Comment

Comment by Montreal Bill on August 18, 2026 at 5:07am

I try to avoid signed books as they take up a lot more space and are harder to show people.  And rarely have any content.

Too bad I didn’t get a shot at the Pearson and St. Laurent signed letters.  I have had many Pearsons but he is one of the highest demand PMs from King onwards.  And St. Laurent seems surprisingly uncommon for good content stuff.

I was close to completing a set of signed portraits of ALL PMs but gave up after 28 years of trying as I decided I would never get the four I was missing.  For Alexander Mackenzie, Bowell and Abbott, they are scarce enough just for an autograph I have only had 2-3 of each in 37 years of collecting.  And they are unbelievably scarce for signed portraits as I have never seen one of them anywhere, that I recall.  Though maybe I saw one in an institutional archive, but NEVER for sale.

Comment by crazyrabbits23 on August 17, 2026 at 9:32pm

Yes, I have somewhere between 6-8 signed Dief items (not counting ones I've donated back to stores or the one letter I sold). I stopped counting after a while. I have somewhere between 3-5 of the "One Canada" books signed by him, as well as the "boxset" that came in the blue case that are all signed.

The one letter I had signed from him (which I bought from a stamp collector in Manitoba) was sold along with a set of signed letters from Lester Pearson and Louis St. Laurent a couple years back through a private consigner.

For a time, I had every PM signed from Mackenzie King onwards (notwithstanding a signed Tupper lithograph that I learned later had bad water damage), though selling that set of letters broke my streak.

You should be able to find signed Chretien or Dief autos at the thrift store - both of them (particularly Chretien) signed copious amounts of books.

Comment by Montreal Bill on August 14, 2026 at 11:09am

Thanks for your reply!  

It lead me to be able to lock in two Stallone signed memoirs because I read some of your other comments.  He is not someone I normally collect but at $50 per signed book, I couldn’t say no.

For all the Diefenbakers that you found, were they signed books?  I don’t think I’ve ever found a signed book at any thrift store I’ve been in.  My mom got a Lady Bird Johnson signed book for me but I couldn’t care less to have her autograph.  And I’m not sure why they would have any other type of correspondence.  Or where they would keep that.  I used to have a massive Salvation Army six blocks from me on my street. For many years.  I might’ve dropped in once a year to take a look around. Maybe when I dropped off items for them.  I never found any autographs.  My best guess is it closed because the real estate was worth way way way way more than the Salvation Army was paying or could afford.

Do you have any PMs earlier than Dief?  Or need any?  At the moment I have a spare Bowell and Abbott free frank.  Or do you have any other significant historical Canadians?  I have an amazing collection of Diefs I acquired from the son of his former and late personal assistant.

Comment by Montreal Bill on August 14, 2026 at 7:58am

Thanks for your reply!  It lead me to be able to lock in two Stallone signed memoirs.  He is not someone I normally collect but at $50 per signed book, I couldn’t say no.

For all the Diefenbakers that you found, were they signed books?  I don’t think I’ve ever found a signed book at any thrift store I’ve been in.  My mom got a Lady Bird Johnson signed book for me but I couldn’t care less to have her autograph.  And I’m not sure why they would have any other type of correspondence.  I used to have a massive Salvation Army six blocks from me on my street. For many years.  I might’ve dropped in once a year to take a look around. Maybe when I dropped off items fo them.  I never found any autographs.  My best guess is it closed because the real estate was worth way way way way more than the Salvation Army was paying or could afford.

Comment by crazyrabbits23 on August 13, 2026 at 10:57pm

Do the same thing I do -- go scope out your local Salvation Army, Goodwill or Value Village. You're almost guaranteed to find some of the political/"significant Canadian" autographs you're hunting for. I have so many signed Diefenbakers that I ended up donating some back to charity, lol