Authenticity is Everything
"DEAR JOHN" originals: How do I value 300 very personalised autographed letters --- from Pete Townshend of The Who to Margaret Thatcher...
Hi,
[I'm new here so please forgive any unintended infelicities - I stumbled upon the site & the impressively friendly 'vibe' encouraged me to join...]
I have three big 'lumps' of autograph/signature related stuff/work, two involving hundreds of signatures, and one an extraordinary mystery. But I'll start with a simple (-ish!) bit from the first, and see how it goes...
DEAR JOHN:
I have around 300 autographs from well-known (British) people of the mid-1970s - together with their favourite quotation. Published in 1976, "Dear John" (a best-seller that also raised money for charity) also inspired an American version, 'Dear Scott'. Now I want to dispose of the originals - which on closer inspection are *much* more interesting than I thought (having mostly looked at the book over the years). Some are quite detailed letters and, at the time of writing to ask, I also enclosed blank stickers (for 'spares'), and copies of the book were sent out to contributors, many of whom wrote back again in thanks.
Dipping my toe in the water, I thought to start with... (Keith Moon drum roll)
PETE TOWNSHEND of THE WHO
(& start thinking about The Iron Lady, MARGARET THATCHER)
My thoughts so far are that the provenance/authenticity here is presumably well established as obviously good (indeed, published, and effectively impeccable?)
These are rather more than generic or quotidian notes or letters: they are literally the product of someone considering what is, and then sharing, their favourite quotation, sometimes more than one as they hum and ha (and these two are both rather good ones, I think). And, in Pete Townshend's case (as in many others), in his own hand - making it unusually personally meaningful/resonant...
My initial questions then, are:
1) how might I begin to ascertain any 'added value' such a personally meaningful element --- literally their favourite quotation --- might add? Does anyone have any idea what the Pete Townshend might be worth, for example?
2a) Is it worth considering selling the lot as a whole collection (albeit with a few missing: I'm having to 'mine' them from my father's very chaotic attic!) - via an auction house, say?
2b) I'm simultaneously trying to let go of a lifetime of collecting hundreds of things (books, art, antiques) and am a bit daunted by researching and listing 300 autographs & letters (& many more 'spares'). As an alternative to auctioning, is there an equivalent of private 'consignment' in fine art in Autographworld? (i.e. I hand them to a specialist/dealer/enthusiast, and they take a percentage?)
3) I'm guessing the single most valuable item is probably Margaret Thatcher's favourite quotation --- a superb remark by Teddy Roosevelt --- and likely as a private (?) sale, probably in the United States, where she has many admirers, but I am not sure where to start (Ebay doesn't seem quite right, but maybe it is?). I'll also have to find the original among 50 years of my father's papers --- an eccentric but rather marvellous man --- which may take a while, but as a notable Anglo-American combo, it's rather special, I think...
(I will try to discuss my two other autograph-related 'lumps' of work - THEY WERE THERE and Mr Shuckspr'se Box on another occasion. Both are quite interesting, I think.)
In short, I have too much to do with it all - and too little time, which waits for no man, and am thus very open to any and all suggestions/ideas/insight/help/collaboration!
Thanks for your time...
John
Tags: Dear John, Margaret Thatcher, Pete Townshend
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on
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...indeed, published, and effectively impeccable?...
Well, how do you know the secretarials were weeded out?
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Permalink Reply by John Pollock on
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Ah, thanks Eric---I'm presuming you mean "the signed on behalf of" or automated "signature stamps"? These are very clear - we were all still a bit more 'Downton Abbey' in those days i.e. transparent in an old school way! - as are the letters clearly handwritten or produced by individuals in their own hand, often on their private headed notepaper. Does that help clarify? Where autographs are reproduced in the book, there's a clear comparison, too. Otherwise there's often associated gubbins (Spike Milligan's amusing envelope, subsequent thank you letters for the copy sent to contributors, etc.). But I may be being obtuse?
I should add that this was the first round-robin request for a celebrity contribution for charity --- they became a very common device subsequently --- so they were in some ways more innocent days... I was certainly more innocent!
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"...as are the letters clearly handwritten or produced by individuals in their own hand, often on their private headed notepaper...."
This is true of secretarials (humans not machines). Unless you have vetted each signature by having it looked at, or you are an authenticator yourelf, you can't just assume they are all genuine. There are some books about autographs that contain secretarials...Publishers wil print anything as fact (from my own experience).
I'm sure most are fine, but to ignore the possibility would be a mistake.
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Good points, thanks, Eric. Underlining my problem of how to dispose of this vast and eclectic array of materials without spending the rest of my life doing it!
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In 1976 had he wrote Jackie Gleason with a question John would have recieved a lovely long letter - typed and signed by Sydell Spear - Personal Assistant. These secretarials did not start being identfied until 2010 or so. Before then all were thought authentic. It's something to think about.
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I bought this program in 1984 at the event. This letter was sent peronally from Jackie Gleason - read the content. Signed by Sydell Spear. If he'd use a secretary for that letter why not for other things of less importance? I'm not knocking your book - just trying to show there may be a few secretarials there. Click for larger images.
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Thanks, again --- glancing at one of the piles of letters I have to hand, it's clear that some are handwritten and signed, some come from secretaries (and admit to it), while others could go be, as you note, typed and then signed 'secretarials'. Hmm: yet more work to do...
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