The Name Game ("History for Sale" at Auction for Autograph Seekers)

Ask the likes of Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts for their autograph, and you'd probably get a quick scribble. Just their name, or maybe a generic "Best wishes."

Compare that to Frederick Douglass, the reknowned abolitionist who advised Abraham Lincoln on the dissolution of slavery. He signed his name on Aug. 9, 1894, for an Augusta man who asked him for his autograph, but Douglass also included this tender sentiment:

When asked for his autograph, Samuel Francis Smith, who wrote the song "America" (or "My Country 'Tis of Thee"), transcribed the first verse. Then he signed and dated it.

These are just two of the autographs included in a private collection of 425 names, notes and letters that will be sold May 5 by James D. Julia, a Fairfield-based auctioneer.

The autographs were discovered at a house here in Maine, squirreled away in a shirt box in the closet.

The collection is a time capsule of sorts. Most of the material dates to 1894 and 1895, and features key personalities of the day, from U.S. presidents to P.T. Barnum. There are Civil War generals, famous women suffragists, opera singers, musicians, composers, actors and actresses, authors, politicians and businessmen.

Harriet Beecher Stowe is included in the collection, along with Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

There are autographs of well-known Mainers, too, including Joshua Chamberlain, the Civil War hero; author Sarah Orne Jewett; James Baxter, the former mayor of Portland; and Hannibal Hamlin, who was vice president under Lincoln.

An Augusta resident named Harry E. Burbank accumulated the autographs by writing to 19th-century celebrities, sometimes enticing them to reply by asking them for a favorite quote, the name of a photographer who took their picture, or information about their careers.

"There isn't a George Washington autograph, and there's no Abraham Lincoln," said Bill Gage of Julia's Antique and Fine Arts Division. "But there's a Thomas A. Edison autograph, which is quite valuable."

Gage has been unable to dig up any personal information on Burbank or why he collected the autographs. The family selling them wishes to remain anonymous, and doesn't know anything about the collection, either, he said.

Presidents included in the collection are Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland and Chester A. Arthur.

There are also numerous Civil War generals, such as George B. McClellan, William T. Sherman, Ambrose E. Burnside, and Pierre G. T. Beauregard.

Many of the contributors honored Burbank's request for a little something besides just their signature.

Elizabeth Custer, who spent the years after Little Big Horn defending her husband's reputation, quoted from "Boots and Saddles," her memoir about life on the prairie with Gen. George Armstrong Custer.

Nellie Bly, the famous journalist who beat Jules Verne's fictional "Around the World in 80 Days" record by more than a week, signed her name in New York on Aug. 8, 1894.

The great showman P.T. Barnum included with his autograph his favorite saying, "Time is money."

George F. Root scribbled a few bars of music along with "Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys!" That's the lyrics to his best-known song, "The Battle Cry of Freedom," which became the anthem of the Civil War.

Root signed the autograph in May 1895. He would die three months later right here in Maine, on Bailey Island.

There are some odds and ends in Burbank's collection that are either out of the 1894-95 time frame or are not traditional autographs. There are a few endorsed checks, for example, and a signed Massachusetts state lottery ticket from 1790.

From 1873, there are clipped signatures from Henry W. Longfellow and R. Waldo Emerson.

Bill Gage went through the collection and identified about a quarter of the signatures, then scanned them all onto a CD for potential buyers to peruse.

James D. Julia estimates the value of the collection at $5,000 to $10,000, but that is considered conservative.

Experts say the auction house could make more money if it broke up the collection and sold the autographs individually. It's likely a dealer will purchase it and do just that.

"A collector is not going to be interested in buying that collection put together by one person," said John Reznikoff, a well-known Connecticut collector and dealer who plans to bid on the lot. "What they're going to be interested in is filling their own collection, or just a few signatures, because maybe they specialize in presidents or maybe they specialize in important women in history or authors or actors or writers."

Al Wittnebert, a Florida collector, said it's probably easier for Julia's to sell the Burbank collection in one lot, "but they're going to probably lose 70 percent of what that thing's going to be worth."

Wittnebert is treasurer of the Universal Autograph Collectors Club, the largest nonprofit collectors club of its kind. He also writes a monthly column for "Autograph Collector" magazine and has appraised autographs for the Hard Rock Cafe.

Wittnebert said that autograph collecting was a favorite pastime of the 19th century. People kept custom-made, leather-bound autograph albums in their homes, and took the albums with them on their travels.

Queen Victoria was one of the biggest and best-known collectors of the time. Back then, people asked for autographs for fun, not profit.

"It's only become a business within the last 10 years," Wittnebert said. "When I started collecting 40 years ago, there were only four dealers in the world. Now there's thousands, including Wal-Mart."

While some movie stars and sports figures of today may refuse to sign autographs, in the 19th century it was considered a faux pas to turn down a request. Mail was much more valued in those days, Wittnebert said, and if someone took the time to write, etiquette demanded a quick response, usually within five days.

"People at that time cherished letters," he said. "We're in an age of e-mails and faxes, and nobody cares about letters anymore. And nobody puts anything in writing. So that's made what is selling on today's market, even with presidential autographs, a quick turnaround with a buck. It's not meant to be a personal thing, so it's changed dramatically."

What makes an autograph valuable? One factor is rarity. Some people just didn't sign a lot of things.

Take Button Gwinnett. He was an obscure Georgia politician who signed the Declaration of Independence. But the following year, he died of injuries sustained in a duel, so his signature is scarce. Today it sells for about $150,000.

Another factor is the form the signature takes. Is it a "clipped signature" that's been snipped from a document? Or is it a signed, handwritten letter on letterhead stationery?

People frequently asked President Andrew Jackson's daughter if she had any old autographs of her father's.

"And what she would do, unfortunately, was go upstairs to her attic and clip off signatures from letters that he wrote," Wittnebert said. "And the letters were far more valuable."

"A signature of George Washington sells for about $5,000," Reznikoff said. "A document of routine military discharge (signed by Washington) might sell for $10,000. A letter handwritten by him of routine content, not having anything terribly important to say, might sell for $15,000. And a letter where he says, 'We're going to cross the Delaware tonight,' would sell for $1 million. And there's a huge range between."

The Burbank collection contains both clipped signatures and letters full of content.

On Oct. 10, 1894, Susan B. Anthony wrote a letter on stationery from the National-American Woman Suffrage Association:

"What an anomaly it is in this so-called free republic that one half the people - the women - are denied their inalienable right to self-government - which can come only through the possession of the right of choice as to the laws, the law-makers and executors!!"

A Susan B. Anthony letter normally would sell for about $200. This one is much more valuable, experts said, because it's on the right letterhead, and she's writing about women's rights.

Also in the Burbank collection is a letter from Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, on Red Cross stationery. Similar signed letters from the 1890s were selling recently on the Web site "History for Sale" for $2,499 and $4,999.

Peter Maher, the Irish heavyweight champion of the day, wrote Burbank a letter from Boston on Feb. 8, 1895. Apparently Burbank had asked Maher what he thought about some upcoming fights involving Bob Fitzsimmons, Frank Slavin, Frank Craig and James Corbett, who were among the finest pugilists of the day.

"Sir in answer to your letter asking my opinions of fights and my autograph I get 1000 letters a week it is impossible to answer them I do the best I can as I have not a type writer I think Craig will defeat Slavin and then other fight between Corbett and Fitzsimmons is an even thing Truly Yours Peter J Maher Irish champion"

Sometimes the name of a celebrity who lived in one era prompts nothing but a puzzling "Who?" in another era. Unless people know the name, the value of a celebrity's autograph can take a dive.

For example, even a clipped signature from Lincoln might fetch $4,500. But almost any Congressman who served during his presidency - unless he did something extraordinary - is only worth about $5.

Unfortunately, there's no way to tell if today's Tom Cruise is going to be tomorrow's Humphrey Bogart, Wittnebert said.

"I always tell people to collect what interests them because then the collection can never become boring, no matter what it is," he said.

Some of the most fun and interesting pieces in the Burbank collection came from entertainers of the day, especially those who tried to be clever.

From December 1880, there is this autograph from one of America's best-known authors:

"None genuine without this label on the bottle: Yours truly S.L. Clemens Mark Twain"

Then there's the personalized submission from J.W. Crawford, a former U.S. Army scout who turned to writing and became known as "Captain Jack" and the "Poet Scout."

Crawford typed a poem to H.E. Burbank on stationery from the Hotel Metropole in London. He sent the poem, dated Oct. 1, 1895, from New York. It reads:

Your letter from Augusta, Me. Or Gussie, as the case may be, Just came, and with it a request That I just do my level best To write a verse, or sentiment; And think of moments thus mis-spent In writing verse and autograph - And yet, somehow, I ought to laugh, For you, my Christian friend, Burbank, Are just another 'auto' crank, And yet I stand in bas relief Myself a crank, alas - and thief For this is paper that I stole In London, at the Metropole."

James D. Julia for any history related autograph seekers.

I just found this article interesting when one sees the time, thought and appreciation put into an autograph by historical figures such as "Samuel Francis Smith, who wrote the song "America" (or "My Country 'Tis of Thee"), transcribed the first verse and then signed and dated it".

Now we have The Money For Name Game with little kids even charged for autographs. This Name Game was said to have originated at sports memorabilia shows,when athletes discovered that fans would pay for their signatures. After all, dealers were making a good living selling them, so why shouldn't they? Bill Russell has commanded as much as $500 for an autograph. Joe Montana charged more than $100 per signature. Willie Mays will sign a small, flat item for $100, according to Hall of Fame Autographs, and that's only by mail. This is happening now with celebrity guests to *any* convention," says Gary Price, creator of Autograph Central.

Hollywood Collectors & Celebrity Show has Stars mingling under one roof charging for autographs and photos perhaps $10 to as high as $40. Some celebs (and most of these namesI suspect Hollywood would term "has beens")say they sign up to 2000 autographs over a weekend.

As P.T. Barnum said in his "favorite" autograph: "Time is money."

Signed:

fight_truth_decay

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