Billco's Autograph Collecting

Signed Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

2010-12-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

A vintage clothbound copy of "The Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum, up for auction at Profiles in History, was signed by all the stars of the film's cast -- including Toto.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/12/and-toto-too-wizard-of-oz-book-auction-star-autographs.html

My Beatles Related Squidoo Lenses

2010-05-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

Check out my Beatles Squidoo lenses. I have links to relevant autograph information.

Who Was Eleanor Rigby

Sir Paul McCartney

Beatles Gifts

Beatles Autographs

Autographed Baseballs -3

2010-05-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

Signed Baseballs - In Person Autographs

#1 Jeremy Sowers

#2 Maurey Willis

#3 Tony Pena Jr.

#4 Paul Konerko (upside down)

#5 Delmon Young

#6 Victor Martinez

#7 Scott Kazmir

#8 Juan Pierre

#9 Luis Gonzalez

#10 Felix Pie

#11 Brian Anderson

#12 Jeff Brantley

#13 Ronny Cenedo

#14 Travis Hafner

#15 Anthony Reyes

#16 Chin Lu Hu

#17 Clayton Kershaw

#18 Jordan Danks

#19 Justin Smoak

#20 Frank Thomas

#21 Jeff Blauser

#22 Jeremy Hermida

#23 Ryan Garko

#24 Edwin Encarnation

#25 Daric Barton (Upside Down)

Autographed Balls - 2

2010-04-30T18:37:00.001-07:00

Signed Baseballs - In Person Autographs

#1 Joel Zumaya

#2 Mark Reynolds

#3 Alex Gordon

#4 Mike Cameron

#5 J.P Acenbia

#6 Chris Volstad

#7 Bob Ueker

#8 Howie Kendrick

#9 Jeff Francouer

#10 Cesar Carillo

Autographed Balls 1

2010-04-30T17:53:00.001-07:00

Signed Baseballs - In Person Autographs

#1 Andruw McClutchen

#2 Jacoby Ellsbury

#3 Matt Kemp

#4 Terry Pendelton

#5 Frank Thomas

Signed Baseballs

2010-02-18T10:23:00.000-08:00

Back in the 1970s, a TV jingle proclaimed "baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet". These symbols, along with motherhood and the United States flag, were about as American as you could get. Read more at Signed Baseballs.

Possible Last Autograph of John F. Kennedy

2009-11-19T18:41:00.000-08:00

What was possibly the last autograph signed by President John F. Kennedy sold recently at an auction with other items linked to his assassination.

He signed the front page of the Dallas Morning News on November 22, 1963 for a maid named Jan White. He had just entered the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce to give a breakfast speech. Later that day he was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald.

The date of Kennedy's assassination was on the paper near his signature.

The winning bid of $39,000 was placed by Joe Maddalena, president and owner of Profiles in History in Calabassas, California.

Autograph Hounds: A Look Back to 1988

2009-11-10T14:05:00.000-08:00

Autograph Hounds Rate the Rich, Famous and Approachable

THE NEW MEXICAN Santa Fe. N.M.,
Friday, November 18. 1988

By SUZANNE BOYNTON

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Clint Eastwood
and Sylvester Stallone are surprisingly
approachable.

Barbara Stanwyck is reported to have
walked off a set recently, but her fans find
her friendly and accommodating.
Nobody has an unkind word about
Robert Wagner or Jimmy Stewart.
Jerry Lewis is great with "his kids," but
fans seeking autographs are more likely
to get verbal abuse.

These are the findings of the readers of
Autograph Collectors' Magazine, founded
by Joe Kraus of Stockton a couple of
years ago when the newspaper he had
been editing folded. He says the magazine
has a circulation of 10,000 worldwide
and believes there are at least that
many more active collectors.
"All autograph collectors have complained
about how bad celebrities treat
them," said Kraus.

Last year, he invited readers to send in
their votes for the 10-best and 10-worst
stars from the autograph hound's point of
view.

"Madonna and Sean Penn almost made
it as a husband-and-wife team last year,
but Madonna lost out to somebody else
by a point or two. She may make this
year's list, though," he said.
The voting isn't yet complete for this
year's lists, which will be published in the
next edition'.

Kraus said a pattern has emerged: the
biggest, oldest stars treat fans be,st, while
the neophytes are worst.
"Clint Eastwood you'd think would be
hard to approach. He's not. He's great.
Sylvester Stallone — no problem. Molly
Ringwald is the worst thing that ever
came along for autograph collectors."
Paul Newman says he quit signing
autographs when a hound followed him
into a public restroom stall, said Kraus.
"He hasn't signed a single autograph in
public since that we know of," Kraus said.
Kraus doesn't condone this level of
persistence, and says he would not do
anything illegal.

"All you're trying to do is get a
signature," he said, with less intensity
than many collectors apparently feel. But
' he says the reluctance of many stars to
sign has "forced" autograph hunters to
use subterfuge and even to resort to an
occasional illegal entry.

"Autograph collectors would be great
candidates for the Secret Service or
Mission Impossible," he added. "They
really know how to get in where other
people can't."

Celebrity golf tournaments are great
places to collect autographs without
having to sneak, said Kraus.
"Take the Bob Hope Desert Classic.
There may be as many as 50 celebrities
from all walks of life."

The same goes for the Dinah Shore and
Bing Crosby tournaments, and the John
Denver Ski Classic at Tahoe.
"Put these annual things 'on your
calendar," he suggests to serious collectors.
The Academy Awards may be the
biggest single gathering of heavenly
bodies under one roof, but that's the
problem — too big, says Kraus. "Some do
real well there, but I steer away from it."

Although he's collected' autographs
since he was 12 (he admits to being in his
late 40s now), Kraus has never had to
climb a fence or hang out in a hotel lobby
to get one. His work as a newspaperman
before starting the magazine also gives
him an entree with visiting dignitaries.

"Celebrities as well as collectors will
tell you this: East Coast collectors and
East Coast stars are a problem. Back
there, collectors seem to go out of their
ways to do bad things to stars, and stars
treat the fans terribly," he said.
Some celebrities won't deal with autograph
hunters at all as a result, he said.
On the West Coast, by contrast, said
Kraus, "fans are courteous and say thank
you, and West Coast celebrities tend to
feel autograph hunters are not a problem.

Beatles Autographs at Auction

2009-10-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

An autograph auction at Colwyn Bay, North Wales was estimated to bring in £200-£300. The collection went for £3,500.

The auction included some of the most popular performers of the 1960s. The autographs were collected by John Rees during the time that he worked on Thank Your Lucky Stars. He used the autographs as payment on his account at a delicatessen near the studio.

The Beatles appeared on Thank Your Lucky Stars in January 1963. They signed the book at their second appearance on February 17, 1963.

Five of the autographs.

The Beatles

Cliff Richard

The Rolling Stones

Rolf Harris

The Shadows

Neil Armstrong Signed Bank Check

2009-07-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

A bank check signed by Neil Armstrong on the same day he left for the moon has been sold for $27,350, forty years to the day after it was written. It was auctioned by R&R Auction of Amherst, N.H. The high bidder was Jack Staub, an engineer from Newport Beach, CA. California.

The $10.50 check was payment for money borrowed from NASA manager Harold Collins. Armstrong told Collins not to cash the check because he was coming back.

The 17 day auction set a record for a single Neil Armstrong autograph.

Why George Harrison Forged Beatles Autographs

2009-05-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

Seems George Harrison might have been the best at forging the autographs of the Beatles. Read the story here:

Why George Signed for the Other Beatles

Photos of Beatles Signing Autographs

2009-05-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

The Beatles signed many thousands of autographs. One might not think that considering all the forgeries out there, but the simple fact is that supply, as vast as it, is very small compared to demand. And do doubt demand will grow as more autographs find their way into permanent collections.

During their early years as a group, the Beatles were very free with their autographs. They must have signed many thousands before they ever hit America. By the time they hit America and Beatlemania was in full swing, they were still signing, albeit for a lucky few at the right place at the right time.

After they went their separate ways, it wasn't impossible to get an autograph from John, Paul George and Ringo. In fact, John was murdered while signing his Double Fantasy album for his assassin Mark David Chapman. Ringo even signed autographs though the mail up until a few months ago. Paul, while not really accessible due to his wealth and fame, had rather be friendly to fans than not. George was also said to be very pleasant in public.

Here are some photos of the Beatles signing. Only Ringo is missing.

http://meetthebeatlesforreal.blogspot.com/2009/05/signing-autographs.html

Jon & Kate Plus 8 - $20 for an Autograph, Yikes

2009-05-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

The Adventures of Jon and Kate and their eight kids does not entertain me. I can see how others might like the show, but $150 to talk to her. $20 for an autograph? Guess this is what the Octa-Mom had in mind?

"In the May 25 issue, on sale now, Kevin and Jodi reveal how the TV mom of twins and sextuplets spends months away from home promoting her two books (one more, a cookbook, is due in October) and loading up on speaking engagements, for which she commands $3,000 an hour. She also charges fans $150 per person for special meet-and-greet tea parties and even makes fans pay $20 for autographs!

Note to Kate: The biggest stars in the world - including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - don’t charge for autographs.."

http://www.hollywoodgrind.com/jon-and-kate-gosselin-getting-divorced/

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How Big a Celebrity is Obama? Even World Leaders Want His Autograph

2009-04-03T04:41:00.000-07:00

Obama is a star. Certainly the most popular celebrity in the world at the moment. When Obama met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this afternoon Singh asked Obama for an autograph. His daughter is a big fan of Obama.

Autograph collectors have been aware for awhile that Obama's autograph is the most desired of any living person. Things can change in a hurry though. After George W. Bush's speech just after the 9-11 attacks, his autograph attained a valuable unmatched by any previous sitting president.

A January 2009 Autograph Collector "Commemorative Inauguration Edition" article valued an autographed 8 x 10 of Obama at $800 - $1500. One signed as president was valued at "up to $3,000."

A value of "up to $9,500" was estimated for signed true first editions of The Audacity of Hope. Latter editions were valued at the time at "up to $1,000."

Time will tell if those values hold. He is certainly facing challenges that will test his popularity, especially in the U.S. where he will be judged by the state of the economy after the "honeymoon" is over.

Privacy Policy

2009-03-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

Privacy Policy

We recognize that your privacy is important. This document outlines the types of personal information we receive and collect when you use Billco's Autograph Collecting, as well as some of the steps we take to safeguard information. We hope this will help you make an informed decision about sharing personal information with us.

Billco's Autograph Collecting strives to maintain the highest standards of decency, fairness and integrity in all our operations. Likewise, we are dedicated to protecting our customers', consumers' and online visitors' privacy on our website.

Personal Information

Billco's Autograph Collecting collects personally identifiable information from the visitors to our website only on a voluntary basis. Personal information collected on a voluntary basis may include name, postal address, email address, company name and telephone number.

This information is collected if you request information from us, participate in a contest or sweepstakes, and sign up to join our email list or request some other service or information from us. The information collected is internally reviewed, used to improve the content of our website, notify our visitors of updates, and respond to visitor inquiries.

Once information is reviewed, it is discarded or stored in our files. If we make material changes in the collection of personally identifiable information we will inform you by placing a notice on our site. Personal information received from any visitor will be used only for internal purposes and will not be sold or provided to third parties.

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In some cases, we may collect information about you that is not personally identifiable. We use this information, which does not identify individual users, to analyze trends, to administer the site, to track users' movements around the site and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. The information collected is used solely for internal review and not shared with other organizations for commercial purposes.

Release of Information

If Billco's Autograph Collecting is sold, the information we have obtained from you through your voluntary participation in our site may transfer to the new owner as a part of the sale in order that the service being provided to you may continue. In that event, you will receive notice through our website of that change in control and practices, and we will make reasonable efforts to ensure that the purchaser honors any opt-out requests you might make of us.

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Billco's Autograph Collecting reserves the right to make changes in this policy. We encourage you to periodically review this policy so that you will know what information we collect and how we use it.

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Sound Autograph Investments - 1930

2009-02-14T05:26:00.000-08:00

I own a book "Word Shadows of the Great .. The Lure of Autograph Collecting" by Thomas F. Madigan." The year of publication is 1930.

The authors suggestions for building a collection that will combine the elements of lasting interest and sound investments":

1. John Adams
2. John Quincy Adams
3. John James Audubon
4. Salmon P. Chase
5. Henry Clay
6. Mark Twain
7. Grover Cleveland
8. Jefferson Davis
9. Thomas Edison
10. Ralph Waldo Emerson
11. David G. Farragut
12. Eugene Field (Poet)
13. Benjamin Franklin
14. Robert Fulton
15. Ulysses S. Grant
16. Horace Greeley
17. Nathaniel Greene (general)
18. Alexander Hamilton
19. John Hancock
20. Bret Harte (author)
21. Nathaniel Hawthorne
22. Patrick Henry
23. Oliver Wendell Holmes (Poet)
24. Washington Irving
25. Andrew Jackson
26. Stonewall Jackson
27. John Jay
28. Thomas Jefferson
29. Robert E. Lee
30. Abraham Lincoln
31. Henry W. Longfellow
32. James Russell Lowell (author, poet)
33. James Madison
34. Edward McDonald (composer)
35. John Marshall
36. James Monroe
37. Thomas Paine
38. Francis Parkman (historian)
39. Edgar Allen Poe
40. Theodore Roosevelt
41. William H. Seward (Sec of State),(Seward's Folly)
42. William T. Sherman
43. Edwin M. Stanton (Statesman)
44. Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom's Cabin)
45. George Washington
46. Daniel Webster
47. James Whistler (the artist)
48. Walt Whitman
49. John Greenleaf Whittier (Poet)
50. Woodrow Wilson

Only Americans were included in the list. Madigan had a separate list for Europeans.

Seems we've lost our enthusiasm for many of the noted poets of that time. Likewise their favorite composers, authors, and historians.

Some of the president's lasting achievements and name recognition overcame their overabundant supply.

Joe Besser, Curly Joe Derita and Emil Sitka Autographs

2008-12-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

A good case can be made that the Three Stooges are the most successful comedy act in American history. The two Stooges who remained a part of the act throughout its history were Moe Howard and Larry Fine. The third Stooge position was filled by four different actors. Very few Three Stooges fans would disagree that Curly (Jerome) Howard was not only the most popular third Stooge, but he is the most popular of all the Stooges. That is quite an achievement considering that he was not a part of the group during much of the first stage of the Stooge act and he was deceased during their reemergence as feature film and merchandising stars.

Shemp, another Howard brother, is also a favorite among Stooge fans. He was a part of the act in the early days when the Stooges first came on the scene, and he is considered by most fans to be a very worthy third Stooge.

Joe Besser and Curly Joe DeRita are the other "third Stooges." Neither of them are favorites among Three Stooges fans and collectors. Many fans hate any Stooge production that Besser has a part in simply because that can't stand him. Besser was an accomplished actor before becoming a Stooge, but many fans believe that Besser watered down the act. Curly and Shemp, while they probably didn't particularly enjoy the real pain that was sometimes inflicted, allowed themselves to be slapped, kicked and verbally abused by Moe. It was a basic part of the act. Besser believed that it was low brow comedy and not very funny, and he wouldn't allow it.

By the time Curly Joe DeRita took over from Joe Besser as the third Stooge, the Three Stooges' target audience was children. DeRita was more than adequate playing to this audience, and unlike Besser, he actually appreciated being a Stooge. The Stooges made some of their best money during the DeRita years, much of it from merchandising.

Emil Sitka was never a formal member of the act, but he appeared in dozens of shorts and many of their movies. He is the only actor to have worked with all six Stooges. Sitka appeared in hundreds of films apart from the Three Stooges, but he is mostly known today for his Three Stooges work. His most memorable line with the Stooges "Hold hands, you lovebirds" is engraved on his tombstone.

The autographs of Joe Besser, Joe DeRita and Emil Sitka can still be purchased very inexpensively. Their autographs are probably a bargain at today's prices and will almost certainly rise. All three are a part of the Three Stooges legacy, and the popularity of the act among autograph collectors grows larger each year.

All three were very nice to their fans and signed through the mail in retirement.

Signed photos of Besser, DeRita and Sitka sell for less than $100 today. Signed cards begin at about $40. Signed Joe DeRita bank checks are on the market and they sell in the $50 range. The vast majority of signed photos and cards of all three (and the other four Stooges for that matter) are inscribed.

I have signed photos of all three in my collection:

Richard E. Byrd Signed Book

2008-12-03T10:37:00.001-08:00

Born on October 25, 1888 in Winchester, Virginia, Richard E. Byrd was an American aviator and polar explorer. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1912. His left the Navy for as short time, returning when the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Byrd's aviation career was launched when he requested assignment to the Navy's aviation division.

Read More about Richard Byrd,including autographs here.

Eleanor Rigby's Signature?

2008-11-26T09:52:00.000-08:00

"Eleanor Rigby" is the most beautiful song on an album that many consider the best Beatles album of them all. Actually, many fans and critics consider Revolver to be the best album of all time. There's little disagreement that "Eleanor Rigby" is one of the best songs on Revolver.

Paul McCartney is usually credited as the primary writer of Eleanor Rigby (though John Lennon took exception that).

Paul has said many times that Eleanor Rigby was a fictional character. Yet Paul once owned a document signed by Eleanor Rigby. The 1911 document is a payroll sheet signed by an "E. Rigby" after collecting her pay at Liverpool City Hospital. The image mostly fits. She was working as a maid at the hospital, washing pots and pans. However, she was only 16 years old, hardly an age where she should have thought that her life was going to be forever lonely.

Why did Paul own the document? Why did he donate it to a music charity in 1990 when he knew what the perception would be?

Fame Bureau, the company auctioning the document, believes this Eleanor Rigby was the same Eleanor Rigby buried in 1939 in a Liverpool graveyard next to the church where Paul was introduced to John.

Pauls response, "If someone wants to spend money buying a document to prove that a fictitious character exists, that's fine with me."

The document is expected to bring as much as $750,000.

Regardless of what Paul actually thought or thinks he thought while he was composing the song, the facts don't look like coincidence to me.

The document is historically significant.

Booker T. Washington Signed Card

2008-11-23T04:36:00.000-08:00

Booker T. Washington was born into slavery on April 5, 1856 in Franklin County, Virginia. His mother was a plantation cook and his father was an unknown white man. In those times, some white fathers of black children sometimes provided an education and some type of vocational training for their black children. Some even freed their children. Little is known about Washington's father except that he did not provide anything more than any slave could expect, and it is believed that he never publicly acknowledged his child. Read more about Booker T. Washington, including autographs.

Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" Signed Book

2008-11-10T05:54:00.000-08:00

Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 26, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, a small town near Montgomery, Alabama. She was the youngest of three children. Like Atticus Finch, her father was a lawyer. Truman Capote, who later became famous for his short stories and novels, was one of her childhood friends. Some believe that Capote was the inspiration for the character Dill in "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Read more about Harper Lee and her autographs here.

Walter Lantz Signed Payroll Check and Greeting Card

2008-11-09T07:55:00.000-08:00

Walter Lantz was born on April 27, 1900 in New Rochelle, New York. As a child, Lantz studied art at home through correspondence courses. At sixteen, Lantz moved to New York City and landed a directing position at the John R. Bray Studios. In 1924, he showcased his first cartoon creation, "Dinky Doodle."

Read more about Walter Lantz and his autographs here.

J. Paul Getty Signed Check

2008-11-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

Jean Paul Getty was born on December 15, 1892, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He worked for his father's oil business, Minnehoma Oil Company, during summer breaks from college (University of Southern California and the University of California at Berkeley). He finished his degree at Oxford in Britain in 1912. In 1914 he struck out on his own with loans from his father, trading in oil leases in Oklahoma.

Read more about J. Paul Getty and his autographs here.

Alan Ladd

2008-11-05T14:43:00.000-08:00

Alan Ladd was born on September 3, 1913 in Hot Springs, Arkansas. His family moved to California, and as a teen he worked odd jobs for the Hollywood movie studios. In the early 1930's he began landing small parts on local radio, in theater and in the movies. By the early 1930's he was getting bigger roles in B movies.

Read more about Alan Ladd, including autographs here.

Gorgeous George

2008-11-04T04:03:00.000-08:00

Gorgeous George was the greatest professional wrestling attraction of his time. His first wrestling match was in 1939 as the capable but bland George Wagner. By 1948, he was a major entertainment attraction and Gorgeous George was a household name.

Read more about Gorgeous George, including autographs here.

More Gorgeous George Photos Here