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Autograph
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An autograph (from the , autós, "self" and ???f?, grápho, "write") is a document written entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one transcribed by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.
Autograph also refers to a person's signature. This term is used in particular for the practice of collecting autographs of celebrities. The hobby of collecting autographs is known as philography.
ndividual's writing styles change throughout the lifespan of a person; a signature of President George Washington (c.
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Encyclopedia
An autograph (from the , autós, "self" and ???f?, grápho, "write") is a document written entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one transcribed by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.
Autograph also refers to a person's signature. This term is used in particular for the practice of collecting autographs of celebrities. The hobby of collecting autographs is known as philography.
Styles
An individual's writing styles change throughout the lifespan of a person; a signature of President George Washington (c. 1795) will be different from one when he was an 18-year-old land surveyor. After British Admiral Nelson lost his right arm at the Tenerife sea-battle in 1797, he switched to using his left hand. However, the degree of change may vary greatly. The signatures of Washington and Lincoln changed only slightly during their adult lives, while John F. Kennedy's signature was different virtually every time he signed.
Other factors affect an individuals signature, including their level of education, health, and so on. Blues singer John Lee Hooker had a limited education, and such is reflected in his handwriting. Composer Charles Ives and boxer Muhammad Ali both suffered from Parkinson's disease, and their handwriting show the effects of that condition as well. Native American Chief Geronimo had no concept of an alphabet; he "drew" his signature, much like a pictograph.
Many individuals have much more fanciful signatures than their normal cursive writing, including elaborate ascenders, descenders and exotic flourishes, much as one would find in calligraphic writing
For one of the most foremost collections of autographs look up Tommy Scullion; a calligraphic artist in his own right.
As an example, the final "k" in John Hancock's famous signature on the US Declaration of Independence loops back to underline his name. This kind of flourish is also known as a paraph. John Hancock's signature on the Declaration of Independence is so unique and well-known that the phrase "John Hancock" has become a synonym for "signature", and a prominent piece of American iconography.
Categories of celebrities
Some of the most popular categories of autograph subjects are Presidents, military figures, sports, popular culture, artists, social and religious leaders, scientists, astronauts and authors.
Some collectors may specialize in specific fields (such as Nobel Prize winners) or general topics (military leaders participating in World War I) or specific documents (i.e., signers of the Charter of the United Nations; signers of the U.S. Constitution; signers of the Israeli Declaration of Independence; signers of the Charter of the European Common Union; signers of the WWII German or Japanese Surrender documents).
Sports memorabilia signed by a whole team can often be sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Commercialization
Many celebrities still enjoy signing autographs for free for fans, keeping it an interesting hobby. Hilary Duff has publicly lashed-out at other teen idol stars who avoid autograph collectors. Art Carney also enjoyed signing autographs until his death in November 2003.
Many people are not willing to distribute their signature—at least not for free. Sports personalities in this category include most baseball players, including the majority of the New York Yankees, Joe Dimaggio, and most notoriously, Barry Bonds. Other sports stars who try to avoid signing whenever possible are Bill Russell, who does not sign at all in public and only sparingly at private signing sessions. Michael Jordan, would not and could not sign for most of his career because people's safety was at risk due to frenzied attempts to get his signature, which is worth hundreds of dollars. Jordan has frequently signed at more peaceful events, such as golf tournaments. It is also difficult to get Michael Jackson's autograph. A typical scenario is hundreds of fans in a crush waiting by Jackson's hotel, with Jackson signing five or ten autographs as he rushes to his vehicle.
Realizing the potential profit in the sale of pop culture autographs, many dealers also would wait for hours for a celebrity to emerge from a location, present several photos for the celebrity to sign and then sell most of them. Some dealers would locate a celebrity's home address and write to them repeatedly asking for autographs. The celebrities soon grew tired of the practice and limited their responses. Because of the many autographs a celebrity might sign over time, some check requests against a record of past requests. Boxer George Foreman, for instance, records the names and addresses of every person requesting an autograph to limit such abuses.
Secretarial Signatures
Celebrities sometimes authorized secretaries to sign their correspondence. In the early months of WWII, U.S. Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall felt obligated to sign every condolence letter sent to the families of slain soldiers. But as the death rate increased, he was forced to assign an assistant to "forge" his signature to the letters. The surrogate signatures were hard to distinguish from the originals. General Douglas MacArthur rarely signed a WWII condolence letter personally and all of his letters to families were signed by one of two assistants who tried hard to duplicate his signature but the "forgeries" were distinguished by an unusually high letter "l" and a skinny "D". MacArthur's Korean War-period condolence letters had pre-printed signatures.
In the 1952 Presidential Election, General Eisenhower often had secretaries forge his name to campaign letters and "personally inscribed" autographed photographs.
Autopen signatures
Since the early 1950s almost all American presidents have had an autopen or robot signature-signing machine sign their letters, photographs, books, and even official documents. The Signa-Signer can even write out in ink an authentically looking handwritten message that has been typed into the machine. One book detailing the use of this machine by President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) is The Robot That Helped to Make a President.
Since the 1960s, the practice of using an autopen has spread to U.S. Cabinet members and to U.S. Senators, and many other personalities who have a high volume of correspondence with the public.
A photo signed by astronaut Neil Armstrong (c.1972) is an autopen signature; Armstrong declined to sign most of these items since 1980. He now signs personally for he has had a decline in mail received. Astronaut Alan Shepard acknowledged that NASA uses the autopen machine to sign the astronauts' voluminous correspondence. Many large corporations also use these machines for signing business letters. One might think that autopen signatures would constantly match one another. However, even autopen signatures will eventually change as the signature drum becomes worn and thereby alters the signature. Due to these professional imitations, one must be wary of buying presidential or astronaut signatures from unknown sellers.
In December 2004 a controversy arose when it was revealed that the United States' Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, was using an autopen to sign letters-of-condolence to families of American military members who had died during Gulf War II. Shortly thereafter, Rumsfeld announced that he would start to personally sign such letters.
Forged autographs
Autograph collecting is an enthralling hobby to collectors, who enjoy assembling a series of historical documents, letters or objects that have been signed or autographed by a notable person as a way of capturing a piece of history. However, collectors must be aware that the hobby is fraught with documents, photographs and sports items that were signed by forgers seeking to profit by selling forged items to unwitting buyers. Sometimes just the signature has been forged, in other instances the entire document has been fabricated. Forged autographs of nearly all famous personalities abound. Differentiating forged from authentic autographs is almost impossible for the amateur collector and a professional should be consulted.
One method commonly seen on eBay is called "preprinting" by many sellers. The item is only a photocopy of an actual autographed photo, usually printed on glossy home photo paper. Since this is almost always disclosed to the buyer, some may not consider these actual forgeries.
Forgers go to great lengths to make their forgeries appear authentic. They use blank end papers from old books upon which to write their fake signatures in an attempt to match the paper of the era in which the personality lived. They have researched ink formulations of the era that they want to replicate. One book that explores the production of impressive fake manuscripts pertaining to Mormons is: A Gathering of Saints by Robert Lindsey.
One must know the era in which American presidents signed their documents. American presidents previously signed "land grants" until President Andrew Jackson (c.1836) became bored with the time-consuming task. Since then secretaries of the president have mimicked their master's signatures on these documents (known as "proxy" signatures). Virtually all movie stars have their secretaries sign their letters and photographs for them. When President Ronald Reagan was an actor during the 1940s, he had his mother sign his name to much of his fan mail.
During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the president of the Confederate States of America was Jefferson Davis. Due to his extensive correspondence, Davis' wife frequently signed his name to his dictated letters. As she duplicated his signature so well, she usually placed a period after the signature so that he could discern her signatures from his own.
All of the Union and Confederate generals from the American Civil War have had their signatures forged. Many were faked during the 1880s, a period that included the fad of aging soldiers in collecting Civil War autographs. Most deceptions were of mere signatures on a small piece of paper, but extensively written letters were forged as well. Autograph collectors should be cautious of clipped signatures. The bogus autograph is glued onto an authentic steel-engraved portrait of the subject. Some steel engravings may have reprinted the autograph of the portrayed subject; this is known as a facsimile autograph, and to an uninformed buyer it may appear to be real.
Deceptive devices
Some personalities have used a rubber or steel hand-stamp to "sign" their documents. American President Andrew Johnson (c.1866) did so during his tenure as a senator prior to assuming the presidency, since his right hand was injured in a train accident. This is why his autograph as President differs from previous autographs. President Warren Harding frequently used a rubber stamp while he was a senator. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt used them, along with President Woodrow Wilson (c.1916). England's King Henry VIII and Pennsylvania colony founder William Penn used a deceiving hand stamp.
Joseph Stalin had several rubber signature stamps which were used on awards and Communist party cards. Nikita Kruschev and Lavrenti Beria, the KGB Chief, used similar stamps.
Quality forgeries have been made for all of Europe's past rulers. The French nobles had their secretaires de main sign their documents. Many forgeries of Napoleon's (c.1800) war orders exist; he was so busy with battle concerns that he barely had enough time to sign promotion orders for generals, so his scribes applied his name to lesser documents.
Many famous scientists, astronauts, Arctic explorers, musicians, poets, and literary authors have had forgeries of their epistles and signatures produced . False signatures of the aviator Charles Lindbergh were clandestinely signed onto real 1930-era airmail envelopes bought at stamp shops and then re-sold to unwary buyers; the same has occurred with Amelia Earhart and the Wright brothers. "Mickey Mouse" creator, Walt Disney (1955), had several of his cartoonists duplicate his artistic signature on replies to children seeking his autograph.
Texan paper currency was signed in ink by Sam Houston, though not handwritten by Houston himself.
An article in Smithsonian Magazine explored the "melting timepieces" artwork of the Spanish painter Salvador Dalí. It quoted one of his secretaries as claiming that she signed the artist's signature to postcard depictions of his paintings.
Some deceivers cut pages from books that American President Richard Nixon (c.1970) signed on the blank flyleaf, typed his letter of resignation from the presidency on that signed page, and then sold the doctored item as if Nixon had personally signed a scarce copy of the historical document. The miscreant has changed the value of a lower-priced signed book quite easily to a much more lucrative item; changing a mere signature into a signed manuscript. This practice has expanded to include quotations from George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, Hillary Clinton, John F.Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Although now marketed as "souvenir" signed copies, they are, by definition, fraudulent creations.
World War II (1939-1945)
Many of the autographed documents allegedly signed by the German leaders of the Nazi government have been forged. Spurious documents and postcards claiming to be signed by Adolf Hitler are extant. Many were written on blank Nazi stationery that had been purloined by Allied soldiers from the desks in the Führer's bunker in Berlin. German Fieldmarshall Erwin Rommel has had many bogus signatures penned in his characteristic green pencil that he used (ink dried too quickly in the hot North African climate). Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's signature has been forged on authentic documents actually signed by King Emanuel—this helps to make the phony Mussolini signature appear real, since it is on an otherwise genuine document.
Any serious autograph collector must be alert for the WWII blitzkrieging General Guderian autographed document: it may be signed by his son who became a German general after the war. The same confusion can exist in trying to differentiate between the signatures of the sons of Rommel and the American Admiral Nimitz (1945).
Other Authenticity Issues
Forgers buy real Revolutionary War-era documents and surreptitiously pen a famous patriot's name between other real signatures in a manuscript in hope of deceiving an unsuspecting buyer. Others will use tea or tobacco stains to brown or age their modern missives.
It has been estimated that over 80 percent of the autographed items of famous American sports players being sold over the Internet are fakes. Baseball legend Babe Ruth, for instance, has had his signature forged on old baseballs, then rubbed in dirt to make them appear to be from the 1930s.
Authentication
With the recent enormous growth of autograph sellers on eBay, and the appearance of a multitude of new galleries and retailers offering expensive autographs, casual autograph collectors and one-time buyers have in many instances sought "certificates of authenticity" issued by the seller at the time of sale. As with any guarantee, these certificates are only as dependable as the seller issuing them.
In many instances, sellers will use a professional authenticator to determine the authenticity of the material they wish to bring to market. The autograph industry is currently contentiously split between two types of authenticators: those who rely upon their professional expertise and experience personally having collected and/or sold large inventories of autographs over a period of many years, and "forensic examiners" who rely on academic credentials. Disputes have led to court actions, most notably gallery owner American Royal Arts vs. Beatles autograph dealer Frank Caiazzo.
Potential autograph buyers uncertain of the legitimacy of the seller or authenticator should carefully research both parties.
Copyright
Under United States Copyright Law, "titles, names [...]; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring" are not eligible for copyright; however, the appearance of signatures (not the names themselves) may be protected under copyright law.
Glossary
In autograph-auction catalogues the following abbreviations are used to help describe the type of letter or document that is being offered for sale.
- AD: Autograph Document (hand-written by the person to be collected, but not signed)
- ADS: Autograph Document Signed (written and signed by same individual)
- AL: Autograph Letter (hand-written by the person to be collected, but not signed)
- ALS: Autograph Letter Signed (hand-written and signed by same individual)
- AMs: Autograph Manuscript (hand-written; such as the draft of a play, research paper or music sheet)
- AMsS: Autograph Manuscript Signed (hand-written and signed by same individual)
- AMusQs: Autograph Musical Quotation Signed (hand-written and signed by same individual)
- AN: Autograph Note (much shorter than a letter)
- ANS: Autograph Note Signed (hand-written and signed by same individual)
- AQS: Autograph Quote Signed (hand-written and signed by same individual; poem verse, sentence, or bar-of-music)
- DS: Document signed (printed, or while hand-written by another, is signed by individual sought to be collected)
- LS: Letter Signed (hand-written by someone else, but signed by the individual sought to be collected)
- PS: Photograph Signed or Postcard Signed
- SP: Signed Photograph
- TLS: Typed Letter Signed
- TNS: Typed Note Signed
- folio: A printer's sheet of paper folded once to make two leaves, double quarto size or larger.
- octavo(8vo): A manuscript page about six-by-nine inches. (Originally determined by folding a printer's sheet of paper to form eight leaves.)
- quarto(4to): A manuscript page of about nine and one-half by twelve inches. (Originally determined by folding a printer's sheet of paper twice to form four leaves.)
See also
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