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Show Page 22 - THE HERALD MAGAZINE, Provo, Utah. Wednesday, May 22, 1985 Tim Anderson shows Vivian Leigh portrait. r Get Big Bucks for Big . y Names a 1 How much is your signature worth? Not much to anyone but banks and bill collectors; but do something unforgettable -make like Howard Hughes and Greta Garbo and go into hiding, then die young like Marilyn and Monroe, John Kennedy or James Dean, or gain overnight fame by becoming President the price people will pay for your autograph will skyrocket. Notoriety helps too. Autograph collector Tim Anderson of Provo says some of the most valuable and sought-afte- r signatures today are penned, apparently infrequently, by the Iyatollah Khomeini of Iran, Idi Amin of Africa, Momar Khadafy of Libya, and Richard Nixon of the USA. A collector can probably get $700 for signed correspondence from John Hinckley, President Reagan's foiled assassin, and a John Wilkes Booth autograph can easily bring $1,000 or more; whereas, ironically Abe Lincoln s signature is worth about $500,' the collector said. "flpnorallv with nrecirienHal accaccinotinnc cicrnatiirac nf tha occaccin'c arp worth more than the Dresident's because Dolitirians sien a lot on their wav un." Anderson explained. The marketing professional began collecting autographs in earnest five years ago at the suggestion of his younger brother in Cedar City who makes a living buying and selling other people's John Henrys. A good business prospect was music to Anderson's ears. A bright and energetic business graduate from Bngham Young University, he was trying to survive on e and struggling. A complementary hobby writing projects at the time that could offer a few easy bucks on the side seemed a natural, and inevitably Anderson graduated from collector to dealer-trade- r. Once you ve done it, it never gets out of your system, he warns. It s exciting, it s fun, and it helps pay bills. i ' 4 A free-lanc- Jim Cagney, left, and Pat O'Brien I Another benefit is knowledge acquired in the process of finding what subject is profitable to pursue, Anderson pointed out. In his ardor for autographs of Jackie Kennedy (O'Nassis), Walt Disney, Mark Heber J. closer to home Twain, and Grant, J. Golden Kimball, John C. Fremont and John Wesley Powell, Anderson researched all or them. "I was never a history buff I was a 'C but I can tell student in history classes you all sorts of things about these people I've collected. I read up on all their lives," Anderson reported. "I never get tired of it. It's opened pages of the history books for me, with enthusiasm I've never had before." The native Californian currently covets signatures of certain Wild West characters to lend company to the pride and joy of his collection, Wyatt Earp, an autograph he bought some time ago for $400. His eye is out for Annie Oakley, Pat Garrett and any of the other Old West sheriffs. Those who get serious about the art of the autograph trade subscribe to special interest magazines and catalogs to stay informed about supply and demand in order to make a timely purchase or sale. V J Wit sr.. Hank Aaron left, Willie Mays According to Anderson, "The key is to get your cost of living down, and it can be lucrative. There are people who are making a very profitable living buying and selling autographs." One collector-frien- d paid $2,500 for a letter by Wild Bill Hickok and has turned down offers for it as high as $20,000, Anderson reported. Some autographs are such cherished possessions because of fixed quantity but increasing demand that they are failsafe investments commanding insurance and deeds to be passed on as family heirlooms, Anderson said. "There are only so many Abe Lincoln autographs or letters that exist today, yet gold is continuing to be dug up, and silver, and real estate varies; whereas with autographs, once a person passes away, the value automatically doubles and it continues to go up," he said. Anderson guessed that he started collecting autographs in typical fashion for beginners, whose numbers in America alone are estimated at 15 million and growing by 2,000 a year. He p esumes most start by chasing living celebrities around. "The movie stars and politicians are good for beginning collectors because they're free," he observed. Agents who want their clients popular are good about seeing that they respond to autograph requests by mail, as long as a stamped and return envelope is enclosed, Anderson noted. The collector said signed celebrity portraits are less valuable than an action pose of an actor in costume, such as Robert Redford as The Sundance Kid or Christopher Reeve in Superman cape. "That's because that's how people will remember them." Anderson said. Speaking of Redford, while the debonair actor continues to maintain a certain mystique and haunt women with breathless seductions in their own minds' screenplays, his autograph value currently stands at only $5. or for a signed portrait. Anderson noted. After all. Redford is still alive and $10-$1- 2 Jack Nicholson mmmm George Washington's is valuable, too; and Thomas Jefferson's. Herbert Hoover, because he lived a long 5 time, devalued his signature to the range in today's market. Gerald Ford carries some rank because he doesn't like to comply with autograph requests, according to Anderson. George Bush's signature doubled in value to about $4 when Reagan was because people figure Bush will be the presidential nominee for 1988. Lucky owners of handwritten letters from President Reagan can ask up to $4,000 currently, depending on whether the content is vibrating and exciting, such as the famous Reagan retort to a disillusioned constituent who chastised the President for his friendship with singer Frank Sinatra following accusations that Sinatra had ties with the Mafia. "Reagan wrote a long and polite reply, and the letter defending Sinatra got $12,500 in an auction." Anderson related. A Provo favorite, actor Jimmy Stewart will not have a signature worth much for some time to come, collectors say. because Stewart signs a lot of things and apparently will live a long life, just like Joan Crawford and James Cagney, whose signatures collectors pay 0 for. The signature of another locally famous name, the executed murderer Gary Gilmore, is "worth a few," Anderson said. "But not as much now as right after he was killed, because at that time execution didn't happen as often as today. He was the start of a lot of $30-$3- Vice-preside- nt Burt Ward, left, Adam West 7 executions." Anderson never did get into chasing celebrities because he feels too foolish engaged in physical pursuit. One day he saw the famous "Mr. T" at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and had an impulse to ask for an autograph, but when the big black man looked him in the eye, all Anderson managed was "Hi." "And I kept on trekking," he recalled. bothers me." he said. "I am "Somehow, always a little embarrassed doing it, so now I just buy or trade. I got (Robert Redford once, and a couple of baseball players, but generally my feeling is unless it is a A i fa fl f CZ , Jn public appear- graphs. I ) ance where they are giving auto- leave them alone." While yearnings The pride and joy of Anderson's collection is the currently and gorgeous Heather Lockler of the T.J n West-oriente- Anderson did find blond signature of Wyatt Earp. he has done a lot of signing Greta Garbo. on the other hand, is a living legend with intrigup added because she is a recluse in Europe. The collector said Garbo's signature is possibly among the most valuable on the market today, commanding between $500 and $700. Collectors have been trying for years to weasle a signature out a common ploy being to send her something of her special delivery so she will sign the postal slip. It doesn't work, Anderson said. "She refuses to sign anything." The Osmonds currently are "not that hot" among collectors and neither are sports stars, especially the golf crowd. But in that arena, boxer Mohammed Ali is tops. Because baseball great Babe Ruth signed his name many times in a long life, his signature draws about $300, Anderson said. Of all the 20th Century presidents. Kennedy is "right up there" among collectors because he died young but also employed an automatic pen to sign much paperwork, so the real thing is rare. Even the automatic-pesignatures command $5, Anderson said. his are er television request. series enough of a Hook-dis- Burt Reynolds, left, Clint Eastwood h to inspire a GET YOUR COMPLETE SYSTEM price a signature will draw depends on a number of factors, obviously; including the condition of the signature, circumstances of the signing and What popularity of the person. In illustration, Anderson said: "If (singer) Madonna died of a drug overdose or Michael Jackson did. their signatures would be worth hundreds overnight because of their youth and scarceness of their signatures." "Collectors look for signatures from letters, to checks, to typed documents to photographs," he continued. "The most valuable is the handwritten letter because it is insightful into the thoughts, feelings and thinking of the person." The local plans a trip to Los Angeles shortly, to attend his fust major autograph "show'' where fellow fiends of the trade will peddle what they consider disposable or particularly profitable collections, keeping an eye out for the ultimate autograph. collector-deale- r $139500! 0 Story by Vicki Barker fonfro, motormd tftttm with iftrto P'oc filing and a 2 yar warranty! Photographs Courtesy of Tim Anderson I . M W, 111.. Ml Bp OPEN NIGHTS 'Til 1:00 FM |
