Millionaire Magazine - Signed Treasures
Collecting Historic Autographs
By Joel Zuckerman
Famous athletes and movie stars would be quick to tell
you that autograph seekers are a pretty determined bunch
Whether they're hanging over the railing at the ballpark,
or hanging out by the stage door at the theater, some
of these obsessive fans can by dogged in pursuit of a
simple signature. Some do it simply for the memento and
the attendant brush with celebrity. Others have mercenary
motives, hoping to sell the acquisition at a later date.
Whatever
the reason, autograph hunting is big business, and
is getting bigger all the time. This poses a question.
If someone is so eager for the signature of a Spike Lee,
what might a more discriminating collector consider
the value of a Robert E. Lee? If one would be willing
to risk life and limb to approach baseball's surly Albert
Belle, what might someone with resources be willing
to pay for an Albert Einstein? Joseph Maddalena has the
answers.
Maddalena is the founder and owner of Profiles
in History, a Los Angeles-based business that is one
of America's foremost dealers of historical autographs,
letters and documents. He explains the allure of collecting these tangible
pieces of history. "All we know about history is through the written word.
If it wasn't for the letters of men like Washington and Lincoln, we would have
no clear record of what's gone on in the past." Besides their value and
rarity, the documents available at Profiles in History have tremendous educational
value, as well. "If you want to learn about the Civil War," continues
Maddalena, "the
best way is to read the letters that the young soldiers sent home to their
families. That gives the clearest picture of what occurred on a day-to-day
basis."
At 38 years of age, Joseph Maddalena is already considered one of the leading
authorities in his field. The child of Rhode Island antique dealers, Maddalena
grew up in a home where value was placed on items from the past. As a child,
he collected comic books, baseball cards and autographs, and continued pursuing
his hobby when he went to college in California. "Instead of working
in a restaurant for an hourly wage, I would frequent antiquarian book stores
in Hollywood," Maddalena remembers. "I would buy signed photos
or letters I found written by authors like Hemingway and Steinbeck. After
I purchased them, I'd flip them for a profit to buyers I had developed on
the East Coast. It helped me work my way through school." Maddalena
began law school, but he left in midstream to pursue a career as a dealer
of historical documents. He founded Profiles in History in 1986.
"Everyone
has an idol," begins Maddalena as he explains the impetus
behind autograph collecting. "It might be a model, or athlete, or movie
star. Fan adulation perpetuates the interest in wanting something belonging
to those people. It might be a Mark McGwire baseball, or a musician's lyrics.
It can be almost anything. People collect things because they love to; it
fills a selfish desire. This hobby has wide-ranging appeal across all segments
of society. Our clientele ranges from school teachers with modest incomes,
all the way to multi-billionaires like Ross Perot and Steve Forbes."
Maddalena clarifies the difference between an interesting document and
one that's truly rare and precious. "Anything with great content that
is written by an important historical figure will be the most valuable.
For example, George Washington wrote many social letters. He spoke of his
inability to make dinner, or he distributed seeds to his friends things
like that. Letters like that are worth between $10,000 and $20,000. However,
when Washington wrote an essay about the ratification of the Constitution,
the letter is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Robert E. Lee affords
another fine example. He wrote wonderful letters and was very prolific.
A letter of his detailing troop movements, railroads, or other day-to-day
machinations of war, is worth between $25,000 and $30,000. But a letter
to General Grant, which discusses surrendering the war effort, could
be worth a million. When you combine important content
with a person of historical significance, you then have
a document of great value. Lindbergh writing about his
famous flight, Pasteur discussing inoculation, Einstein
on relativity, Darwin on evolution of the species; these
are all prime examples."
Collecting historical documents is not the sole provenance of well-to-do
history buffs. There are some that acquire these papers primarily for
investment purposes. The company president feels that these items are
undervalued in comparison to other collectibles, such as coins or artwork. "If
you buy intelligently, and buy quality material, you can make money with
this hobby," claims Maddalena. "Buy
a document because you love it or because it has meaning to you, and
you might well be able to sell it for more down the road."
Profiles
in History offers a lifetime guarantee of authenticity on their products,
which gives customers great piece of mind. "Let's say that you buy
a Lincoln document from us for $15,000. You enjoy it for five years.
You read it, perhaps read other books pertaining to the same subject,
learn from it, frame it, and show it off to you friends. At the end of
that time, you decide to get rid of it. The worst case scenario is that
we buy it back from you at the same price you paid, or slightly lower,
depending on the current market conditions. On the remote chance that
a document we sold is somehow proven to be a fake, then we'll refund
the entire purchase price. There's nothing else you can buy that offers
a similar guarantee not a car, a house, a coin, or a piece of jewelry.
We are far from the cheapest dealer," concludes Maddalena. "In
fact, we are one of the most expensive. I happen to sell the best quality
documents, and you get what you pay for. In the long run, people will
end up making more money by buying from us. The best products will always
be the quickest to sell."
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