This is a picture of the big guns of the battleship USS Missouri. I took the photo during a trip to Pearl Harbor a few years ago.
It is signed by Jerry Pedersen, who was part of the honor guard that stood behind the table where the Japanese surrender was signed in September 1945 on the deck of the USS Missouri.
@JBK said:
Very tragic story. Careened down the wrong path after Hollywood was done with her.
Well, it didn't help her accountant got away with $3 million dollars from her & some other un named celebrities and never got caught even to this day. She was left with $125,000 I think.
I still talk to her Half Brother and best friend. Lots of things I good could share.
One thing I can share if you remember the story in the 90s about meeting her real birth mom, which was on the news? Well, she severed ties with her not because of $, but because her mom's side has a very long history of addiction & Dana was pissed she wasn't told about it so it caused a big riff.
And the story about her stealing the prescription pads from her stepdad and forging them did happen but before her death, he is the one that prescribed her some ungodly amount of Loritab, which was unnecessary for just having wisdom teeth pulled. It was equivalent to having a spaghetti jar full that was found.
Her stepdad hated her, and knowing her drug past Some relatives & friends think he wanted her dead, hence the extra pills in the prescription. He was never charged for the crime.
Howard Stern's interview of course did no favors for her mentally too.
In 1989 I wrote to children's author Maurice Sendak to ask if he would autograph my copy of "Where The Wild Things Are".
He wrote back to say no! He added this note to the bottom of my letter. (The stains were there when I received it. I always imagined that he wrote it at the breakfast table.)
(Some years later I did successfully get him to sign my book.)
@JBK said:
In 1989 I wrote to children's author Maurice Sendak to ask if he would autograph my copy of "Where The Wild Things Are".
He wrote back to say no! He added this note to the bottom of my letter. (The stains were there when I received it. I always imagined that he wrote it at the breakfast table.)
(Some years later I did successfully get him to sign my book.)
Very nice handwritten note. I love how you ended up getting that very famous children’s book autographed. What a treasure!
@JBK said:
I also wrote to actress Karharine Hepburn to ask if she would sign her autobiography.
She also said no! (Things were not always easier back then).
She was notorious for sending signed letters refusing to sign photos. This one is neat in that it’s about her refusing to sign her book which I think is the item most likely to get signed if an individual signs anything ttm.
I have always wanted a Hepburn signed letter and came very close to buying one so many times over the years but never got one. I remember almost getting one for just $30 but got outbid at the last second. What a deal that would had been (they usually sell for at least $100).
I think (not sure) that KH used an autopen late in life. It sounds extremely unlikely, but I think at one point I got two letters that were identical.
As I get things organized when I come across them I'll report any relevant discoveries.
I found the two letters above while poking through a box of important letters from years ago. It was like a time capsule.
A dozen Colin Powell letters, lots of Supreme Court stuff which I'll post another time (Brennan, White, O'Connor, Blackmun, early Souter), George and Barbara Bush, other notable people who were around in the mid-1980s through early 1990s. No Biden stuff in there unfortunately.
@JBK said:
I think (not sure) that KH used an autopen late in life. It sounds extremely unlikely, but I think at one point I got two letters that were identical.
As I get things organized when I come across them I'll report any relevant discoveries.
I found the two letters above while poking through a box of important letters from years ago. It was like a time capsule.
A dozen Colin Powell letters, lots of Supreme Court stuff which I'll post another time (Brennan, White, O'Connor, Blackmun, early Souter), George and Barbara Bush, other notable people who were around in the mid-1980s through early 1990s. No Biden stuff in there unfortunately.
You are so lucky you have so many autographs that you don’t look at some for years then rediscover what you have. You must have a massive collection. I can’t wait to see more pictures of autographs you come across as you go through all those boxes.
It is sort of like recapturing the excitement I felt when I first got them.
There is the added benefit of seeing how some of the content has become more significant with time. Such as Colin Powell stating in the late 80s/early 90s that while he supported women in combat support roles, he was opposed to them serving in combat positions.
@JBK said:
Here James Stewart has added the name of his character from "It's a Wonderful Life", George Bailey.
That reminds me of one I saw for sale a few months ago that surprisingly only went for $40. In 2004/2005 signed Jimmy Stewart notes used to be around $200-$500 especially if they mentioned “Wonderful Life.” Sad interest in the classic films has decreased in recent years.
When I asked for that signature many years ago I specifically asked him to add his character's name. Hopefully that still makes it a little more unique and desirable.
@JBK said:
$40?! Ouch! Poor Jimmy is getting no respect.
When I asked for that signature many years ago I specifically asked him to add his character's name. Hopefully that still makes it a little more unique and desirable.
Oh yes, yours is unique in that way. The example I saw just mentioned “It’s A Wonderful Life”. I don’t believe it said George Bailey. I was just shocked how cheap he’s gotten. I have seen some signatures on index card sell for like $15 in recent memory. Sad to think I once paid $230 for a nice bold James Stewart signed index card which was a lot back then but still was worth like $100-$150 then…now maybe $30. Photos still bring more but still cheap at like $40 sometimes. If I look I can find them.
@JBK said:
On mine, I had sent him a piece of an acid-free sheet I had. It was tough to find acid-free back then.
That’s really cool you thought to even do that. I only learned about acidic paper a few years after I started collecting autographs for the first time. I think I started sending out acid free index cards in 2009 or so.
Back then you had to really scrounge to find it. Good quality art paper was one source, and an archival supplies mail order company also sold some as backing sheets.
At one point I wanted to send cartoonist Scott Adams an acid-free sheet for a sketch of Dilbert and Dogbert. (This was way back when he did that TTM). All I had was some heavily textured paper.
He did a great full length portrait of the two characters with Dilbert's thought bubble saying "Whose idea was the bumpy paper?"
I'll get a picture of it the next time I come across it.
This recent reply is a huge success for me. I rank it in desirability somewhere between a current US Supreme Court justice (mostly very difficult to get) and US President (always desirable).
It is a signed 4.5 x 3.5 inch photo of Valentina Tereshkova, the first female cosmonaut in space. Her 1963 flight beat the first US female astronaut in space (Sally Ride) by 20 years.
I had sent her a Soviet Union 1 ruble banknote which she returned unsigned, but she included this photo. It was my second or third attempt and my first success
Here is another recent success. It is another photo that I took during my visit to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii a few years ago.
I took this photo from the bridge of the USS Missouri. In the foreground are the ship's big guns and in the background is the USS Arizona Memorial. I like to think of this as the Missouri standing guard over the Arizona.
It is signed by USS Arizona survivor Ken Potts, and Jerry Pedersen who was in the color guard that stood behind the table where the Japanese surrender was signed on the deck of the USS Missouri.
@JBK said:
And I thankfully had reinforced the envelope so it arrived in perfect condition, despite what appeared to be a coffee stain on the front.
I wonder if the coffee stain was from a post office employee trying to use caffeine to power his/her way through being sick (inspired by the mint crew in the sick day letter thread) or perhaps Ms. Tereshkova herself, using your envelope as a coaster so she wouldn't leave a ring on her nice desk?
It is packed away somewhere that makes it too hard to find, but I remember being on a small connecting flight out of Bangor, Maine on my way to basic training for the Army. There was only one other passenger--then US senator George Mitchell. I asked for his autograph and he was shocked I recognized him, lol.
I was 18 and thought it might be nice to ask if he had a piece of advice after we talked and I told him what I was heading off to do. He said that in his experience, especially when you are starting out in something and/or don't know much about a job/career that one is often best served by taking care to listen a lot more than speaking, and when you do speak, think about what you are going to say for a few seconds before saying it.
I've found that advice useful going forward ever since. When I don't take it, I often wished I had.
It is a signed 4.5 x 3.5 inch photo of Valentina Tereshkova, the first female cosmonaut in space. Her 1963 flight beat the first US female astronaut in space (Sally Ride) by 20 years.
Congrats! That’s a great one. I would love to try getting her autograph. Has she ever signed for anyone else you know of or is this a historic first you ever know of for a ttm success?
It is a signed 4.5 x 3.5 inch photo of Valentina Tereshkova, the first female cosmonaut in space. Her 1963 flight beat the first US female astronaut in space (Sally Ride) by 20 years.
Congrats! That’s a great one. I would love to try getting her autograph. Has she ever signed for anyone else you know of or is this a historic first you ever know of for a ttm success?
She does sign, but it is very hit and miss, and takes a long time to reply when she does answer. Her response rate is somewhat low.
The 56th Fighter Group shot down more German aircraft than any other fighter group in the US 8th Air Force during WWII. It became known as Zemke's Wolf Pack. In an era when Hollywood had, "more stars than there are in the heavens", the 56th had more well known fighter aces than any other US group in WWII.
Here's a pilot's manual signed by "Gabby" Gabreski, Gerald Johnson, Walker "Bud" Mahurin and "Hub" Zemke, the Commander of the 56th. As you can see, various of the pilots went on to become aces in the Korean war also...
I know some of you are against removing signatures from books, but when the book is not in great condition, the autograph is on a bookplate or the book is super common I prefer having just the autograph and not have the whole book taking up space on my shelf.
Yesterday, while away on vacation in Florida I stopped into a Goodwill Bookstore (in Massachsetts we only have regular Goodwill). They had tons of books and I looked through the biographies/memoirs in their respective section first with no luck of finding anything signed. I also looked through all their Stephen King hardcovers hoping maybe there was a signed one. No such luck. The guy running the store walked by and I asked if they have a section for signed books and sure enough they did. It was a section of about 30-50 books, a vast majority signed by individuals I never even heard of but I did find two books signed by First Ladies Barbara Bush and Betty Ford. Only $19 (with tax) total for the two books. I knew the books themselves were not in the greatest condition and since books take up so much space and these particular ones are nothing special I decided to remove the autographs from the books. I prefer the signatures this way. Of course if the books were special or rare I would had kept them (such as was the case with Barack Obama’s A Promised Land Deluxe Signed Edition).
Removing signatures from books, letters, checks, etc. is often controversial and will usually reduce the value.
In your specific scenario (common in signed copies, not in the best condition), though, it can open up other possibilities, such as putting in albums, framing, etc.
The U.S. Government Printing Office can sometimes be a good source of unusual books that are prime for autographing.
Back in the late 80s or early 90s the GPO still had a supply of a book from 1977 that contained the Congressional tributes to President Gerald R. Ford delivered when he left office.
I picked up a couple copies on clearance and sent one to him to be signed.
Here is the detail from my last reply from Bob Dole, dated August 25, 2021.
On another collector site one member told of an in-person encounter with Sen. Dole at the WWII Vererans Memorial in Washington DC. He asked Sen. Dole to sign a poster and after Sen. Dole declined due to his hand issues the collector kept insisting and he got a rather indescipherable scrawl.
The collector uses that encounter to insist that Senator Dole has been secretarial TTM, at least in recent years.
Dole's signature has been fairly consistent over time and I suspect that in the peace and quiet of his office someone might have helped him wrap his hand around a pen before he signed his name on letters and other items.
@JBK said:
Here is the detail from my last reply from Bob Dole, dated August 25, 2021.
On another collector site one member told of an in-person encounter with Sen. Dole at the WWII Vererans Memorial in Washington DC. He asked Sen. Dole to sign a poster and after Sen. Dole declined due to his hand issues the collector kept insisting and he got a rather indescipherable scrawl.
The collector uses that encounter to insist that Senator Dole has been secretarial TTM, at least in recent years.
Dole's signature has been fairly consistent over time and I suspect that in the peace and quiet of his office someone might have helped him wrap his hand around a pen before he signed his name on letters and other items.
I obtained the photo I posted above from a TTM back in April 1997.
Here's a record I have from 1951, with Sophie Tucker singing "My Mother's Sabbath Candles". I'm guessing that this was a follow-up to her memorable "My Yiddish Momme" from over 20 years earlier. I found this record about 20 years ago, and lucky for me, on the left side of the cover here, you will see that Sophie autographed it herself.
The name for me is tied to a check I bought - it was a payment to actor/singer Robert Clary for appearing at the El Rancho in Las Vegas in 1956.
In doing some research I found a passage from his book where he mentioned that he was at the El Rancho for several weeks in 1956 and on the bill with Sophie Tucker.
He told about their lunches in the restaurant there and how her food was sent in by friends. She would tell him how great it was but would never share it. It's funny how certain anecdotes stick in people's heads - first his and now mine!
The name for me is tied to a check I bought - it was a payment to actor/singer Robert Clary for appearing at the El Rancho in Las Vegas in 1956.
In doing since research i found a passage from his book where he mentioned that he was at the El Rancho for several weeks in 1956 and on the bill with Sophie Tucker.
He told about their lunches in the restaurant there and how her food was sent in by friends. She would tell him how great it was but would never share it. It's funny how certain anecdotes stick in people's heads - first his and now mine!
The good news for autograph seekers is that she must've a willing signer because at times I've felt like I was up to my armpits in ST autos. I have two auto'ed records, her signed autobiography and a signed photo.
Sad to hear the news today that Anne Rice had passed away. 80 years young.
I met Anne Rice at San Diego Comic Con in 2013. It’s actually an interesting story. I went upstairs to get my badge for the next day and as I was heading there I saw Anne Rice had a very small line but in order to meet her you had to had won a special raffle that went on earlier in the day. However when I made a comment to the man watching her line he told me I could just go ahead and meet her even if I didn’t have a ticket. I thought that was very nice of him.
Anne Rice was a very pleasant lady. I didn’t have anything for her to sign except an index card so she signed that for me. I told her I admired her for writing Interview With the Vampire and that she was very talented. I was never expecting to meet her so I wasn’t really prepared at all with anything else to talk about so it stayed short. If I had wanted I could had spent as much time as I wanted chatting her up since no one was in line after me and she was going to stay there until the end of the hour. I remember she was a very nice and well dressed lady.
I regularly shop the clearance sections of stores that sell paper or stationery products. I pick up things I know I'll need soon (or now) but also things I might have a use for at some point in the future.
One of my pickups a year or so ago was some 5x8 bordered cards that might have been originally intended to be used as certificates or awards.
This year the inspiration finally hit me. I decided to use them to print out partial lyrics from songs. They would be lyrics that stand on their own as poetry, thought-proviking insights, etc.
Here are two that I have gotten so far.
Some lyrics from "Fairy Tale" by Sara Bareilles.
Most of the lyrics from "California Dreaming" by the Mamas and the Pappas. They stand on their own as a sort of poem.
There is a funny story about the M&P lyrics (for this song as well as another I got signed). They predate the Internet by many years, so lyrics that I found online had some discrepancies from site to site since people had to try to transcribe them from listening to the songs. For the lyrics in question I tried to listen to the songs myself and I still couldn't be sure of a few words. So, prior to printing off the cards, I wrote to Michelle Phillips herself with the discrepancies and she gave me the correct wording.
I haven't re-hung all of my pictures and artwork since a move (longer ago than I care to admit), and I literally tripped over this today so I figured I'd snap a couple photos.
It is a photo of the Reagan Presidential Library that was supposedly Ronald Reagan's favorite. There was a signed edition issued, and when that sold out they started a second edition, which as I recall they did not finish out before he stopped signing.
I got literally the last one that the library had available back around the late 1990s.
I got literally the last one that the library had available back around the late 1990s.
I remember when I first started collecting that they had sold these but they were all long sold out by the time I found out about them. I remember thinking they were very reasonably priced at the time but can’t remember what they originally cost. I also know that Ronald Reagan signed his book free ttm if you sent it to him but that stopped in the late 1990s when his Alzheimer's got worse. However, I did get Nancy Reagan’s autograph ttm with sending her book. Unfortunately that went with pretty much everything else when I did my big sell off.
Thinking back on my former collection I had Ronald Reagan’s autograph on a nice 8x10 photo of him speaking at a podium that I purchased. Personalized and at the time quite expensive ($620) considering that I have seen non-personalized 8x10s go for the $300-$400 recently. However, I did buy it somewhat shortly (purchased in Fall 2005) after he passed away so I am thinking that’s why.
I got literally the last one that the library had available back around the late 1990s.
I remember when I first started collecting that they had sold these but they were all long sold out by the time I found out about them. I remember thinking they were very reasonably priced at the time but can’t remember what they originally cost. I also know that Ronald Reagan signed his book free ttm if you sent it to him but that stopped in the late 1990s when his Alzheimer's got worse. However, I did get Nancy Reagan’s autograph ttm with sending her book. Unfortunately that went with pretty much everything else when I did my big sell off.
I think (not 100% sure) the library photos were $150 originally, pr maybe as much as $250, but I think the final supply was sold at $450.
I got one of those free signatures in a book I sent (on a calligraphy inscribed bookplate).
When he was still signing you could also buy a couple different of his books from the library, signed on bookplate, for $75 each. I recall thinking that was pretty pricey at the time, but I did buy one of each. I now wish I had bought ten of each.
Comments
This is a picture of the big guns of the battleship USS Missouri. I took the photo during a trip to Pearl Harbor a few years ago.
It is signed by Jerry Pedersen, who was part of the honor guard that stood behind the table where the Japanese surrender was signed in September 1945 on the deck of the USS Missouri.
Wow....great photo!!
Since today is her birthday & she would have been 57 today.
Very tragic story. Careened down the wrong path after Hollywood was done with her.
Well, it didn't help her accountant got away with $3 million dollars from her & some other un named celebrities and never got caught even to this day. She was left with $125,000 I think.
I still talk to her Half Brother and best friend. Lots of things I good could share.
One thing I can share if you remember the story in the 90s about meeting her real birth mom, which was on the news? Well, she severed ties with her not because of $, but because her mom's side has a very long history of addiction & Dana was pissed she wasn't told about it so it caused a big riff.
And the story about her stealing the prescription pads from her stepdad and forging them did happen but before her death, he is the one that prescribed her some ungodly amount of Loritab, which was unnecessary for just having wisdom teeth pulled. It was equivalent to having a spaghetti jar full that was found.
Her stepdad hated her, and knowing her drug past Some relatives & friends think he wanted her dead, hence the extra pills in the prescription. He was never charged for the crime.
Howard Stern's interview of course did no favors for her mentally too.
In 1989 I wrote to children's author Maurice Sendak to ask if he would autograph my copy of "Where The Wild Things Are".
He wrote back to say no! He added this note to the bottom of my letter. (The stains were there when I received it. I always imagined that he wrote it at the breakfast table.)
(Some years later I did successfully get him to sign my book.)
Very nice handwritten note. I love how you ended up getting that very famous children’s book autographed. What a treasure!
I also wrote to actress Karharine Hepburn to ask if she would sign her autobiography.
She also said no! (Things were not always easier back then).
Hepburn's is amusing.
I would think she would know someone isn't going to want to cut a piece of paper with her printed name on it.
Although those silly trading card companies that are cutting letters and such up are ludicrous.
She was notorious for sending signed letters refusing to sign photos. This one is neat in that it’s about her refusing to sign her book which I think is the item most likely to get signed if an individual signs anything ttm.
I have always wanted a Hepburn signed letter and came very close to buying one so many times over the years but never got one. I remember almost getting one for just $30 but got outbid at the last second. What a deal that would had been (they usually sell for at least $100).
I think (not sure) that KH used an autopen late in life. It sounds extremely unlikely, but I think at one point I got two letters that were identical.
As I get things organized when I come across them I'll report any relevant discoveries.
I found the two letters above while poking through a box of important letters from years ago. It was like a time capsule.
A dozen Colin Powell letters, lots of Supreme Court stuff which I'll post another time (Brennan, White, O'Connor, Blackmun, early Souter), George and Barbara Bush, other notable people who were around in the mid-1980s through early 1990s. No Biden stuff in there unfortunately.
You are so lucky you have so many autographs that you don’t look at some for years then rediscover what you have. You must have a massive collection. I can’t wait to see more pictures of autographs you come across as you go through all those boxes.
It is sort of like recapturing the excitement I felt when I first got them.
There is the added benefit of seeing how some of the content has become more significant with time. Such as Colin Powell stating in the late 80s/early 90s that while he supported women in combat support roles, he was opposed to them serving in combat positions.
Here's a recent reply from Hong Kong.
It's an old (pre-1997 British handover) Hong Kong $10 banknote signed by actor Jackie Chan.
That's awesome.
That reminds me of one I saw for sale a few months ago that surprisingly only went for $40. In 2004/2005 signed Jimmy Stewart notes used to be around $200-$500 especially if they mentioned “Wonderful Life.” Sad interest in the classic films has decreased in recent years.
$40?! Ouch! Poor Jimmy is getting no respect.
When I asked for that signature many years ago I specifically asked him to add his character's name. Hopefully that still makes it a little more unique and desirable.
Oh yes, yours is unique in that way. The example I saw just mentioned “It’s A Wonderful Life”. I don’t believe it said George Bailey. I was just shocked how cheap he’s gotten. I have seen some signatures on index card sell for like $15 in recent memory. Sad to think I once paid $230 for a nice bold James Stewart signed index card which was a lot back then but still was worth like $100-$150 then…now maybe $30. Photos still bring more but still cheap at like $40 sometimes. If I look I can find them.
I just found it.
https://www.autographworld.com/auction/oldlot.asp?lid=952&aid=1795
Wow - I would have bid higher!
On mine, I had sent him a piece of an acid-free sheet I had. It was tough to find acid-free back then.
That’s really cool you thought to even do that. I only learned about acidic paper a few years after I started collecting autographs for the first time. I think I started sending out acid free index cards in 2009 or so.
Back then you had to really scrounge to find it. Good quality art paper was one source, and an archival supplies mail order company also sold some as backing sheets.
At one point I wanted to send cartoonist Scott Adams an acid-free sheet for a sketch of Dilbert and Dogbert. (This was way back when he did that TTM). All I had was some heavily textured paper.
He did a great full length portrait of the two characters with Dilbert's thought bubble saying "Whose idea was the bumpy paper?"
I'll get a picture of it the next time I come across it.
This recent reply is a huge success for me. I rank it in desirability somewhere between a current US Supreme Court justice (mostly very difficult to get) and US President (always desirable).
It is a signed 4.5 x 3.5 inch photo of Valentina Tereshkova, the first female cosmonaut in space. Her 1963 flight beat the first US female astronaut in space (Sally Ride) by 20 years.
I had sent her a Soviet Union 1 ruble banknote which she returned unsigned, but she included this photo. It was my second or third attempt and my first success
That is a very nice picture and very nice of her to return your money and include the picture.
Yes, for sure.
And I thankfully had reinforced the envelope so it arrived in perfect condition, despite what appeared to be a coffee stain on the front.
Here is another recent success. It is another photo that I took during my visit to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii a few years ago.
I took this photo from the bridge of the USS Missouri. In the foreground are the ship's big guns and in the background is the USS Arizona Memorial. I like to think of this as the Missouri standing guard over the Arizona.
It is signed by USS Arizona survivor Ken Potts, and Jerry Pedersen who was in the color guard that stood behind the table where the Japanese surrender was signed on the deck of the USS Missouri.
I wonder if the coffee stain was from a post office employee trying to use caffeine to power his/her way through being sick (inspired by the mint crew in the sick day letter thread) or perhaps Ms. Tereshkova herself, using your envelope as a coaster so she wouldn't leave a ring on her nice desk?
It is packed away somewhere that makes it too hard to find, but I remember being on a small connecting flight out of Bangor, Maine on my way to basic training for the Army. There was only one other passenger--then US senator George Mitchell. I asked for his autograph and he was shocked I recognized him, lol.
I was 18 and thought it might be nice to ask if he had a piece of advice after we talked and I told him what I was heading off to do. He said that in his experience, especially when you are starting out in something and/or don't know much about a job/career that one is often best served by taking care to listen a lot more than speaking, and when you do speak, think about what you are going to say for a few seconds before saying it.
I've found that advice useful going forward ever since. When I don't take it, I often wished I had.
That's a great story and great advice!
Congrats! That’s a great one. I would love to try getting her autograph. Has she ever signed for anyone else you know of or is this a historic first you ever know of for a ttm success?
She does sign, but it is very hit and miss, and takes a long time to reply when she does answer. Her response rate is somewhat low.
The 56th Fighter Group shot down more German aircraft than any other fighter group in the US 8th Air Force during WWII. It became known as Zemke's Wolf Pack. In an era when Hollywood had, "more stars than there are in the heavens", the 56th had more well known fighter aces than any other US group in WWII.
Here's a pilot's manual signed by "Gabby" Gabreski, Gerald Johnson, Walker "Bud" Mahurin and "Hub" Zemke, the Commander of the 56th. As you can see, various of the pilots went on to become aces in the Korean war also...
U.S. Type Set
I know some of you are against removing signatures from books, but when the book is not in great condition, the autograph is on a bookplate or the book is super common I prefer having just the autograph and not have the whole book taking up space on my shelf.
Yesterday, while away on vacation in Florida I stopped into a Goodwill Bookstore (in Massachsetts we only have regular Goodwill). They had tons of books and I looked through the biographies/memoirs in their respective section first with no luck of finding anything signed. I also looked through all their Stephen King hardcovers hoping maybe there was a signed one. No such luck. The guy running the store walked by and I asked if they have a section for signed books and sure enough they did. It was a section of about 30-50 books, a vast majority signed by individuals I never even heard of but I did find two books signed by First Ladies Barbara Bush and Betty Ford. Only $19 (with tax) total for the two books. I knew the books themselves were not in the greatest condition and since books take up so much space and these particular ones are nothing special I decided to remove the autographs from the books. I prefer the signatures this way. Of course if the books were special or rare I would had kept them (such as was the case with Barack Obama’s A Promised Land Deluxe Signed Edition).
Anyway, here they are:
Removing signatures from books, letters, checks, etc. is often controversial and will usually reduce the value.
In your specific scenario (common in signed copies, not in the best condition), though, it can open up other possibilities, such as putting in albums, framing, etc.
The U.S. Government Printing Office can sometimes be a good source of unusual books that are prime for autographing.
Back in the late 80s or early 90s the GPO still had a supply of a book from 1977 that contained the Congressional tributes to President Gerald R. Ford delivered when he left office.
I picked up a couple copies on clearance and sent one to him to be signed.
R70s Big Boss ita 2sh/spa 1sh by composer , ooak
Goschinny/Uderzo , creators of Asterix
RIP, Bob Dole.
Here is the detail from my last reply from Bob Dole, dated August 25, 2021.
On another collector site one member told of an in-person encounter with Sen. Dole at the WWII Vererans Memorial in Washington DC. He asked Sen. Dole to sign a poster and after Sen. Dole declined due to his hand issues the collector kept insisting and he got a rather indescipherable scrawl.
The collector uses that encounter to insist that Senator Dole has been secretarial TTM, at least in recent years.
Dole's signature has been fairly consistent over time and I suspect that in the peace and quiet of his office someone might have helped him wrap his hand around a pen before he signed his name on letters and other items.
I obtained the photo I posted above from a TTM back in April 1997.
Congratulations to pitcher Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva for being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by a veterans committee yesterday.
Here's a record I have from 1951, with Sophie Tucker singing "My Mother's Sabbath Candles". I'm guessing that this was a follow-up to her memorable "My Yiddish Momme" from over 20 years earlier. I found this record about 20 years ago, and lucky for me, on the left side of the cover here, you will see that Sophie autographed it herself.
That's a great one.
The name for me is tied to a check I bought - it was a payment to actor/singer Robert Clary for appearing at the El Rancho in Las Vegas in 1956.
In doing some research I found a passage from his book where he mentioned that he was at the El Rancho for several weeks in 1956 and on the bill with Sophie Tucker.
He told about their lunches in the restaurant there and how her food was sent in by friends. She would tell him how great it was but would never share it. It's funny how certain anecdotes stick in people's heads - first his and now mine!
The good news for autograph seekers is that she must've a willing signer because at times I've felt like I was up to my armpits in ST autos. I have two auto'ed records, her signed autobiography and a signed photo.
Sad to hear the news today that Anne Rice had passed away. 80 years young.
I met Anne Rice at San Diego Comic Con in 2013. It’s actually an interesting story. I went upstairs to get my badge for the next day and as I was heading there I saw Anne Rice had a very small line but in order to meet her you had to had won a special raffle that went on earlier in the day. However when I made a comment to the man watching her line he told me I could just go ahead and meet her even if I didn’t have a ticket. I thought that was very nice of him.
Anne Rice was a very pleasant lady. I didn’t have anything for her to sign except an index card so she signed that for me. I told her I admired her for writing Interview With the Vampire and that she was very talented. I was never expecting to meet her so I wasn’t really prepared at all with anything else to talk about so it stayed short. If I had wanted I could had spent as much time as I wanted chatting her up since no one was in line after me and she was going to stay there until the end of the hour. I remember she was a very nice and well dressed lady.
RIP, Anne Rice. A TTM bookplate I got years ago.
I regularly shop the clearance sections of stores that sell paper or stationery products. I pick up things I know I'll need soon (or now) but also things I might have a use for at some point in the future.
One of my pickups a year or so ago was some 5x8 bordered cards that might have been originally intended to be used as certificates or awards.
This year the inspiration finally hit me. I decided to use them to print out partial lyrics from songs. They would be lyrics that stand on their own as poetry, thought-proviking insights, etc.
Here are two that I have gotten so far.
Some lyrics from "Fairy Tale" by Sara Bareilles.
Most of the lyrics from "California Dreaming" by the Mamas and the Pappas. They stand on their own as a sort of poem.
There is a funny story about the M&P lyrics (for this song as well as another I got signed). They predate the Internet by many years, so lyrics that I found online had some discrepancies from site to site since people had to try to transcribe them from listening to the songs. For the lyrics in question I tried to listen to the songs myself and I still couldn't be sure of a few words. So, prior to printing off the cards, I wrote to Michelle Phillips herself with the discrepancies and she gave me the correct wording.
I haven't re-hung all of my pictures and artwork since a move (longer ago than I care to admit), and I literally tripped over this today so I figured I'd snap a couple photos.
It is a photo of the Reagan Presidential Library that was supposedly Ronald Reagan's favorite. There was a signed edition issued, and when that sold out they started a second edition, which as I recall they did not finish out before he stopped signing.
I got literally the last one that the library had available back around the late 1990s.
I remember when I first started collecting that they had sold these but they were all long sold out by the time I found out about them. I remember thinking they were very reasonably priced at the time but can’t remember what they originally cost. I also know that Ronald Reagan signed his book free ttm if you sent it to him but that stopped in the late 1990s when his Alzheimer's got worse. However, I did get Nancy Reagan’s autograph ttm with sending her book. Unfortunately that went with pretty much everything else when I did my big sell off.
Thinking back on my former collection I had Ronald Reagan’s autograph on a nice 8x10 photo of him speaking at a podium that I purchased. Personalized and at the time quite expensive ($620) considering that I have seen non-personalized 8x10s go for the $300-$400 recently. However, I did buy it somewhat shortly (purchased in Fall 2005) after he passed away so I am thinking that’s why.
I think (not 100% sure) the library photos were $150 originally, pr maybe as much as $250, but I think the final supply was sold at $450.
I got one of those free signatures in a book I sent (on a calligraphy inscribed bookplate).
When he was still signing you could also buy a couple different of his books from the library, signed on bookplate, for $75 each. I recall thinking that was pretty pricey at the time, but I did buy one of each. I now wish I had bought ten of each.