Daily American telegraph., 1852-01-26

| There is branch Of commerce. extensively
practiced in France and England which seems
quite unknown upon this side Of the water
although we are accused of making traffic al
everything. We allude to the sale Of man.
nsciEpt notes. documents, and even mere sigma.
lures OF eminent persons. II constitutes, there
I q regular and important department of trade
In London and Paris public sales by auction
OF collections are frequent; and while many
booksellers deal in the purchase and selling ol
autographs rs collateral to their principal
| employment there are several houses which
make it their exclusive business The records
OF autograph hunting include some illustriou,
names among them no less a reputation than
Wolfgang Goethe. When the chronological
people asserted that the intellectual and moral
cha racter Of man might be found in the con.
formation Of his Uranium, the Quarterly Re-
View replied, smartly enough, SO it may in the
nail OF the little finger if one only has the skill
to depelope it. Won Goethe was one of those
who supposed that peoples nature betrays itself
| IN their chirography. Those who have been
taught by "The Doctor that physiognomy is
not derived from phiz, will not be surprised
to learn that the author of "Faustp called
himself physiognomist in handwriting
new Lavater ins pot-hooks and hangers He
had devised theory upon the subject, which
might be useful at the criminal dock. when
the character of some culprit was under in
qulsltlon We are not aware that the practice
OF collecting has ever resulted in anything real
ly useful, on a considerable scale, to knowledge
or history Usually, it is the entertainment
OF lnfnitessimal wit; to which the curious is
the only virtuous, and which deems that in
signatures, as in steaks, rareness is the first
requisite; which doats upon things which are
scarce now, only because they were always
worthless" Yet occasionally, in their muse
ums, an interesting historical circumstance is
illustrated. At Rouen is preserved a charter
signed with cross by William the Conqueror
which shows that man may be able to make
his mark in the world, who does not know
how to write his name. A friend Of ours is in
possession of two or three notes of Napoleon
which indicate that person may master and
manage all the spells Of victory and empire
and yet have q very imperfect notion Of the
spelling of common words. Mr. Rogers is in
possession of the receipt given to Milton by
Jonson tor some twenty pounds, the copy
money for Paradise Lost y and he delights
to acquaint his friends that he gave more for
the signature than Johnson gave for the whole
poem, which shows that Milton is as rich in
fame as Rogers is famous in riches The
author of Italy" is delightful poet, but his
autographs would be more valuable at the
bottom Of thousand pound check than any
where else. 1t seems that the courts of law
will not take notice, judicially, that autographs
of noble persons have u marketable value In
late case in the Court of Exchequer, a note
given by Lord Besborough, upon some agree
ment, was void for want of proper stamp and
the question arose, whether there was any
consideration for the contract Of the other
party. " Perhaps" said Chief Baron Pollock,
grayely, "it may have some value as an auto
graph. Whereupon, from the novelty of the
point, adjorndtor. Home Journal