Autograph Values

Edisto · Post by **Edisto** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 1:18 pm

On another thread ("Merry Christmas, Mama") are some comments about the eBay sale of an autograph book that may contain Lizzie's autograph (or maybe not). The book went for $898, which might be a bargain if the 1879 Lizzie autograph can be authenticated.

I was perusing an old copy of AntiqueWeek (while waiting for my flats to heat) this morning. One of advertisements listed the following items that had been sold recently. Unfortunately, I can't tell from the tiny pictures what dates are on the items, but I'm assuming they've been authenticated. Can you guess which was the most valuable and which the least?

1. A handwritten letter (or so it appears) signed by George Washington.
(Probably only the signature is Washington's.) I'm guessing from
the stationery that he wasn't President when it was written; possibly
earlier in the 1780s.

2. A two-page love letter from John Keats, ca. 1820, signed with
initials "J. K." only.

3. An autographed photo of Geronimo, the Indian chief, signed in
block letters (ca. 1890).

4. A "commission letter" that appears handwritten, signed by Abraham
Lincoln, mid-19th century, during his presidency. The handwriting in
the body of the letter looks different from Lincoln's and was probably
done by a copyist.

5. A very delightful photograph of a young Howard Hughes, standing in
front of a hangar beside an early monoplane. The photo is signed
by Hughes. Looks to be from the 1930s or early 40s.

One of these items fetched many times the value of any of the others. Can you guess which one? (I couldn't.)

I'll post the values in a couple of days. Feel free to cheat if you can find an outdated copy of AntiqueWeek or guess which auction house was involved.

doug65oh · Post by **doug65oh** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 1:50 pm

hmmm

Well, it's not Washington.Those go pretty cheap generally - $600 tops for the item as mentioned, I'd say.

Might be Lincoln - I've seen military commissions like that auctioned for about $5,000 - not peanuts by any means but....

Right... Top dog in this pack is probably Keats - amazing, the value of two letters - followed closely by Howard Hughes.

diana · Post by **diana** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:48 pm

OK -- I'm going along with Doug, here.... I think it's Keats -- even though, according to one website, there's apparently well over 200 of the poet's letters still around.

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:55 pm

I am going to take a wild guess and place my bet on Hughes. Don't ask me why, it's just the feeling I get. We'll see if I'm right.

FairhavenGuy · Post by **FairhavenGuy** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:26 pm

GERONIMO

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:32 pm

"2. A two-page love letter from John Keats, ca. 1820, signed with initials "J. K." only"- is my guess.

stuartwsa · Post by **stuartwsa** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 9:13 am

I'm with FairhavenGuy, and put my money on Geronimo.

Edisto · Post by **Edisto** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:05 pm

Several of you are either more knowledgeable about autographs than I am, or you've done some research. Here are the values, from lowest to highest:

1. Signed Lincoln commission letter: $7,475

2. Signed Howard Hughes photo: $9, 775

3. Geronimo autographed photo: $12,650

4. George Washington signed letter: $21.850

5. John Keats love letter: $126,500

I wouldn't take these values too seriously, because they're based on one auction sale in each case. Such sales are often asterisked in the price guides. If there was a buyer's premium, it isn't mentioned; however, if there was, it would have probably have applied equally to each item, being a percentage of the hammer price The auctioneer is Heritage-Slater Americana of Dallas, TX.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 11:29 pm

Thanks for the results! That was fascinating!
Which did you pick?

I'm not knowledgeable about autographs nor did I do homework.

I guessed, but thought I was probably correct. Don't know why.

I had gathered Alfred Hitchcock's autograph on a letter of invitation to VIPs in Boston to a world premiere and gave it to Stefani, 30 years ago.
About 10 years ago, she took it to Disney where they sold autographed memoribilia, and was told that with the cake box together they could be worth up to $10,000, but he couldn't buy it and that quote depended on the amount of interest by a certain amount of people on any given day, under optimum conditions.

What is a "buyers premium?" Is it a minimum price?

stuartwsa · Post by **stuartwsa** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:40 am

"Buyer's premium" is a fee (usually 10%) tacked onto the final sale price, by the auction house.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:34 pm

Thanks Stuart. I guess that means when someone buys something for $25,000 they know ahead of time they'll be paying $27,500? Yikes!