1997 Archive
12/27/97--Mystery solved? In 1994 Alan Shepard's office began to fill some autograph requests with highly deceptive secretarial signatures. The signatures resemble Shepard's own autograph so closely that I was initially fooled by some of them, and since have seen some for sale as legitimate autographs in dealers' catalogs. Today I gained access to a letter written by Sylvia Hundley, Shepard's executive assistant. I have scanned her signature side-by-side with secretarial sigantures sent in 1994. What do you think? You can also view an authentic Shepard signature for comparison here.
12/19/97--I have added the autopen patterns of Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon to my Autopen Library. Please let me know if these are useful to you or if you have other patterns to add. I haven't received any autographs through the mail for a while, but I've purchased a number of interesting items, including a card signed by Cole Porter, a card signed by Mercury astronauts Slayton, Carpenter, and Schirra, and a check signed by Carrie Fisher.
11/30/97--The National Archives is one of the greatest resources available to the astute autograph collector who wishes to acquire photographs. There is a new site with a search engine available on the Internet for the purpose of searching the archives for particular images. The process of finding the right photograph is cryptic and tedious but the results are often amazing. The archives are an excellent source of historical photographs.
11/14/97--For years serious collectors of space autographs have known that the autograph of David Scott is the key to a moonwalker collection. (Not Neil Armstrong's!) Over the past five years I have seen fewer than ten Scott items for sale in the many dealers' catalogs I receive--the going rate is usually about $200 per photograph. For those who are trying to complete their collections there is good news. Scott has signed an assortment of photographs and other space-related items for a company called the Space Source. Furthermore, the SpaceSource (formerly AVD Services) has lowered prices of its David Scott items in stock to only $99 each. I obtained one of these photographs recently and it is superb. Contact the SpaceSource at (301) 871-6367 or write them at Box 604, Glenn Dale, MD 20769 for more information.
11/7/97--I just completed a trip to Holland and Germany two weeks ago and thus haven't been able to keep up with updating the page and with my e-mail. If I did not reply to a letter you sent during this time period please contact me.
I previously mentioned that a company known as Circa was selling books signed on the bookplate by James Lovell. Now the same company is selling "Sources of Strength" signed on a bookplate by Jimmy Carter for only $22 each. Contact Circa through e-mail at circa@rivertrade.com for more information. (The company also sells other autographs, but at inappropriately-high prices.)
Some autographs I've purchased recently include a superb photograph of President Kennedy and Alan Shepard, signed by Shepard, as well as the signature card of Jimmy Stewart that opened his checking account, and a check signed by George Caron, who was the tailgunner of the Enola Gay.
I'm currently trying to find members of the 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition. If anyone has any information regarding them please contact me.
Also, an interesting event happened recently. Six firsts ladies and four presidents met for the opening of the George Bush Presidential Library. They posed for photographs as well. Only time will tell if they will be kind enough to sign these photos.
10/10/97--Autograph Collector Magazine has an article this month written by John Reznikoff of University Archives reporting "new" autopen patterns of several astronauts and presidents. Don't believe it all! Several of these patterns have been on my web site for months!
Speaking of autopens, UACC members recently received a mass-mailing of an auction catalog presented by "Early American History Auctions, Inc." If you have this catalog, take a look at page 48, item 218 (or click here to view.) It is a TLS of Ronald Reagan to a congressman as president, with an auction estimate of $1800-2000. Now, take a look at my autopen page (in the top right corner.) This only serves to show that even good dealers make mistakes sometimes and one should always be vigilant in sorting authentic autographs from fake ones.
10/9/97--My friend Kevin Santry has finished a superb web page entitled "Collecting Cosmonaut Autographs." It is the definitive work on the subject and is illustrated by exceptional specimens from his collection.
I've been able to obtain several nice items for my collection recently. Charles Schulz signed a book for me two weeks ago. I also wrote to Charles Sweeney and he sent a nice ANS in return. This compliments a signed book of Sweeney's that Kevin Santry obtained at a Masachusetts booksigning for me earlier in the month. Recent autographs I've purchased include a check from Donald Slayton, and a photograph of Buzz Aldrin.
Be sure to look at page 27 in the Pen and Quill this month for a review of my web site! It certainly has inspired me to work harder on the page to improve it.
9/25/97--I previously reported that Ronald Reagan is still signing autographs for collectors from his office in Los Angeles. Today I personally received an autograph from the former president. I have studied Reagan's handwriting extensively through every decade of his public life and I can vouch for its authenticity. I thank President Reagan and am glad that he still provides autographs for his admirers. (Note: please do not e-mail me regarding how this autograph was obtained. I will not provide further details because I am certain it will flood his office with similar requests.) Other recent autographs I've added to my collection include those of astronauts Jim McDivitt and Gordon Cooper.
AVD Services recently changed the pricing plan for obtaining autographs of the astronauts under their contract. I will provide updated information soon on my "Astronauts who Charge" page.
Good luck to everyone participating in the Waverly UACC auction in October!
9/8/97--Edward Hamilton Books just came online! For those of you not familiar with this company, it is a wonderful bookstore for autograph collectors because it sells overstocked books at deep discounts. This is perfect for collectors of signed books because it costs very little (sometimes as low as $3) to purchase books to send to their authors.
I also have some good news to report. I've finally purchased a Louis Armstrong photograph! I've been in the market for a signed photograph for almost five years, and have been searching in earnest for the past year. Armstrong photographs come on the market frequently, but I've been looking for that "special" image. I was notified this weekend by Walter Burks that I won the photograph that I wanted in his auction. I'll post the photograph on the web page when I receive it.
9/5/97--I was very sad to hear today of the death of Mother Teresa. As previously reported in this "notebook" I received a personal letter from her only three weeks ago. In my letter I told her that I was a physician who admired her work and that I would like to have her autograph. Here is her reply, in its entirety:
Dear Dr. Stephen Beck:
This brings you my prayers for God's blessings on you and on your family--especially on your works. Yours is a beautiful vocation, a call to bring God's healing love to the suffering. and, you will be truly successful in it to the extent you allow Jesus to live in you and let His Life--his love and compassion flow through you to those entrusted to your care. More important than autograph (sic) is what we do for Jesus and through Him for others. Never let anything or anyone spoil the sacredness of your work.
(signed) M Teresa MC
Needless to say this item is now one of my favorite items in my collection. I am choked with emotion to read these words now. I was going to write her a thank-you letter this weekend, but now I regret that it is too late.
While on the subject, in the past few years I have had other instances in which a celebrity has died soon after I received an autograph. One such celebrity was Dizzy Gillespie, who signed a card for me and died of pancreatic cancer several weeks later. If you have ever known anyone with that particular disease you understand that it is one of the most painful situations conceivable; it means more to me then that he still found the time to respond to a fan.
The only time I have ever written to someone who died the day I wrote the letter was when I wrote to Jim Garrison, the New Orleans attorney who was the subject of Oliver Stone's movie "JFK." I learned that he died soon after I dropped the letter in the mailbox. About a month later I received a very nice letter from his daughter in response, returning my first day cover.
8/26/97--I was browsing through the autographs being auctioned on the E-bay site this morning. It's simply amazing that there are so many fakes being auctioned as legitimate autographs.
For instance, there is a Patrick Stewart photograph that has a scribbled signature that doesn't even closely resemble the way Stewart writes. I have a feeling that whoever forged that autograph never saw a real Stewart signature.
Also, there is a bicentennial document "signed" by Gerald Ford that has a current bid around $60. The signature is an autopen--it is illustrated on page 16 of the UACC's Study of Machine-Signed Signatures. I wrote to the seller to inform him of this, just to see what happened. I received the following reply:
"The scan on the net does not look like the autograph 100%. It does not show the bumpy weaved beige paper making it hard to use a machine to sign the document. Also did the autopens use felt tip pens? If you found an exact signature in the book chances are the autopen was working over time that day. Thanks for your input."
I think that the E-bay auctions are very dangerous to the new collector who has no experience authenticating autographs, and should be avoided. Caveat emptor!
8/12/97--Yesterday I received two superb autographs. The first was a inscribed, signed photograph of John Young, and the second was a superb typed letter signed by Mother Teresa. I was a little disappointed with the response from John Young because at the same time he refused to sign a photograph that five other moonwalkers have already signed. This comes as no great surprise to me, however. I heard in the past that he refused to sign a photograph signed by all moonwalkers except him, because it would add too much commercial value to the piece if he signed too.
8/10/97--Autograph Collector Magazine has an interesting article this month on best signers through the mail. You can see the article on their web site. I find their choices interesting, but wonder why several celebrities including Gerald Ford were not on their list.
8/7/97--Ron Weber of Space Images sent me some graphic files illustrating some of the photographs obtainable through his company last week. I thought they were so useful that I put them on their own page on my web site. Please note that I'm not connected with Space Images in any way; I have simply included the scans as a convenience to collectors of space autographs. The company provides superb images at a resonable price.
This week I made a few purchases, adding to my growing collection of personal checks. I bought, through several sources, reasonably-priced checks of Buzz Aldrin, Andy Griffith, and Gregory Peck. So far my collection includes checks of Jimmy Carter, Jacob Beser, Jimmy Stewart, Charlton Heston, Vincent Price, Jack Webb, and even one of James Fenimore Cooper. I am fascinated with this branch of autograph collecting and would like to hear from others who also collect them.
I am currently looking to purchase a superb photograph of Louis Armstrong. Imagine my frustration when I was browsing through the autograph-related books at the public library last weekend. I was scanning a book written in the early 1980's when I ran across an illustrated sp of Armstrong with the caption to the effect of "Signed photographs of Louis Armstrong are quite common but are often sold in the $12.50 range, reflecting their popularity." I would like to find one in the $150 range! The author of the book also commented on other aspects of collecting, lamenting how difficult it was to acquire Herbert Hoover autographs through the mail before he died--he wouldn't send photos and sometimes it took more than four requests!
If anyone has questionable autopens of astronauts or presidents please send me a scan, in .gif or .jpg format. I want to put them in a special section of my autopen guide to allow collectors across the world to compare them to their own questionable material. Hopefully we can use the Internet to our advantage to defeat the curse that the autopen has placed on us since its inception over 50 years ago.
7/16/97--I found out today that astronaut Thomas Stafford is charging for his autograph, and that Buzz Aldrin is charging $100 again. Both are supplying their autographs through AVD Services. Stafford is charging $40; a little steep but his signature is required for an Apollo collection. I will include this new information on my "Astronauts who Charge" page.
I also have confirmation that James Lovell will no longer honor autograph requests through the mail, even for a fee.
I also updated the address for Space Images today. I contacted Ron Weber, who is a very nice guy and who runs Space Images. He is still in business, making superb photographs related to American space missions, and he gave me his new address as well as his permission to use his e-mail address on my site.
Today I also started a new "autograph gallery" consisting of images of autographs in my personal collection. They are selected completely at random and I hope will provide illustrations of the various fields of collecting within the hobby. There are still a few "glitches" with the page but I hope to have them corrected before this weekend.
7/12/97--I received a book over the weekend signed by Edgar Mitchell. I sent a copy of "The Way of the Explorer" to him and he returned it signed in ballpoint pen. I got the idea because I thought he might sign the book for free for those who could not attend his booksignings. (Mitchell went on a booksigning tour--if you want to see some information on one signing go to this page.) I bought a copy of the book from Amazon Books at a slight discount.
I have heard a rumor that Mitchell is signing photographs for $20 but cannot confirm that this is true. If anyone who reads this can confirm it, please contact me by e-mail
I also bought some great items recently, including some checks signed by Charlton Heston and Vincent Price, and an ALS by Ira Gershwin.
7/8/97--I have included a few more links today, and have added some new information on how to purchase engravings, political memorabilia, and other items. This information was provided to me by my friend Kevin Santry.
I want to thank everyone who has written me about the web site so far. I have been flooded with e-mail since starting the page. Many of you who have written have provided excellent information and tips to improve my site. I try to answer everyone, but it may take some time since I usually have a very busy schedule.
I am amazed that this site has had over 600 visitors in only two weeks!
7/6/97--You can acquire inexpensive copies of James Lovell's book "Lost Moon" from a company known as Circa. The book was the basis for the movie "Apollo 13" with Tom Hanks. These particular copies are signed on a bookplate by Lovell, and are only $22.95 plus shipping. Call 1-800-945-7777 or e-mail circa@rivertrade.com for more information from this company.
7/3/97--Bettie Page fans can purchase superb signed photographs of her for $24 each through the Playboy web site: http://www.playboy.com. This is significant because dealers often sell autographs of this pin-up legend in the $100-200 range.
I have received word that Ronald Reagan autographs are still available through his office. I will not provide details about how to obtain them, since I do not want to flood his office with similar requests. However, let it suffice to say that Reagan autographs are stil obtainable with the right request.
Most of you know by now that the legendary actor Jimmy Stewart has died. One anecdote I would like to share is one I heard from a fellow collector that summarizes his generous nature. Many of you are familiar that Stewart would readily make “Harvey” sketches for his fans. One collector wanted to give these sketches to his friends one Christmas, so he asked Stewart for ten of them, and sent along a check for $100 for his trouble. Stewart replied with all ten drawings and returned the check uncashed. We will miss Jimmy Stewart.
