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Neophyte Needs Advice About 1958 World Series Program With 66 Autographs

I just need to start out with the disclaimer that I'm not a dealer or much of a collector. My aquisitions stopped in the 1980's, and I've never purchased an autograph. Just collected them very casually starting as a kid.

I have a number of Milwaukee Braves autographs from the late 1950's and early 60's. My Great Aunt managed the team's office, and I went to a lot of games with her. I have a program from a World Series game I attended in 1958 with my family that has the signatures of every player of both the New York Yankees and the Milwaukee Braves. I collected the signatures with my Aunt, over the course of two games. I was 8. These are the autographs on it:

New York Yankees Players

Hank Bauer
Yogi Berra
Andy Carey
Murray Dickson
Art Ditmar
Ryan Duren
Whitey Ford
Elston Howard
Darrell Johnson
Tony Kubek
Johnny Kucks
Don Larsen
Jerry Lumpe
Mickey Mantle
Duke Maas
Gil McDougald
Zack Monroe
Bob Richardson
Bob Shantz
Norm Siebern
Bill Skowron
Enos Slaughter
Tom Sturdivant
Marv Throneberry
Virgil Trucks
Bob Turley

New York Yankees Coaching Staff

Casey Stengel
Ralph Houk

Milwaukee Braves Players

Hank Aaron
Joe Adcock
Billy Bruton
Bob Buhl
Lou Burdette
Gene Conley
Wes Covington
Del Crandall
Harry Hanebrink
Joey Jay
Johnny Logan
Felix Mantilla
Eddie Mathews
Don McMahon
Andy Pafko
Juan Pizarro
Humberto Robinson
Del Rice
Bob Rush
Red Schoendienst
Warren Spahn
Frank Torre
Bob Trowbridge
Carl Willey
Casey Wise

Braves (Not Playing in the Game)

Mel Roach
Ed Haas
Ernie Johnson
Robert Taylor
John Lang
Joe Koppe
Bob Roselli

Equipment Managers

Joe Taylor
Tommie Ferguson

Trainer

Robert “Doc” Feron

Okay, here's my situation. I was ready to sell my Braves memorabilia last year—I need to give up my home and move into assisted living—so I checked into selling the program through an online auction house. I sent the item to them for an Autumn of 2010 auction, and was expecting a great outcome-but it was returned to me because all of the signatures couldn't be authenticated. I was stunned because I remember collecting them myself. The authenticity of the Yankees signatures, and almost all of the Brave's players was not in question, just a few of the Braves who were not playing in the Series-but were pictured in the program. What a buzzkill! My Aunt must have had someone in the club house finish them off so I'd have "every" signature.

Finally getting to my question: So, what do I do with it now? Do I dismantle the program and sell pages individually (it's in great shape, by the way)? Cut it up? I know it would be a shame, but I don't have any autograph commerce experience, and I don't know what's a reasonable way to market the good 60 or so signatures. I don't have authentication for the individual signatures that the auction house confirmed were good (and can't afford to get it).

If you have any advice, I'd love to hear it. You can see scans I made of the pages and a good description at my niece's website:
http://www.nowhousestudio.com/1958-World-Series-Program.html

My sincerest gratitude for any input you have for me!

Mark

Tags: 1958, aaron, braves, casey, duke, game, maas, mantle, program, series, More…stengel, world, yankees

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Permalink Reply by M. Fleagle on March 31, 2011 at 10:06am

Well, I'm 61 -fairly newly disabled-and only have one older Brother and Niece left in my family. They've encouraged me to sell anything of mine that I can. My major interest is art, and I have a small collection of Mid Century prints and paintings that I'm going to try to never give up. My autographs just don't have any sentimental value to me or anyone close to me.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on March 31, 2011 at 12:23pm

Sorry to hear about your disability. I definitely think it's smart to only keep what you really love if you're moving into assisted living. Too many different people may enter your place and things sometimes disappear.

Hopefully members here can help you get the most you can safely.

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Permalink Reply by M. Fleagle on March 31, 2011 at 2:54pm

I'm still fairly independent. I'm purging while I can still make all the decisions about what stays and goes myself. My friends tease me about my "clutter" and being a hoarder-but it's all in fun. I just have a lot of interests!

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Permalink Reply by M. Fleagle on April 3, 2011 at 12:25pm

Well, I just put the program on Craigslist: New York this morning (Sunday 4/3) with a link to my Niece's website. I also added an update about the authenticity of the signatures. If it turns out that anyone is interested in buying it, I'll post it on Ebay with a BUY IT NOW feature as the sales vehicle. I'd be concerned about the safety of most other methods of transaction.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on April 9, 2011 at 5:00am

This is a wonderful historical document. Whatever you do, DON'T cut it up. It has far more historical and financial value as a whole.

I don't understand why PSA or JSA wouldn't issue a certification and simply note which signatures are clubhouse signed. Perhaps I am misreading it, but my interpretation that the maximum certification cost for a multi-signed item is $250. Paying $250 to certify this is well worth it and will increase your return many fold.

Probably your best course of action is to consign to a major auction house and let them take care of evetrything. They get their 20% cut, but it's probably worth it.

Regarding Craigslist... be careful. Most serious collectors assume everything on Craigslist is fake or some other type of scam. Plus, you can be inviting some unsavory characters into your house.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by M. Fleagle on May 14, 2011 at 7:18pm

Just posted my 1958 World Series Program on Ebay this week. Maybe I'll connect with an interested collector or enthusiast without having to send it away to a third party. If not-then a third party it is!