Speaking of autographed stuff ... what's your Holy Grail?

[Chicoartist]

Over the years I have had many alums (and close relatives, like Don Gentile's sister) sign my 4th FG book, "Escort to Berlin". The neat thing is every single signature (except one) in the book was done using the pen my CFI gave me after I got my CFI. Blakeslee, Goodson, crew chief/nose artist Don Allen, and many others both air and ground crew have personally held my book and signed - some several times as they also signed over photos of themselves in the book.

A friend has a wartime scrapbook signed by everybody - EVERYBODY - who served in the 4th FG from 42 - 45, including small artwork by Don Allen and Kidd Hofer(!). I have made special arrangements with his wife that if "anything should happen to him", the book goes to me ...

Wade

[jph712]

I used to work for Space Camp and as such had the opportunity to meet a number of Astronauts and had the opportunity to get the following:
1. Alan Shepherd
2. Buzz Aldrin
3. Jim Lovell
4. Fred Haise
5. Alan Bean
6. Bill Anders
7. Charlie Duke
8. Gene Cernan
9. Wally Schirra
10. Deke Slayton
11. Multiple shuttle Astronauts (too many to list)

Test Pilots:
1. Scott Crossfield (he was a wonderful story teller)
2. Pete Knight
3. Chuck Yeager

Fighter Aces:
1. Duke Cunningham
2. Herman Ernst (P-61 Ace)
3. Bud Anderson
4. Robert Goebbel

I have others but this is what I can remember off the top of my head.

[lmritger]

I've managed to get some good ones- I've got Franz Stigler, Hans Ekkehard-Bob, Horst Petzschler, and Gunther Rall's signatures in my "Luftwaffe Codes and Markings", and Oskar Boesch signed one of my "Dora-Kurfurst und Rote 13" volumes. A good friend of mine obtained signed prints and photos for me at Duxford from Don Strait, Shorty Rankin, and a few others, and I got several signatures at the first Gathering of Mustangs and Legends in a P-51 book, including Ken Dahlberg, Bud Anderson, the infamous Gen. Yeager, Alex Jefferson, "Boots" Blessee, and Lee Archer. I also managed to find a signed copy of George Gay's "Sole Survivor" in a bookstore in FL.

If I had to pick a "Holy Grail"- something which would be borderline unimaginable to find- it would probably be something like a VT-8 operational order signed by John Waldron and other VT-8 crew members. Or perhaps something from Capt. Elliott Buckmaster while he was the CO of the Yorktown... or a signed copy of "Flight to Arras" from St. Exupery... or anything signed by Klaus Mietusch.

In other words, my "Holy Grail" signatures just don't seem to exist, at least not for normal poor piss-ant collectors like myself.

Lynn

[JBoyle]

Does anyone have a signed copy of "Spirit of St. Louis" by Charles Lindbergh?

Yes. A special "presentation edition" #718. I (probably over) paid for it in the mid-1990s.

Those are my Holy Grails, also something signed by Wilbur and Orville;

Yes, but only signed by Orville. A copy of Kelly's Biography. In the end flap there is a hand written account how it's first ownewr got the book signed. He was a flight surgeon at Wright Field and he wentto the Wrighgt home on Dec. 27, 1943. I found it at a used book sale in Dayton in the mid 90s, it was being sold by a dealer in Michigan.

Gentile and Godfrey;

Yes, but only signed by Gentile, a copy of his little known 55-page book "One Man Air Force" co-written by Ira Wolfert. I found it in a used book store in Dayton. I pais $150 for it and I authenticated the signature at the USAF Museum (as it was then called).


Other nice pieces...an autographed copy (in a very shakey hand as might be expected) of Jimmy Doolittle's autobiography, and a signed print of him taking off from the Hornet (signed by both the artist and Doolittle).

And a copy of the Dec 1969 National Geographic, Apollo 11 issue, signed by Neil Armstrong.

I'd really appreciate any guesses to their current values.

[warbird1]

I'd really appreciate any guesses to their current values.

I'll say the same thing that I said earlier in this thread. Any item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. There can be wide variances in prices. Auctions tend to bring more money than private sales or Ebay most of the time. I will quote you what each of your autographs are worth according to the bible of signature prices, the 7th edition of the "Sanders Autograph guide":

Does anyone have a signed copy of "Spirit of St. Louis" by Charles Lindbergh?

Yes. A special "presentation edition" #718. I (probably over) paid for it in the mid-1990s.

Sanders guide - $ 750 to 1500. I have been following the pricing of signed Lindbergh books on Ebay for about the past year. Currently there is a signed copy of "Spirit of St. Louis" for sale on Ebay for $4000. That is way, way too expensive and will never sell. Over the past year, I've seen signed copies of that book, as well as "We", by Lindbergh, sell for anywhere from $1800 to about $ 2200. That still seems to be a little high according to what it should sell for. Condition of the book plays a large role also, as I saw one in mint condition sell on Ebay last year for around $ 3000.

Those are my Holy Grails, also something signed by Wilbur and Orville;

Yes, but only signed by Orville. A copy of Kelly's Biography. In the end flap there is a hand written account how it's first ownewr got the book signed. He was a flight surgeon at Wright Field and he wentto the Wrighgt home on Dec. 27, 1943. I found it at a used book sale in Dayton in the mid 90s, it was being sold by a dealer in Michigan.

Sanders guide - $466 to $1213

Gentile and Godfrey;

Yes, but only signed by Gentile, a copy of his little known 55-page book "One Man Air Force" co-written by Ira Wolfert. I found it in a used book store in Dayton. I pais $150 for it and I authenticated the signature at the USAF Museum (as it was then called).

This one is hard to estimate as there is no listing in the Sanders guide for Gentile. I have seen signed letters and documents of Gentile's being offered for sale upwards of $5000 by an aviation art gallery, but I think that price is way, way over-inflated. I would guess that his value might be similar to either Bong or O'Hare. Here is the value of those two:

Bong - $1175
O'Hare - $350

Gentile is not as well known as either Bong or O'Hare, so that would certainly have to be taken into account as to the value of his autograph.

Other nice pieces...an autographed copy (in a very shakey hand as might be expected) of Jimmy Doolittle's autobiography,

Unfortunately, Doolittle's signature is rather common as he signed thousands and thousands of books, art prints, photographs and documents. The Sanders guide does not list a price for a book but I would guess it would be somewhere between a straight, plain autograph and a signed photo. Here are the respective prices for those: $68 to $192. If you want to collect Doolittle's signature - get an early signature - something signed prior to the 1960's. Back then, his signature was much more stable, solid and is more rare. Later in life, particularly after about the 1980's, his signature became very tentative and was characterized by a shakey signature as you pointed out. Anecdotally, I can tell you that based on what I have seen off of Ebay, that book would have no problem selling for about the $ 200 to $ 300 range on Ebay.

and a signed print of him taking off from the Hornet (signed by both the artist and Doolittle).

That depends on too many factors to evaluate including which print it is, who is the artist, numbered edition, etc. I have the Robert Taylor one he signed plus the other Raiders. I bought that a long time ago when it was cheap, but now it might go for in excess of $2000. For any of the lesser known aviation artists, it obviously would go for less, but I wouldn't expect them to go for any less than $ 400 to $ 500.

And a copy of the Dec 1969 National Geographic, Apollo 11 issue, signed by Neil Armstrong.

The Sanders guide quotes a value of $ 849 for just a straight, plain signature on paper. Two things make that item special:

1) It was signed on the Apollo11 issue. Anything that is signed on a magazine, or photo directly related to the signer will have more value.
2) Neil Armstrong quit signing autographs many years ago. Unless you are his closest, personal friend, he will unlikely ever sign another Dec '69 National Geographic magazine. That makes it very rare.

Because of these two factors, I could easily see that issue going for double the value or $ 1698.
Armstrong's autograph is very popular now, particularly at auction sites, such as RR auctions, etc. I've seen Armstrong signed items easily go for over twice the Sander's guide values.

Like anything that is rare, historical or unique, it's impossible to establish a definitive value on autographs, but only establish a range based off of what other similar items have sold for in the past.

Hope this gives you a little insight into the value of your items.

Nice little collection, BTW!

[JBoyle]

Thanks...
I doubt if they'll be on the market soon.

[warbird1]

Thanks...
I doubt if they'll be on the market soon.

I don't blame you, I wouldn't sell either. I've been collecting for a long time (33+ years), and I've never sold anything I have collected. I have an interest in it as a true aviation buff. As an added benefit, though, it really is an investment, as the prices will do nothing but go up over time! I've been buying like crazy over the past 2 years because now is a golden opportunity to collect signatures for two reasons:

1) The current recession has dramatically dropped the prices of signatures. This is especially true as private collectors sell off their collections just to make ends meet in the current dismal economic situation. I can't tell you how many "steals" I've made by buying autographed books, photos, and art prints off of Ebay that were SUBSTANTIALLY below market value, because the sellers were desperate to make quick cash.

2) From now until about the next 10 years or so, the W.W.II generation will all be passing away. Their collections, estates, signatures, will be available to the general public through estate liquidations, settling of Wills, etc. As families discard their parents' and grandparents' collections, many things will be released into the public. Some autographed stuff has been in people's collections for over 60 years. I recently bought two Postal First Day Covers that were signed by Orville Wright which were obtained by a collector in the 1930's, in person, from Orville. That person was a close friend of my autograph dealer and he bought the entire lot of 40+ signed Orville FDC's from the gentleman, shortly before he passed away. My autograph dealer/friend now wants to retire and is selling off things such as the Orville covers that he has hoarded for decades.

After the Greatest Generation passes, there will be no more autographs and they will all be finite in quantity. That means that as time goes on, the value will do nothing but increase. As morbid as it sounds, dead people's autographs always command higher prices than living people.