The Long and the Short of William Henry Harrison It was a dark and stormy night – No, actually, it was a dark and stormy day when 68-year-old William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States, took his oath of office on the steps of the Capitol building. Harrison delivered his inauguration address […]
(The Value of a Good Book) By Leon Castner One hesitates to answer such an esoteric question since everyone has a Bible, has seen a Bible, or has heard about a Bible. It happens to be the most published book of all time. It probably has more versions and is printed in more languages and […]
Hot Button There were fifty-six soon-to-be-Americans who signed off on the Declaration of Independence. Don’t worry; this isn’t history class. We won’t ask you to name them all… But we will ask you to guess the name of the signer whose NON- Declaration signature brings in more than $100,000.00 at auction! It’s not who you think…not JohnHancock, […]
Collecting contemporary entertainers is an incredibly popular hobby. Movie stars, TV personalities, comedians, stage actors and actresses are just some of the categories autograph collectors love. As professional appraisers, we see thousands of signed celebrity photos each year. Not surprisingly, most of them are not authentically signed. Autograph collectors must understand that the volume of […]
We can’t fool you! You know that the answer to the question “Who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb?” It’s Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States. But the answer to the question “Who signed Grant’s memoirs?” is a little trickier. After he left office, Grant fell on hard times and lost his fortune […]
If you ask Leon Castner “What’s a holograph?” and he’ll say, “It’s all Greek to me.” He’s right! Holograph come from the Greek words “graph” (writing) and “holo” (with the hand). Ask Daniel Webster, and the old dictionary writer would probably reply, “It’s a document written entirely in the handwriting of the person whose signature […]
Terminator III? No…. R2D2 turned crook? No… Robocop gone bad? No… This mechanical forger goes by the name of “Autopen.” It has become a modern technological wonder for busy VIP’s, celebrities, and politicians, but has become a headache for autograph collectors. Knowing that autopens exist is not enough. An autograph collector must be able to […]
Beware of White House photographs signed by Presidents and First Ladies. A new forgery style is on the market. As you know, there are thousands of pre-printed photographs issued from the White House. Most are “signed” in the large lower white margin. These photographs are pre-printed with facsimile signatures of the President and/or First Lady. […]
He was a composer, teacher, publisher, bandleader and musician. William Christopher Handy, best known as W.C. Handy, earned the title Father of the Blues. His most famous works; St. Louis Blues, Memphis Blues, and Yellow Dog are known worldwide. Handy was born in Florence Alabama on November 16, 1873, the son of a preacher. He […]
Perhaps the most famous mathematical equation of modern time is Albert Einstein’s “E=mc2. Although most of us have seen it, many folks have no idea of what it actually means. Well relax, we won’t discuss quantum physics here. I will however share information about the many letters sent by the “Energy Committee of Atomic Scientists” […]