Meet The Owner

Joseph Maddalena

Born into a family of antiques dealers, Joseph Maddalena learned early on how to turn his passion into a career. As a child, while traveling with his parents to various antiques shows, Maddalena attended his first baseball card convention, and a great idea was born. An avid card collector, Maddalena saw that there was a community of collectors around the country, but not enough shows to accommodate the need. It was then, at 12 years old, that he decided to organize the first local card show in New England. With the money he saved from his paper route, young Maddalena rented the American Legion hall in his hometown of Cranston, Rhode Island and staged the first-ever local card show. With his parents serving hot dogs and sodas to the attendees, Maddalena's show proved so successful, that he continued staging shows, and by the age of 14 had amassed over one million baseball cards and thousands of autographs. So begins the story of Profiles In History...

Still more a hobby than a career, Maddalena moved west to attend Pepperdine University and pursue a career in broadcasting. Needing to support himself, Maddalena turned to his hobby of finding collectibles. On weekends he scoured the old bookstores of Hollywood for letters and memorabillia from such famous writers as Dashiell Hammett and Ernest Hemingway that would fetch a fair price at auctions back east. Upon graduation, realizing that broadcasting was not in the stars, Maddalena pursued collectibles full-time.

Expanding his horizons to include all facets of celebrity and historic collectibles, Maddalena opened his first office in 1985. His inventory grew to include quality historical material dating from the Revolutionary War through today, in fields ranging from the arts and sciences to U.S. presidents, aviators, explorers, the Wild West, business leaders, sports figures and Hollywood icons.

His expertise is well known and relied on. In 1997, he was instrumental in exposing the Lex Cusak $13 million JFK/Marilyn Monroe forgery hoax, and was interviewed by leading news organizations.

A lifetime member of the Manuscript Society and Universal Autograph Collectors Club, Maddalena is recognized as the nation's leading authority on entertainment memorabilia and handwritten historical documents. Maddalena has been interviewed by such leading news organizations as ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, E!Entertainment, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes and many, many more. Celebrities and executives alike have recognized Maddalena's ability to acquire one-of-a-kind authentic pop culture memorabilia.

Known as an authority for truly unique and memorable gifts, Maddalena includes business leaders, rock stars, sports heroes, world-renowned journalists, entertainment executives and A-list celebrities as clients. Through the years, Maddalena has earned his reputation for being a keen, fair businessman who knows the history and value of historical and pop culture artifacts. Celebrities and lay people alike come into the Profiles In History offices to appraise their valuables, and receive the best possible price for their items.

Active in supporting his community as well as at-risk and underprivileged children, Maddalena is a board member of the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, the Calmont School and the California Community Foundation. He also founded the Topanga Canyon Fire Fund to protect and shelter community residents in the event of brush fires, and is a generous benefactor to numerous children's organizations. As Profiles In History grows in its status as one of the top auction houses for entertainment and historical collectibles, Maddalena will continue to lead it with his historical knowledge, his business sense and heart.