Skip to main content

What's in a name? Fortunes

Shaun Smillie
The prominent pieces of the collection are the Lennon signature and the autographs The Beatles signed at their 1963 Royal Command performance. File photo

Image by: GETTY IMAGES

Christine got around. She hobnobbed with the stars of her day, if only briefly.

But in those brief encounters, she persuaded them to append their autographs - and she did it over and over.

The band The Searchers signed her book, as did Cliff Richard. John Lennon signed it twice.
Christine collected those autographs more than half a century ago and next week they are expected to fetch tens of thousands of rands at auction in Johannesburg.

The prominent pieces of the collection are the Lennon signature and the autographs The Beatles signed at their 1963 Royal Command performance. It was at this performance, in front of Princess Margaret, that Lennon famously remarked: "The people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands. And the rest of you, just rattle your jewellery."

Two autograph books are to be auctioned on Wednesday and Thursday at Stephan Welz & Co auctioneers at Sandton City.

The second book contains the autographs of the likes of comedian Benny Hill, Kojak actor Telly Savalas and boxer Henry Cooper.

Some just gave their names, others signed off with a formal "yours sincerely" and one performer took the time to draw a cartoon duck.

Together, the books are expected to make between R35000 and R50000. "We haven't cottoned on to the autograph market like the rest of the world, autograph collecting here is more Mandela signatures and the 1995 Rugby World Cup team," said Savo Tufegdzic, head of the stamps and coins department at Stephan Welz & Co.

But there was a recent exception. Stephan Welz & Co auctioned the seven-volume visitors' register from Johannesburg's now defunct Gramadoelas restaurant.

The book, which contained messages from and the signatures of such dignitaries as Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth and David Bowie, was sold for R200000.

According to the PFC40 Autograph Index, which values autographs, The Beatles signatures have become hot property.

A signed photo of the band, valued at £5500 in 2000, is worth £27500 (about R514855) today, it says. A Lennon autograph would have increased in value by 900% over the same period.

One other interesting signature is up for auction in Sandton: US football star OJ Simpson wrote on a visit to South Africa: "To Dorette, Peace and Love!"

It was signed in 1980, 15 years before his acquittal for the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. It is not clear who Dorette was.

As for Christine, the autograph books reveal little about her besides her name.

The seller apparently is not connected to Christine.


To order my book Autograph Hell, please click HERE
For more information about my Summit Murder Mystery series, please CLICK HERE
Follow me on twitter, HERE
'Like' my Facebook page, HERE
Subscribe to my YouTube channel, HERE and HERE
     

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to Preserve your Autographed Photo Collectables

I came across this article and thought it was a good one to share!  We all know that preserving your photos is very important!  What is the point of collecting autographs if the photos become faded and start to deteriorate in a few years because you don't handle them properly?  Take a look at these autograph preservation tips! 1. Acid free is the way to go - Whether you choose plastic bags, cardboard folders or frames to display your autographs, you need to make sure that the material you use is acid free. Standard bags, folders and frames are made with materials that release acids over time. These acids can make your photographs and other memorabilia fade and disintegrate. Make sure that the products that you buy to store your autographs is clearly labeled acid-free. If the package doesn't specify that, don't trust it with your photos. 2. Keep humidity low - Humidity causes moisture which can be devastating to paper products like photographs. To keep your a

Baseball Autograph Collector Gives to Charity

Recently, a baseball autograph enthusiast put her hard work towards a greater good. Jane Bell is an 83-year-old Detroit Tigers fan and since the 1980s has fought through crowds and slipped into dugouts to expand her prized collection of autographed baseballs. She is now letting charity benefit from her efforts and is putting 136 of her autographed baseballs up for action and will give all proceeds to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Jane is planning to hold onto one particular baseball, personalized by Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Morris in 1986. Morris wrote: "To Jane Bell, my best to you, to a loyal Tiger fan." Jane hopes that her baseballs will bring in $3,000-$5,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. According to a local appraiser, Randall Paul, this is a reasonable goal and hopes she will reach it. Jane has been a Tigers season-ticket holder since 1984, and attends all 81 home games each year. According to Jane, it is through being a loyal fan t

Collecting as a matter of history

I have Reggie Jackson to thank for a recent personal epiphany. A few people before it was my turn to get an autograph last Saturday, a man had to wait as Reggie “Mr. October” Jackson put pepper on the sandwich he was eating. I snapped this cell phone picture of MLB Hall of Fame outfielder Reggie Jackson April 11 at a signing in the Twin Cities. I’d hoped to capture him signing my bat, but I failed and got him looking at me to silently ask where I wanted him to sign the bat. When it was my turn to get his autograph at the Sportsnews Production Show on April 11 at the Earl Brown Center in Brooklyn Center, I took out my phone to get a photo of the hall of fame outfielder known as Mr. October signing my bat. I looked up to see him staring at me and pointing at the bat with a look of “Where do you want me to sign this?” Without saying a word, he kept pointing until I picked