents, letters or objects that have been signed or autographed by a notable person as a way of capturing a piece of history.

Some collectors collect in a specialized field, such as gathering documents autographed by American presidents, Nobel Prize winners, or baseball players who have hit over 500 home-runs during their career.

The hobby is fraught with documents, photographs and sports items that were signed by forgers seeking to profit by selling forged items to unwitting buyers. Sometimes just the signature that has been forged, other times the entire document has been doctored.

Forged autographs of nearly all famous personalities abound. Differentiating forged from authentic autographs is almost impossible for the amateur collector.

There are many forged autographs being sold through various internet auction firms, used book stores, and other secondhand markets. The neophyte collector must be cautious in these arenas.

One method commonly seen on Ebay is called "preprinting" by many sellers. The item is only a photocopy of an actual autographed photo, usually printed on glossy home photo paper. Since this is almost always disclosed to the buyer, some may not consider these actual forgeries.

Forgers go to great lengths to make their forgeries appear authentic. They use blank end papers from old books upon which to write their fake signatures in an attempt to match the paper of the era in which the personality lived. They have researched ink formulations of the era that they want to replicate. One book that explores the production of impressive fake manuscripts pertaining to Mormons is: A Gathering of Saints by Robert Lindsey.

One must know the era in which American presidents signed their documents. American presidents previously signed "land grants" until President Andrew Jackson (c.1836) grew accustomed to the time-consuming task. Since then secretaries of the president have mimicked their master's signatures on these documents (known as "proxy" signatures). Virtually all movie stars have their secretaries sign their letters and photographs for them. When President Ronald Reagan was an actor during the 1940s, he had his mother sign his name to much of his fan mail.

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the president of the Confederate States of America was Jefferson Davis. Due to his extensive correspondence, Davis' wife frequently signed his name to his dictated letters. As she duplicated his signature so well, she usually placed a period after the signature so that he could discern her signatures from his own.

All of the Union and Confederate generals from the American Civil War have had their signatures forged. Many were faked during the 1880s, a period that included the fad of aging soldiers in collecting Civil War autographs. Most deceptions were of mere signatures on a small piece of paper, but extensively written letters were forged as well. Autograph collectors should be cautious of clipped signatures. The bogus autograph is glued onto an authentic steel-engraved portrait of the subject. Some steel engravings may have reprinted the autograph of the portrayed subject; this is known as a facsimile autograph, and to an uninformed buyer it may appear to be real.

[edit] Deceptive devices

Some personalities have used a rubber or steel hand-stamp to "sign" their documents. American President Andrew Johnson (c.1866) did so during his tenure as a senator prior to assuming the presidency, since his right hand was injured in a train accident. This is why his autograph as President differs from previous autographs. President Warren Harding frequently used a rubber stamp while he was a senator. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt used them, along with President Woodrow Wilson (c.1916). England's King Henry VIII and Pennsylvania colony founder William Penn used a deceiving hand stamp.

Quality forgeries have been made for all of Europe's past rulers. The French nobles had their secretaires de main sign their documents. Many forgeries of France's Napoleon (c.1800) war orders exist; he was so busy with battle concerns that he barely had enough time to sign promotion orders for generals, so his scribes applied his name to lesser documents.

All famous scientists, astronauts, arctic explorers, musicians, poets, and literary authors have had forgeries of their epistols and signatures produced. False signatures of the aviator Charles Lindbergh were clandestinely signed onto real 1930-era airmail envelopes bought at stamp shops and then re-sold to unwary buyers; the same has occurred with Amelia Earhart and the Wright brothers. "Mickey Mouse" creator, Walt Disney (1955), had several of his cartoonists duplicate his artistic signature on replies to children seeking his autograph.

Texan paper currency was signed in ink by Sam Houston, though not handwritten by Houston himself.

An article in Smithsonian Magazine explored the "melting timepieces" artwork of the Spanish painter Salvador Dalí. It quoted one of his secretaries as claiming that she signed the artist's signature to postcard depictions of his paintings.

Some deceivers cut pages from books that American President Richard Nixon (c.1970) signed on the blank flyleaf, typed his letter of resignation from the presidency on that signed page, and then sold the doctored item as if Nixon had personally signed a scarce copy of the historical document. The miscreant has changed the value of a lower-priced signed book quite easily to a much more lucrative item; changing a mere signature into a signed manuscript.

[edit] World War II (1939-1945)

Many of the autographed documents allegedly signed by the German leaders of the Nazi government have been forged. Spurious documents and postcards claiming to be signed by Adolf Hitler are extant. Many were written on blank Nazi stationery that had been purloined by Allied soldiers from the desks in the Fuhrer's bunker in Berlin. German Fieldmarshall Erwin Rommel has had many bogus signatures penned in his characteristic green pencil that he used (ink dried too quickly in the hot North African climate). Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's signature has been forged on authentic documents actually signed by King Emanuel—this helps to make the phony Mussolini signature appear real, since it is on an otherwise genuine document.

During the American Revolution (1776-1783) both Oliver Wolcott (Sr.) and his son, Oliver Wolcott Jr., signed various government documents. Senior signed the Declaration of Independence so his autograph is valuable. His son was only a state treasurer and his autograph is not in high demand. Any serious autograph collector must be alert for the WWII blitzkrieging General Guderian autographed document: it may be signed by his son who became a German general after the war. The same confusion can exist in trying to differentiate between the signatures of the sons of Rommel and the American Admiral Nimitz (1945).

An individual's writing styles change throughout the lifespan of a person; a signature of President George Washington (c. 1795) will be different from one when he was an 18-year-old land surveyor. After British Admiral Nelson lost his right arm at the Tenerife sea-battle in 1797, he switched to using his left hand. Forgers buy real Revolutionary War-era documents and surreptitiously pen a famous patriot's name between other real signatures in a manuscript in hope of deceiving an unsuspecting buyer. Others will use tea or tobacco stains to brown or age their modern missives.

It has been estimated that over 80 percent of the autographed items of famous American sports players being sold over the Internet are fakes. Baseball legend Babe Ruth, for instance, has had his signature forged on old baseballs, then rubbed in dirt to make them appear to be from the 1930s.

Only long-established autographed dealers have the many years of research experience to determine the authenticity of autographs being sold in secondhand markets.

[edit] Glossary

In autograph-auction catalogues the following abbreviations are used to help describe the type of letter or document that is being offered for sale.

AD: Autograph Document (hand-written by the person to be collected, but not signed)
ADS: Autograph Document Signed (written and signed by same individual)
AL: Autograph Letter (hand-written by the person to be collected, but not signed)
ALS: Autograph Letter Signed (hand-written and signed by same individual)
AMs: Autograph Manuscript (hand-written; such as the draft of a play, research paper or music sheet)
AMsS: Autograph Manuscript Signed (hand-written and signed by same individual)
AMusQs: Autograph Musical Quotation Signed (hand-written and signed by same individual)
AN: Autograph Note (much shorter than a letter)
ANS: Autograph Note Signed (hand-written and signed by same individual)
AQS: Autograph Quote Signed (hand-written and signed by same individual; poem verse, sentence, or bar-of-music)
DS: Document signed (printed, or while hand-written by another, is signed by individual sought to be collected)
LS: Letter Signed (hand-written by someone else, but signed by the individual sought to be collected)
PS: Photograph Signed or Postcard Signed
SP: Signed Photograph
TLS: Typed Letter Signed
TNS: Typed Note Signed
folio: A printer's sheet of paper folded once to make two leaves, double quarto size or larger.
octavo(8vo): A manuscript page about six-by-nine inches. (Originally determined by folding a printer's sheet of paper to form eight leaves.)
quarto(4to): A manuscript page of about nine and one-half by twelve inches. (Originally determined by folding a printer's sheet of paper twice to form two leaves.)

[edit] References

"Forging History: The Detection of Fake Letters and Documents" by Kenneth Rendell, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1994, 173 pages. This book was written by one of America's most-respected autograph dealers. It discusses the materials (paper and ink) used by forgers; shows comparisons between fake and real signatures; discusses famous forgers; provides an analysis of major forgeries; details the equipment used in examining questionable documents; and provides a bibliography of almost 100 books written on the subject of either autograph collecting or documenting forgeries.
"Great Forgers and Famous Fakes" by Charles Hamilton, Crown Publishers, 1980, 278 pages. A legendary autograph expert provides hundreds of illustrations of fake versus real signatures. He discusses the manuscript forgers and how they duped the experts.
"Making Money in Autographs" by George Sullivan, 1977, 223 pages. As the title suggests, this book presents strategies as to how one can maximize the value of one's collection by investing in prime autograph documents in various collectible fields. A wonderful analysis of the scarcity and resale appealability of the holographic material of all U.S. presidents and many other prominent personalities. Shows presidential proxy and autopen samples. He confirms that most astronaut materials have passed through the autopen. Nice lists and dates of: U.S. presidents, wives of the presidents, vice presidents, signers of the Declaration of Independence, and early manned space flights.
"Collecting Autographs and Manuscripts" by Charles Hamilton, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1961, 269 pages. It is illustrated with more than 800 facsimiles and other reproductions of historical documents signed by nobility, political leaders, American "Wild West" sheriffs and badmen, military, and worldwide literature fields.
"Autographs and Manuscripts: A Collector's Manual" edited by Ed Berkeley, Charles Scribner's Sons Pub., 1978, 565 pages. Contains some 40 articles by famous autograph dealers and collectors who discuss how to detect fake autographs; how to care for your collection; and details different ways of how to collect autographs by different topics: science, religion, literature, politics, etc.
"Scribblers & Scoundrels" by Charles Hamilton, Eriksson Pub., 1968, 282 pages. A lively and entertaining book discussing the forgers and their techniques that the author encountered when they attempted to sell their forgeries to him at his manuscript shop.
"Manuscripts: The First Twenty Years" edited by Priscilla Taylor, Greenwood Press, 1984, 429 pages. A compilation of over 50 articles reprinted from publications of The Manuscript Society. It primarily details how to assemble autograph collections by different topics: medical notables, literary authors, scientists, etc. It slightly discusses the art of detecting forgeries.
"Autographs: A Key to Collecting" by Mary Benjamin, 1963, 345 pages. Written by the great female autograph dealer. Provides a historical summary of: collecting, terminology, evaluation in pricing a document, famous forgers, how to detect forgeries, confused identities, care and preservation, and two nice tables detailing the names of Napoleon's marshals and family members.
"Big Name Hunting: A Beginners Guide to Autograph Collecting" by Charles Hamilton, Simon & Schuster Pub., 1973, 95 pages. A short, enjoyable book advising teenagers how to start their collections. But with some helpful knowledge about identifying autopen signatures and other tidbits about collecting that are useful even to the professional collector. Good revelations about the copycat signatures by presidential secretaries. How to identify lithographs and steel-stamp signatures. Concise, but still choice!
"The Signature of America" by Charles Hamilton, Harper & Row, 1979, 279 pages. A book for those who specialize in American autographs: the Old West, authors, presidents, women, artists, criminals, musicians, entertainers, and many others.
"Word Shadows of the Great: The Lure of Autograph Collecting" by Thomas Madigan, Frederick Stokes Co., 1930, 300 pages. One of the early books discussing the excitement of autograph collecting, and presents nice facsimiles of old European autographs.
"Collecting Autographs For Fun and Profit" by Robert Pelton, Betterway Pub., 1987, 160 pages. A fun, breezy book about autograph collecting. Many facsimiles of sports autographs, but also shows 12 different variations as to how Napoleon signed his name. Explains what factors influence the price of an autograph.
"From the White House Inkwell" by John Taylor, Tuttle Co., 1968, 147 pages. Presents many facsimile letters from U.S. presidents and discusses rubber-stamp and proxy signatures used by presidential secretaries.
"Autograph Collector's Checklist" edited by John Taylor, The Manuscript Society, 1990, 172 pages. While unfairly low on this book list, it is THE reference book of seldom-seen lists of those in the collectible fields of: the Stamp Act Congress, Justices of the Supreme Court, the War of 1812, Unionists & Confederates, First Ladies, financiers, cabinet members, composers, scientists, unsuccessful presidential candidates, military participants, and a few other fields. Many nuggets of tidbit factoids about most of these people, and dates of their service or work.
"The Autograph Collector" by Robert Notlep, Crown Pub., 1968, 240 pages. For its time, a nice display of autograph facsimiles, with interest to youngsters in starting an autograph collection. Interesting name lists of : attendees at the U.S. Constitutional Convention, Revolutionary War generals, signers of the United Nations Charter, Napoleon's marshalls, and Napoleon's immediate family and relatives by marriage. A nice book of autograph trivia.
"The Complete Book of Autograph Collecting" by George Sullivan, 1971, 154 pages. I almost didn't list this book, but I have because it is another one of those "fun" books for beginning collectors. Discusses the spry efforts of "autograph hounds" in stalking sports and movie autographs, but also reviews the standard political and historical items that teenagers really can't afford.
"A Gathering of Saints" by Robert Lindsey, Simon & Schuster, 1988, 397 pages. It reveals the criminal forging techniques of one of the greatest forgers of historical holograms, and why he killed two people to hide his fakes.
"Dönitz at Nuremberg: A Re-Appraisal" by H.K. Thompson, Amber Pub., 1976, 198 pages. Contains the facsimile signatures and biographies of some 350 worldwide military personalities of World War II. The author wrote to each of these notables and asked each to give their thoughts about the convening of war-criminal trials for military personnel, specifically for the German GrossAdmiral Donitz; many very illuminate opinions.
"Leaders and Personalities of the Third Reich" by Charles Hamilton, 2 vols., Bender Pub., 1984 (Vol. 1) and 1996 (Vol. 2). Two volumes of almost 1,000 glossy pages providing biographies and the reproduction of hundreds of facsimile letters and autographs of Germans (military, political, religious, spies, etc.) involved with the short-lived "Thousand Year Reich."
"The Guinness Book of World Autographs" by Ray Rawlins, 1997, 244 pages. The title pretty much says it all: hundreds of worldwide facsimile autographs and identifications.
"The Robot that Helped to Make a President" by Charles Hamilton, 1965. Reveals the different proxy signatures produced by the autopen machines used by Pres. John Kennedy.
"War Between the States: Autographs and Biographical Sketches" by Jim Hayes, Palmetto Pub., 1989, 464 pages. Your guide to the hundreds of autographs of both Union and Confederate personalities from the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865).
"American Autographs" by Charles Hamilton, 2 vols., Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1983, 634 pages. For the specialist who needs almost 2,000 facsimile documents of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence and Revolutionary War Leaders (including British and French) and other patriots. The second volume: contains copious samples of all presidents; reveals Pres. Eisenhower use of the autopen even before his presidency; presents dozens of secretarial proxy signatures for the modern presidents; lists Watergate participants; displays First Lady items; and shows facsimiles of assassins or would-be assassins from John Booth to John Hinckley. Perhaps this should really be the second book listed, but listed low here only because of its cost. It is simply superlative with its autopen minutiae and facsimiles. You shouldn't be a buyer of modern presidents without having these tomes at hand for reference.
"Autographs of Indian Personalities" by S.S. Hitkari, Phulkari Pub., 1999, 112 pages. Provides wonderful autograph facsimiles and biographies for some 250 literary, medical, political and music notables from the land of the Taj Mahal: India.
"Ieri Ho Visto Il Duce: Trilogia dell'iconografic mussonliniana" ed. Ermanno Alberti. High glossy photo book of many items relating to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini; including 24-page analysis of his autographs. Italian language.
"Who's Who" series; "Who's Who in America," etc. Provides mailing addresses for thousands of individuals involved in: science, music, space, sports, military, politics, world leaders, etc.
"Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography" ed. By James Wilson, 6 vols., 1888. Provides the biographies of thousands of American notables, and dozens of steel engravings with facsimile autographs.