Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by JJ on March 30, 2013 at 11:29am

Hi Barry,

I personally don't see the great value in letters written by Stoker, but signed by Irving. For the kind of money being asked for by the seller you mention you can get a Stoker signed book, which I would prefer (there's one or two on eBay right now in this price range).

Items signed as Bram Stoker would be more valuable to me, and I would assume to others. I have seen letters written for Irving by Stoker and signed as Bram Stoker. Lots of writing with a Stoker signature - nice. Since he is the author of Dracula, which incidentally is my favorite book, having his autograph can be very meaningful to a collector.

If you visit RR Auction's web site to see past auctions, you can see prices realized for Stoker autographs sold previously, including letters that he wrote but signed by Irving.Those prices are typically 1/5 or less than $5k.

The Bram Stoker autographs that you describe owning sound nice. Considering the longevity of the Dracula character that Stoker created, and its numerous incarnations, I would sit on Stoker autographs until there is a resurgence before trying to sell. My guess is that there will be one eventually, precipitated by a new entry into the Dracula film arena or something similar. Personally, I don't think that any Dracula film that I've seen has come close to capturing the quality of the Dracula book, but I keep waiting for one.

When I found an annotated copy of Dracula and realized that the detail about people, places, and other found in the book were based on real things I was completely amazed. That depth was based on Stoker's serious research, combined with the fact that he became a bit of a Dracula himself because of his having contracted syphilis. As you probably know, Stoker based the Dracula figure on a historical Rumanian figure, Vlad Tepes, but I feel that part of his Dracula is somewhat autobiographical. This makes the whole legacy even more interesting. I'm quite sure that Bram Stoker will always stand the test of time.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your collecting.

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Permalink Reply by Irishjohan on March 30, 2013 at 7:27pm

Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond. I also did not understand the valuation quoted at 'HFS'.I agree also that the Bram signatures should be worth more than the Irvings (I have quite a few Irvings in my possession also).

I took your advice and checked RR - I was happy to see the prices ranged to up to $1.35k for an ALS - which is more like what I have. But I think the right customer will pay more - I have noticed quite a bit of interest in my pieces since I started this thread. I have made a few inquiries. Only one ALS has been sold there over the past few years.

I have several 'Stokers' and one in particular is a very nice piece, with an excellent large, clear signature.

I appreciate your advice on waiting for a resurgence in interest also - I am not crazy about the vampire genre, but I like reading - and Dracula scared the crap out of me when I was young. I still maintain it's the only vampire-related book I ever liked. I can see why people love it so much.

My collection is new to the market - discovered recently in Ireland. These items have not been seen in some 100+ years. I have consulted with experts on Dracula-related Literature who authenticated the letters - and it seems they are of the view that 'Van Helsing' (first name Abraham) was loosely based on Bram, and Irving was the inspiration for Dracula - though this is somewhat disputed.

I think now that the the right customer would pay a nice price - and anyone who picks up a (genuine) Stoker letter for under $3k could consider it a bargain.For just a signature - 1-2k at the most would be reasonable.

They just don't seem to be on sale too often. There seem to be a lot signed Irving though. Thanks again for the advice m8. Very helpful. Great to get another opinion - I now know to scale down my dreams of $10k-15k based on HFS's inferior pieces! Though I haven't seen many better examples than mine on the web.

Take care m8.

ps - I couldn't see the signed Stoker books for 5k on ebay. I'd be suspicious though. That sounds too good to be true!

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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on March 30, 2013 at 5:07pm

Hi Barry,

I dont know about Stoker Autographs at all, but History for Sale typically asks many times over what an autograph is worth. They have authentic items, but they ask pretty insane prices, of course thats my opinion. I dont know what a Stoker would be worth, but i wouldnt use History for Sale as a gauge to judge it by.

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Permalink Reply by Irishjohan on March 30, 2013 at 7:34pm

Thanks for your advice also Carl. I also thought their prices were a bit off....Especially considering they are not signed by Stoker. I am glad to hear the views of others in this regard. If anything, they seem to be destroying their own market by asking for such crazy prices for inferior Stoker-related pieces. Small wonder that genuine 'signed Stoker' letters are so scarce.

Although I can see the attraction and the written by Stoker and signed by Irving pieces are nice - they are not $5k nice imo.

Again, good to hear that others are already aware of this. I'm pretty new to collecting. 

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Permalink Reply by JJ on March 31, 2013 at 12:48pm

Hi again,

It's great to see all of this great commentary! You also seem to have unearthed a nice trove of Stoker items - nice job.

Here is a nicely signed and inscribed Stoker book on eBay now.I've also heard that Stoker = Van Helsing and that Irving = Dracula, but I remember reading in a biography once that Stoker's wife had a very difficult childbirth. Because of this, and combined with the fact that birth control wasn't available as it is today, she avoided Stoker and the chance of going through that again. As a result, Stoker turned to the women of the night. In the process, he contracted syphilis which he then would have been subjecting others to - a lot like Dracula. Whatever the story, it's all a fun part of history and the research done when one comes upon an interesting character and related genuine items.

About HFS, they have a massive collection that you really need to search deeply to find a bargain from. I also know that they are not always perfect, but when it comes to Irving signed letters written by Stoker I think one needs to ask why a letter written and signed by Irving typically fetches so little. Those also become available every now and then, and when I see them I look carefully to make sure that the handwriting is not Stoker's - which can take more than a glance.

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Permalink Reply by Irishjohan on March 31, 2013 at 4:31pm

Hello again.

I have been informed by a knowledgeable collector that Irving personally wrote his more important notes and at one point also employed a female secretary whose handwriting bore a similarity to Bram's - so this area is a minefield for collectors. I must ask him more about the time-frame of when this secretary worked at the Lyceum. I'll try get a few helpful answers if he's willing to divulge more info so people don't get burned!

Both have writing that is very hard to read usually. I must rake through my Irving examples again, to see if I can spot any variations.

The above signature you have added is interesting. I am no expert, but I find some of it a little worrying - I find with my examples that Stoker tends to write his 'k's much like like a lower case 'h'.

My examples date from 1884 however - maybe there was a slight change in his style? - but this also seems to be the case in the (genuine) example given in the Drew Max discussion - dated 1894.

http://live.autographmagazine.com/profiles/blogs/pawn-stars-drew-ma...

Again, I am not an expert - but I find the example on History for Sale also displays a typical Stoker 'k' in the first line. where he writes 'thank you'. Also dated 1891. This example certainly seems to be genuinely in Stoker's hand.

http://www.historyforsale.com/html/prodetails.asp?documentid=43774&...

Look at the examples and decide for yourself m8. Do you see it? Cheers for the image upload too (I 'll figure how to do that given time). The example may be 100% genuine - Though I'd compare a few more examples and ask around to be sure.

It is interesting to me that such a small written sentiment written by Stoker is valued at c. $1k (they state the book sells for 1.5k usually). This adds to my conviction that the price I would ask for my superior items is reasonable. 

Cheers for your input again Jamil m8. Comment anytime!

If someone finds my observations silly (including yourself Jamil) - I'm a novice - so I would happily be educated by someone with a good knowledge of what to look for.

If genuine - It certainly looks a very nice piece for $2.5K (though I know nothing about book issue values! More to check out!) - Those darned k's just make me a little twitchy. I would post some images of my examples - but I am in talks about selling the items, so I feel that posting these 'unseen' images online may diminish the value in some way in the eyes of a potential buyer. Is this silly?

Probably! But again, I'm pretty new to this game.

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