The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-04-06
AUrUaxAPhOBIA.
The Popular Mania for Collecting Auto
graphs-Qucer Business In that Line.
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scented US u pyramid inverted, from moth
ing up 10 a good deal. The letters OF the
greatest men and women Of the present
generation form one class, and as they art
sui living and the supply is not cut Off
and their letters readily accessible, very
few Of them have any money value at ali,
and even the few who find their way
into the authSaph market seldom bring
over five cents.
Indeed they are only prospectively val.
liable, and are bought up now in large
quantities at low figures, to meet the de-
mand that will arise when the writers are
dead, and the source Of supply shut Off.
Once in while, however, the autograph
dealers offer very liberal prices for the auto.
graph letters OF great men, in cases where
they are rery great, where their fame is
already established and likely TO increase
when they become immortal, Us is the case
with Bismarck, Gladstone, Queen Victoria,
General Grant, General Sherman, and,
possibly, two or three others. II the dis.
tnguished person is very chary OF his
epistolary favors, il he constantly eludes
the autograph fiends," or writes only by
the hand Of a third person, one Of his gem
uine autograph letters, written out ia iull,
i'll his own handwriting, often brings an
enormous price.
Such is the case with Grant and Bismarck.
Their letters are already quoted at from s.
to Sl5. A letter Of RubenS is catalogued by
a London dealer at 500, and one OF George
Washington ut SIS. Napoleon's letters
sell for $40 10 Sl2; whileone Of DR.. John
sons, one Of Benjamin Vests. another Of
franklin and one OF Aaron Burr are each
quoted III 81 SO to 3 90. Sunset Cox, Sam.
uel J. Randall and Speaker keiiler OF the
House, George H. Pendleten, Don Cameron,
John Sherman, General Logan and General
Hawley are the only men now in Congress
whose letters are quoted at any price, aud
these as low as 50 cents each, and dull sale
at that. Facts are stubborn things. Fig.
ures won't lie. such. Is the e.
innate the world places Oh the living states.
men Of our country, and from its judgment
there il no aIAeal. The letters Of Whit
tier, Bryant, Lougfellow and SAKE, Of Glad.
stone, Bismarck and Grant, Of Cyrus W..
Field, Wendell Phillips, Guiteau, Wilkes
Booth, Abraham Lincoln, Morse, Jenny
Lind, John Brown, Ellsworth, Boston Cor
bctt, John Morrissey, James, Beecher,
Gen. Sherman, Queen Victoria, Carlyle,
| Emerson, Garfield, Horace Greeley, Sum
ner, Andrew johnson, Ben Wade and
Lola Montez have. u steady sale in all THE
autograph markets, at prices varying from
s. up to $40, and even so, according to
length and subject oil the letter. or the com.
parative standing OF the writer. Their
prices are constantly advancing, and many
solid dealers are boarding theli for future
sales when the prices will BIZ double what
they arc now. Of all the distinguished
people OF modern times these are decided
| ly the ones whose letters are most valua-
Hle in The estimation OF the ANA.
teur autograph collectors, who are the
most liberal patrons OF the regular dealers.
Enough has been said to indicate some
what the relative value Of autographs. l
could quote whole columns OF figures like
the above from the printed catalogues be-
fore me. These dealers are located in every
great city OF the world; but the largest Of
all is +. Naylor, Milburn street, Bedford
Run, London. He has his regular cores.
pondents in every capital on the globe.
His catalogue for February gives list OF
nearly 10000 genuine autograph letters,
EN- bIacing every noted name almost ofthe
last three hundred years. Letters OF Wash
ington, Napoleon or Grant written by q
secretary but signed by them, or public
document merely signed, have conSidera-
BILE value, but not tenth OF the value that
letters have which are wholly in their
handwriting. This rule applies to all let.
tiers handled by the trade.
They do not buy all the letters they get.
| IT. al, And a tbnuaan1 traN,u ~ nat
them. II the autograph Of living cele.
brity is wanted generally a personal appli.
cation will fetch it, and when that fails,
there ia no difficulty in finding who are the
friends and correspondents OF the person
in question, and these are always fond to
show their familiarity with great men and
women, and, sub rosa, quite ready 10 sell
their letters for cash. Secretaries, servants
and clerks who have access to the auto.
graphs desired are still more ready to inr.
nish them out Of their vanity and ostenta-
lion. The men who are in the trade
understand the springs OF human action,
and are not avene 10 catering a good deal
to them. Ii is no trick to get the autograph
letters OF the Iiving-but those Of the.dead
are not SO easily got At Still the initiated
usually get them cheap enough. Many Of
the most desirable are stored away in pub.
lie archives, covered with dust, seldom in.
spected, and few dollars with some
laeauey usually hauls them out, and they
are never missed, for otherwise they haCl
never been heard o. And decayed fami'
lies In every land hRyp GpiGtolary treasures
that make the mouth oil the photographic
tiend water. He has a thousand ways TO
tInd them out, and drives the best bargain
he can to get bold Of the coveted treasures.
Poverty dissolves pride, abates hero wor.
ship, and silences conscientious scruples,
and the Door INDECENT scion oil an ancient
and honorable house is glad to get few
dollars Tor bronSed and dusty collection
OF old letters written fifty or hundred
wears ago TO father whose name 10 in his
tory and registered among the immortals,
All great people have had their CORES.
pondents, and precisely these the autograph
dealer finds au uniailing source otsupply in
ali times, and TO and from all sorts OF men.
Enough has been said or suggested TO
give the reader q pretty good idea oil this
business. hit upon the secret otit-for
be It known il Is not advertised 10 the
newspapers, and is carried on confident
lally' MI upon IttnIs Way nave ueeH
something Of letter writer and cores
pondent with all the great men OF my day,
fact that once in while leaks out when
come prominent politician writes me a let
ter that he desires to have published. The
Quick eye Of the autoaraph dealers caught
this, aud for years / have constantly been
receiving their catalogues and solicitations
for my collection, probably the largest
private collection in the world, embracing
every great name Of the past quarter Of a
century. Mine are not for sale. But that
Is how Igot the cue TO this thing.