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WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?

As someone who collects many old, scarce and obscure actors and actresses it is sometimes years before I even find one. Any one with deep pockets can get the Beatles, Jim Morrison, Marilyn Monroe etc they are expensive but not particularly rare. There are far smaller numbers of autographs of stars such as Thayer David, Roy Engel, Harry Antrim, Joe Crehan, Walter Baldwin even Burt Mustin. My problem is the "grass is always greener" complex with autographs. I have four Burt Mustins, three Walter Baldwins, three Joe Crehan's, two Harry Antrims and one each of Engle and David. Yet I still bid whenever see one of them! Somehow they are so scarce in my mind the one that is up to buy seems better than the ones I have. My great pal Sam Lawson (who in my opinion has the finest Western autograph collection anywhere) and I have often discussed this. We are both the same way and end up with multiples of some extremely rare autographs. I hate to sell and only have in a very instances where it was something I no longer was interested in. Invariably I regret selling. I would like to say when I buy it is always better than what I have at least there would be some logic in that. Perhaps it was being raised by parents who were grew up in the Great Depression. I never throw away anything that I believe I can fix or might find a use for. I have scrap lumber (that I have frequently used) that my father kept and buckets of used roofing nails when my grandfather replaced his barn roof. They say the first step in recovery is recognizing there is a problem. I realize I do not need to try to get every rare actor I see the trouble is getting my fingers to agree. I do set limits for myself and will not bid above a certain amount unless it is one of the 15 I need to complete my Andy Griffith Show collection then I will bid no matter how many trips to the blood bank it takes. So although it is not New Years yet I am going to try to stop bidding on anything that I have a perfectly good example of.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on December 10, 2018 at 8:27am

It is somewhat ironic as I am leaving AML to have the last new discussion be liked. I want to thank all of you for responding to this post. For my good friends I am going to be posting a final post on my Andy Griffith Show site.

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on December 10, 2018 at 8:33am

:0( .......... Hope you reconsider.

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Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on December 10, 2018 at 8:49am

Me too. If this really was your "last post" it was a very good one.

You can always become a sleeping AML member for a while - I can go weeks or even months without posting if I'm otherwise busy or I have nothing much to say.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 10, 2018 at 10:55am

My thoughts on Scott leaving... :( Losing a true collecting buddy...

Initial reaction!

I will miss our chats :(

Without Scott here and all this Rock & Roll around, things could get weird!

Don't wait too long to come back! :) Because I hope you do return!

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Permalink Reply by carl cripps on December 13, 2018 at 6:02am

it is with sadness i hear scott paul is leaving...he was a joy to interact with and oh so knowlegeable......it has been awhile since i have commented on this site but old age sometimes changes our thoughts.....i believe the last time i interacted with scott was on the andy griffith site when i posted autographed picture of aunt bee. carl.

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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on December 10, 2018 at 8:55am

No need to leave, sometimes you do have to step back for awhile. I had told myself I wouldn't spend on anything with the holidays coming. And along comes Paul Simon at $199.Oh well haha!

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Permalink Reply by Fuddjcal on December 10, 2018 at 12:09pm

I also can't stop collecting things lol. I haven't purchased an autograph for years due to the proliferation of unchecked fakes every where just soured me on it all when e-bay opened the flood gates for trash. I even tried to stop buying from e-bay altogether and I've been mostly successful using Amazon for day to day items.

I still like to take a look and help out where I can though.

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Permalink Reply by B. Anderson on December 13, 2018 at 7:28am

I don't know you from your contributions, but it sounds like you created some solid historical resources that should be preserved for others. Maybe host off site at your own private web site, without ability to have comments, posts? It also runs the risk of forgers using examples to create their own, so there are benefits to keeping that material on the down low.

I think it is wonderful that you stand up to autographs falsely certified by JSA or PSA as authentic. We need more of that--not less--as long as it is backed by solid evidence.

Scammers do proliferate in great numbers. It is very daunting for newer but still concerned parties to try to navigate these stormy waters. I am definitely for all efforts to call them out and call out shortcomings of others who fail to catch forgeries.

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Permalink Reply by BG Meadows on December 20, 2018 at 4:58pm

Very good observation and one to which I can well relate. Like you, I enjoy collecting autographs of individuals--often obscure--who are only important to me. If you were to look at the few signed photos I have, you'd probably think: Who in the world is that?! So, whenever I do see an autographed item of one of my favorite "obscurities," I seriously consider getting it, providing my financial resources will allow at that point in time.