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Closet Collectors

I recently created a discussion about framed autographs. The purpose of creating the discussion was to encourage members to share autographs that they proudly display. Some of us have our autographs custom framed by professionals, and some of us frame our autographs ourselves.

Autographs Behind the Glass

Collectors spend a lot of time adding to their collections, and very little time displaying their collections. Action figures are stored in crates. Baseball cards and comics are stored in boxes. Autographs are stored in binders. What is the point of collecting if everything ends up in a closet somewhere?

I recently had my Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg autographed photo custom framed. It is too nice to keep stored away in a closet in a toploader.

Please do not misunderstand me. I highly recommend collecting as a valuable hobby. It is a wonderful distraction from the nonsense that constantly plagues our society. I only hope that our collections will more often see the light of day.

2 members like this

Comment by Steve Zarelli on June 26, 2021 at 4:51am: Guilty as charged. I have very few items on display.

Comment by Mike Shepherd on June 26, 2021 at 5:01am: We are all guilty, Steve. Thanks for the comment. Hope all is well.

Comment by Joe W. on June 26, 2021 at 5:08am: I don't have any on display in my home. My wife would likely shoot me if I tried! Most of my own family do not even know I own any autographs. Maybe someday I will "come out of the closet"!

Comment by Mike Shepherd on June 26, 2021 at 5:27am: I am confused, Joe W. What do you do with the autographs that you own and frame?

Comment by Tobi on June 26, 2021 at 6:36am: My music autographs (although the signed LPs) are stored in boxes. Mea culpa.

But I have framed behind glass two signed panorama shots from Charlie Duke and they hang in my office. In these times of homeoffice with videoconferences, they can now be seen for everyone. Immediately I have got many curious questions and congratulations about them (-:

Comment by Mike Shepherd on June 26, 2021 at 7:09am: Very cool. Thanks for sharing, Tobi.

Comment by Eddy on June 26, 2021 at 9:26am: I used to frame almost everything I had...and ran out of wall space.

A downsizing move a few years ago necessitated removing most from the frames. Today my photos and album pages are in firm plastic sleeves.. some of which I've propped up against books on shelves. Kind of makeshift and not optimal but still greeting me and leaving me with a happy feeling when I look at them.

Comment by Mike Shepherd on June 26, 2021 at 12:05pm: That is a great compromise, Etienne. Placing autographed photos in toploaders and displaying them on bookshelves is something that I also do occasionally. The nice thing about it is that you can replace what is currently there, depending on your mood. Thanks for sharing.

Comment by Mikex on June 26, 2021 at 12:22pm: Most of my autographs are in toploaders or on the wall.

Comment by Eric Keith Longo on June 26, 2021 at 12:29pm: Guilty. Better signed photos are in archival top loaders in archival sleeves, other items in archival sleeves and all in quality binders.