Show fortunes BIG PRICES PAID FOR signatures of GREAT PEOPLE autographs among all the autographs of cele baltes known to be extant that of Shake Is the most rare and therefore the most valuable the one in alie british museum was purchased in 1858 for three hundred guineas it would as likely as not fetch thirty thousand if put up at auction tomorrow another in the library at oxford was bought in for 9 for the specimen in toe guildhall library the sum of was paid both these are now of course practically priceless some years back 50 was obtained at public auction for the signature ot nicholas Breake speare the only englishman who ever became pope of rome Mil tons signatures are extremely rare because being blind he usually employed an amanuensis to affix his autograph to all documents the specimen in die british museum was presented to that institution by the poet rogers who gave one hundred guineas for it but mr rotheby Bo theby baa gone carefully into the matter doubts whether even this Is really genuine other supposed signatures have been sold from time to time for sums varying between 19 and but it Is probable that an authenticated autograph would now fetch ten times the latter figure it la said that the bum ever paid for the autograph of a living celebrity was seven guineas which was the amount realized realised reali sed by a letter of tenny sons in 1876 at a recent sale in brussels of signatures of reigning monarchs our own king edwards fetched 3 as he baars 2 the king of italis 1 l and the emperor of Aus 1 ICs the autograph of the murdered king ol 01 servia was at the same sale knocked down for the equivalent of a alva pound note queen dramas fetched ti 10 s prince Bl 4 at the sale in 1829 there were purchased tor the british museum tour extremely rare autographs those namely of martin luther and major the price paid was and the authorities were thought to have made a good bargain it however mr bys judgement jud gement la correct they are all four forgeries A year or two back a letter ot nell gwynne to charles II 11 changed hands privately for the writing wag said to be an almost illegible scrawl the signature was so badly smudged and blotted as to bo scarcely decipherable while the general tenor 0 the epistle was quite unfit for ears polite at the dispersal of tho famous baker collection of autographs a letter from charles I 1 to the marquis of ormond fetched 71 one from prince rupert to the king 19 and a signature of oliver 36 at the same salo was disposed of an extremely interesting letter from lord stratford to his wife written whilst a prisoner in the tower this produced 40 pounds tassos signature has been sold at various times for sums ranging between ac pounds and pounds dr johnsons autographs are worth about 10 pounds or 12 pounds atleco at the present moment in 1875 eighteen of them were sold by auction in london at an average of 4 pounds Bs ad each but these were mostly signatures only at the same sale tho famous letter to macpherson in which johnson declared that he would not be deterred from exposing what he thought to bo a cheat by the menaces of a ruffian fetched no less than 50 pounds in 1888 much to the astonishment of collectors 40 pounds was given for an autograph of oliver goldsmiths since then many more have been found and the price has fallen by more than one halt only quite recently a signature of molleres Mol leres changed hands for pounds a big price but then less than a halt dozen of his autographs are in existence while the whole of the manuscripts of bis plays have perished as utterly as have sakes peares autographs of the queens of henry VIII are very rare one of catherine of Arra gons realized 75 pounds pot long ago anne boleyne Bo leyns Is worth any where from pounds to pounds anne of cloves big haaby scrawl has fetched as much as 80 pounds A short note from mary queen of scots to M dela motte brought recently 43 pounds A letter of sir walter raleight Ra leighs written while a prisoner in the tower realized 90 pounds two of napoleons scrawls have been sold tor 34 pounds an autograph letter of queen elizabeth to kind henry IV thanking him for his portrait fetched 51 pounds these prices are signatures only or ordinary short business letters of course when whole manuscripts in great authors own handwriting come into the market they frequently realize very large sums indeed high water mark in this direction however was probably reached the other day when more than pounds was paid for the manuscript of a portion of Mil tons paradise lost and within the last week or two the fabulous sum of 1030 was given for a letter unfinished written by lord nelson to lady hamilton pearsons weekly |