Currently, the publicly announced baseball writers' votes are giving some hope that Todd Helton will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023, the results will be announced on January 24. I got this autograph from him back in 2001 at a time when he was willing to autograph in exchange for a fee made out to one of his charities. Unfortunately, this card I got in the mail from him has a bit of smearing on the signature.
Two recently-deceased baseball players: Oakland A's 3rd baseman Sal Bando, one of the many key players to the A's early 1970's success. Also, Frank J. Thomas, slugger with several clubs like the Mets and the Pirates - he signed a Heroes card for me for a fee back in 1995, and then signed my index card, noting that he was the original Frank Thomas, as opposed to the later HOF'er, the "Big Hurt" Frank Thomas.
I was poking through some stuff and I rediscovered this flyer from the 2016 primary campaign. I knew that Gloria Steinem was a Hillary supporter so at some point after the campaign I wrote to ask if she would sign this (at that time she was still signing TTM but you had to ask first). They said yes so I sent it.
Gloria Steinem not only signed the campaign flyer but she also included a signed 8x10.
Here is a super rare variation of a fairly common autograph.
Billionaire J. Paul Getty is now most common in signed checks and I have several. When I saw this one on ebay a few years ago I was prepared to go higher than my winning bid, which was about what a normal check was selling for at the time.
On this special trust account, his full name was listed as trustee, so that's how he signed it. I have looked everywhere but I can't find another full signature like this one. I believe that he virtually never signed anything as Jean Paul Getty. I have no idea on value, but it is excessively rare so I am happy to have it.
@JBK said:
Here is a super rare variation of a fairly common autograph.
Billionaire J. Paul Getty is now most common in signed checks and I have several. When I saw this one on ebay a few years ago I was prepared to go higher than my winning bid, which was about what a normal check was selling for at the time.
On this special trust account, his full name was listed as trustee, so that's how he signed it. I have looked everywhere but I can't find another full signature like this one. I believe that he virtually never signed anything as Jean Paul Getty. I have no idea on value, but it is excessively rare so I am happy to have it.
Definitely rare indeed. I have never seen his full signature like this before so thanks for posting it.
Few here might know that I collect all thing of, Golden Age Hollywood Actress, Carole Landis. I recently purchased this 4x5 autograph, mainly because the photo is unseen, and seeing as it was sent to a WW2 serviceman, it makes it all more special.
Her commitment to the USO/WW2 is iconic in itself, even if it's forgotten to the mainstream public.
Some of the stories can be found here, even touring with Jack Benny.
@JBK said:
You don't have to divulge the price, of course, but did you get a deal?
That's a great photo. I associate those white numbers in the corner with movie stills created by the studio.
Compared to what the asking price was, yes, I got a big discount. Little did I know it was a 4x5 and not a 5x7, as I had expected. The envelope is her usual 5x7 size. So because of that, I think I overpaid, but considering it's a rare/unseen image of her and it's tied to one of the many positive things about her history, WW2/USO, along with a private from WW2, I can't complain.
I haven't added many new things of her, in my collection, in about 5 months.
@bronzemat said:
I think I overpaid, but considering it's a rare/unseen image of her and it's tied to one of the many positive things about her history, WW2/USO, along with a private from WW2, I can't complain.
I haven't added many new things of her, in my collection, in about 5 months.
Due to its extreme rarity it’s very possible you didn’t overpay at all and may have even gotten a steal in a sense. If something is basically non-existent/super rare, the sky is the limit. All it takes is another big fan to want that particular photo.
I was digging through a stack of old mail looking for something and I rediscovered this signed quote from composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim that I got about three years ago, a couple years before he passed away.
A few years ago I had noticed a dealer selling off a group of Sondheim letters on eBay and they were bringing real money, so I decided I needed to try to get him for my collection.
I sent him two quotes, one of which turned out to be by someone else. So, he signed his quote and added a brief letter explaining whose the other one was.
Sondheim had largely stopped signing TTM by then, but I guess my request was different enough that it caught his fancy.
@JBK said:
I was digging through a stack of old mail looking for something and I rediscovered this signed quote from composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim that I got about three years ago, a couple years before he passed away.
A few years ago I had noticed a dealer selling off a group of Sondheim letters on eBay and they were bringing real money, so I decided I needed to try to get him for my collection.
I sent him two quotes, one of which turned out to be by someone else. So, he signed his quote and added a brief letter explaining whose the other one was.
Sondheim had largely stopped signing TTM by then, but I guess my request was different enough that it caught his fancy.
I love this quote for its practical insight.
Very cool quote. I really like Sondheim too. Wish I thought to write him before he passed. I didn’t realize how great his contribution to American culture was until recently when rediscovering how awesome West Side Story (1961) was after seeing the new version in 2021 and rewatching the original. He was quite before his time and it was really neat seeing how he also contributed to the 2021 West Side Story.
Envious of you getting a LETTER in addition to that awesome quote he signed. I am curious though, who was the other quote from?
@JBK said:
I was digging through a stack of old mail looking for something and I rediscovered this signed quote from composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim that I got about three years ago, a couple years before he passed away.
A few years ago I had noticed a dealer selling off a group of Sondheim letters on eBay and they were bringing real money, so I decided I needed to try to get him for my collection.
I sent him two quotes, one of which turned out to be by someone else. So, he signed his quote and added a brief letter explaining whose the other one was.
Sondheim had largely stopped signing TTM by then, but I guess my request was different enough that it caught his fancy.
It was someone he worked with occassionally - James Lapine. Not a household name but a big contributor on Broadway.
They had written a book together and the quote had been attributed to Sondheim by various online resources. I found an address for Lapine just now and will send out the quote next week.
@JBK said:
It was someone he worked with occassionally - James Lapine. Not a household name but a big contributor on Broadway.
They had written a book together and the quote had been attributed to Sondheim by various online resources. I found an address for Lapine just now and will send out the quote next week.
I was digging through some albums I had not visited in some years and found these.
This is a check signed by Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin. I bought this 15 or so years ago. I barely understood the true significance back then but thankfully I picked up one of the many on ebay at the time. He seems to be harder to get than Sir Elton himself.
Here are a couple photos from composer and conductor John Williams.
Here is a photo taken on Tinian Island that shows Paul Tibbets, who flew the Hiroshima atomic bomb mission, and Charles Sweeney, who flew the Nagasaki mission.
Bill Cosby on what later became known as the "Pound Cake Speech" because of a reference it contained; this was a controversial speech because it was critical of some aspects of black culture:
Bart Simpson by Matt Groening (my name edited out). These were gettable back in the very early days of "The Simpsons".
Here is a "family portrait" of Dilbert and Dogbert by Scott Adams. It was obtainable in that era, but he has not even signed TTM for some years. Back then acid-free paper was tough to come by so I sent the only piece I could find, which was a heavily textured paper, hence the comment in the sketch.
Bart Simpson by Matt Groening (my name edited out). These were gettable back in the very early days of "The Simpsons".
I met Matt Groening when I went to San Diego Comic Con in 2012. He signed a Simpsons comic book for me and drew a sketch of Homer on it. I no longer own this as it went when I did my big “sell off.” It was one of the last few items I sold though.
I came a across these recently so I thought I'd post them as a tribute to Larry Storch. They were both obtained TTM. (I have edited out my name).
Here is a basic Agarn photo.
Here is a special one I asked him to do for me. It's a photo of Cary Grant that Larry has signed with the famous "Judy, Judy, Judy" line. Grant never actually spoke that line - it was invented by Larry as an impersonation of Cary Grant.
@bronzemat said:
Looks good to the ones that I just compared to with reputable dealers.
Thank you so much, yup it doesn't look like you can fake it that easy, he has a nice signature, I was asking because I want to buy it and I was thinking the same that it is legit but I was not sure...
The new autographs are yet, another Carole Landis, which makes 12 total that I have, and an actual real, Linda Darnell. Hers are tough to acquire from her, since her secretaries matched her signature pretty well.
These were originally in a lot from RR Auctions. I didn't bid on the auctions, but the winner ended up keeping a few and sold the rest.
I bought the Landis because it goes along with a unsigned photo I already have. I know I over paid, but I felt the need to have it. And Darnell was just a bonus buy.
Another Carole Landis Collector has another signed photo, from this same set of photos. We don't know the history of the photos, if it's official, family photos, or what.
Here is my collector friends photo. She's the leading authority of Carole Landis. She's even credited in the two biographies on Landis, that have been published. Her collection is very extensive, even owns her wedding dress and much more.
Those are very neat. Cool you found similar signed photos from the same group. That feeling can be very satisfying when you learn and find other examples of a certain photo/signature. Hopefully you can learn more about this set of photos and the story about their origin.
My latest purchase was this old ttm signed photo of actor Tim Robbins. I bought this because the Shawshank Redemption is one of my top 3 favorite movies (it’s #2). I now have the autographs of each main actor in my top 3 favorite movies. Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List #1), Tim Robbins (Shawshank Redemption #2) and Gregory Peck (To Kill A Mockingbird #3).
Comments
That makes me feel old. Back in the day, as senator, John Glenn was easy to get. He insisted on personalizing by then, but he was generous TTM.
I don't really if I ever got a book signed, but I got my share of photos and business cards.
Bobby Shantz on index card, obtained TTM in 1991.
Currently, the publicly announced baseball writers' votes are giving some hope that Todd Helton will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023, the results will be announced on January 24. I got this autograph from him back in 2001 at a time when he was willing to autograph in exchange for a fee made out to one of his charities. Unfortunately, this card I got in the mail from him has a bit of smearing on the signature.
Two recently-deceased baseball players: Oakland A's 3rd baseman Sal Bando, one of the many key players to the A's early 1970's success. Also, Frank J. Thomas, slugger with several clubs like the Mets and the Pirates - he signed a Heroes card for me for a fee back in 1995, and then signed my index card, noting that he was the original Frank Thomas, as opposed to the later HOF'er, the "Big Hurt" Frank Thomas.
The older FT sounds like a real character. I like how he told people that he was the original FT.
I was poking through some stuff and I rediscovered this flyer from the 2016 primary campaign. I knew that Gloria Steinem was a Hillary supporter so at some point after the campaign I wrote to ask if she would sign this (at that time she was still signing TTM but you had to ask first). They said yes so I sent it.
Gloria Steinem not only signed the campaign flyer but she also included a signed 8x10.
Here is a super rare variation of a fairly common autograph.
Billionaire J. Paul Getty is now most common in signed checks and I have several. When I saw this one on ebay a few years ago I was prepared to go higher than my winning bid, which was about what a normal check was selling for at the time.
On this special trust account, his full name was listed as trustee, so that's how he signed it. I have looked everywhere but I can't find another full signature like this one. I believe that he virtually never signed anything as Jean Paul Getty. I have no idea on value, but it is excessively rare so I am happy to have it.
Definitely rare indeed. I have never seen his full signature like this before so thanks for posting it.
Few here might know that I collect all thing of, Golden Age Hollywood Actress, Carole Landis. I recently purchased this 4x5 autograph, mainly because the photo is unseen, and seeing as it was sent to a WW2 serviceman, it makes it all more special.
Her commitment to the USO/WW2 is iconic in itself, even if it's forgotten to the mainstream public.
Some of the stories can be found here, even touring with Jack Benny.
http://www.carolelandis.net/2017/07/carole-during-world-war-2.html
http://www.carolelandis.net/2017/05/rare-photos-from-caroles-1944-uso-tour.html
Any vintage ww2 photo with her in it, of any kind, goes for $40 or more!!
Some in the hundreds.
Very cool photo. Love seeing rare gems like this.
You don't have to divulge the price, of course, but did you get a deal?
That's a great photo. I associate those white numbers in the corner with movie stills created by the studio.
Compared to what the asking price was, yes, I got a big discount. Little did I know it was a 4x5 and not a 5x7, as I had expected. The envelope is her usual 5x7 size. So because of that, I think I overpaid, but considering it's a rare/unseen image of her and it's tied to one of the many positive things about her history, WW2/USO, along with a private from WW2, I can't complain.
I haven't added many new things of her, in my collection, in about 5 months.
And the condition is great...
Due to its extreme rarity it’s very possible you didn’t overpay at all and may have even gotten a steal in a sense. If something is basically non-existent/super rare, the sky is the limit. All it takes is another big fan to want that particular photo.
I was digging through a stack of old mail looking for something and I rediscovered this signed quote from composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim that I got about three years ago, a couple years before he passed away.
A few years ago I had noticed a dealer selling off a group of Sondheim letters on eBay and they were bringing real money, so I decided I needed to try to get him for my collection.
I sent him two quotes, one of which turned out to be by someone else. So, he signed his quote and added a brief letter explaining whose the other one was.
Sondheim had largely stopped signing TTM by then, but I guess my request was different enough that it caught his fancy.
I love this quote for its practical insight.
Very cool quote. I really like Sondheim too. Wish I thought to write him before he passed. I didn’t realize how great his contribution to American culture was until recently when rediscovering how awesome West Side Story (1961) was after seeing the new version in 2021 and rewatching the original. He was quite before his time and it was really neat seeing how he also contributed to the 2021 West Side Story.
Envious of you getting a LETTER in addition to that awesome quote he signed. I am curious though, who was the other quote from?
Nice score!
It was someone he worked with occassionally - James Lapine. Not a household name but a big contributor on Broadway.
They had written a book together and the quote had been attributed to Sondheim by various online resources. I found an address for Lapine just now and will send out the quote next week.
Good luck! I hope it comes back signed. 🤞
Came across this today, from the early 2000s. Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal.
I received my 8x11 (yes, 11!) photo signed by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler in return for my donations to Janie's Angels, a charity that he founded.
That's cool, congrats.
That’s awesome! Congrats!
I was digging through some albums I had not visited in some years and found these.
This is a check signed by Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin. I bought this 15 or so years ago. I barely understood the true significance back then but thankfully I picked up one of the many on ebay at the time. He seems to be harder to get than Sir Elton himself.
Here are a couple photos from composer and conductor John Williams.
Here is a photo taken on Tinian Island that shows Paul Tibbets, who flew the Hiroshima atomic bomb mission, and Charles Sweeney, who flew the Nagasaki mission.
Here's Margaret Thatcher. I love this photo because it shows her, with Ronald Reagan below and Abraham Lincoln above.
Here are a couple autographed speeches.
Geraldine Ferraro on her VP nomination speech:
Bill Cosby on what later became known as the "Pound Cake Speech" because of a reference it contained; this was a controversial speech because it was critical of some aspects of black culture:
Some very nice pieces there. You could start a museum.
Here are a couple sketches.
Bart Simpson by Matt Groening (my name edited out). These were gettable back in the very early days of "The Simpsons".
Here is a "family portrait" of Dilbert and Dogbert by Scott Adams. It was obtainable in that era, but he has not even signed TTM for some years. Back then acid-free paper was tough to come by so I sent the only piece I could find, which was a heavily textured paper, hence the comment in the sketch.
I met Matt Groening when I went to San Diego Comic Con in 2012. He signed a Simpsons comic book for me and drew a sketch of Homer on it. I no longer own this as it went when I did my big “sell off.” It was one of the last few items I sold though.
Made a mistake, I met him in 2013, not 2012. I don’t want to edit the above post for fear the forum bug will eat it.
That was a great item!
Made for a client
Commissions
Check out my Facebook page
While I’m mostly a card guy, I enjoy scrolling through the Autograph section and this thread every so often and it NEVER disappoints.
Here’s a fun one:
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
I came a across these recently so I thought I'd post them as a tribute to Larry Storch. They were both obtained TTM. (I have edited out my name).
Here is a basic Agarn photo.
Here is a special one I asked him to do for me. It's a photo of Cary Grant that Larry has signed with the famous "Judy, Judy, Judy" line. Grant never actually spoke that line - it was invented by Larry as an impersonation of Cary Grant.
Todays MonsterMania graphs
Commissions
Check out my Facebook page
Nice, congrats.
Hello hello guys, I need a little help please, what do you think,
looks legit this autograph by Geoffrey Rush?
Looks good to the ones that I just compared to with reputable dealers.
Thank you so much, yup it doesn't look like you can fake it that easy, he has a nice signature, I was asking because I want to buy it and I was thinking the same that it is legit but I was not sure...
I've been working on this one for a little while now.
Hello hello guys, what do you think about this autograph by Tom Hardy, looks legit?
A few recent purchases
Theodore Roosevelt signed letter from 1915
Gregory Peck signed 8x10 photo
George Carlin signed 8x10 photo (personalized)
Those are great additions. I am surprised you bought some entertainers.
And damn, I miss, George Carlin.
Yes, you are right that I don’t generally buy entertainers but these two were some of my favorites so I made exceptions for them.
Been awhile since this thread had any love.
I finally got some new autographs.
The new autographs are yet, another Carole Landis, which makes 12 total that I have, and an actual real, Linda Darnell. Hers are tough to acquire from her, since her secretaries matched her signature pretty well.
These were originally in a lot from RR Auctions. I didn't bid on the auctions, but the winner ended up keeping a few and sold the rest.
I bought the Landis because it goes along with a unsigned photo I already have. I know I over paid, but I felt the need to have it. And Darnell was just a bonus buy.
Another Carole Landis Collector has another signed photo, from this same set of photos. We don't know the history of the photos, if it's official, family photos, or what.
Here is my collector friends photo. She's the leading authority of Carole Landis. She's even credited in the two biographies on Landis, that have been published. Her collection is very extensive, even owns her wedding dress and much more.
Those are very neat. Cool you found similar signed photos from the same group. That feeling can be very satisfying when you learn and find other examples of a certain photo/signature. Hopefully you can learn more about this set of photos and the story about their origin.
My latest purchase was this old ttm signed photo of actor Tim Robbins. I bought this because the Shawshank Redemption is one of my top 3 favorite movies (it’s #2). I now have the autographs of each main actor in my top 3 favorite movies. Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List #1), Tim Robbins (Shawshank Redemption #2) and Gregory Peck (To Kill A Mockingbird #3).
Nice set. Are you going to get Freeman?