BIG NAME HUNTING: A Beginner's Guide to Autograph Hunting

by Charles & Diane Hamilton ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1973

Why not begin with a big name -- say Billy Graham, the evangelist."" At least half of the people to whom you write will send you a signature, and as content counts more than just names, ask James Jones who of all his characters is his favorite, or ask Vice President Agnew if he would recommend politics as a career. Use ingenuity -- like the young man who upon running into Edna St. Vincent Millay, ""quickly whipped out my fountain pen and wrote from memory her famous quatrain beginning 'I bum my candle at both ends"" [sic] for her to sign. You might want to specialize in black leaders, sports heroes, astronauts, or -- if willing to buy from dealers, almost all of whom are entirely reliable -- American presidents. If you are inclined to think in name hunter terms (in which one Hoover, say, equals half a Babe Ruth) and are not up to Hamilton's adult Collecting Autographs and Manuscripts (1970), you can probably use the tips offered here on how to preserve your letters, how auctions work, how to get around machine-made facsimile signatures, and the possibilities of collecting for investment.

Pub Date: July 1, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1973

Categories: NONFICTION