The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-09-05
She @ailg g lltetia.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 5, 1885.
A NEW INDUSTRY.
BUYING OLD HOTEL REGISTERS FOR
AUTOGRAPHS.

"What do you suppose that man
wanted?" asked a Pulaski House
clerk yesterday of Nc,cs reporter.
A neatly dressed and shrewd-
looking young man had just turned
away and was lighting cigar. He
had been talking earnestly in an
undertone for some minutes, and
the Ne,cs man thought perhaps the
stranger wanted to borrow few
dollars.
"No, he does not want to borrow,
but had rather buy" replied he of
the sparkling Koh-i-noor. "And
you might guess your teeth loose
before guessing what he wants to
buy" continued the hotel clerk.
"He has just made me an offer for
the old registers of this house."
"What would he do with them?
Keep directory" inquired the re-
porter.
"Not much. He claims to be
travelling for Northern firm that is
collecting hotel registers. The older
they are the more they are worth.
Hotel registers are the greatest au-
tograph albums in the world. There
| is not a man who travels whose auto
graph is not scattered all over this
country. All prominent men travel.
The signatures of hundreds of these
have a commercial value, even when
not attached to note or check.
The autographs of statesmen gen.
orally sell the highest, those of ex-
Presidents bringing the most. A
few days ago rare collection of
curious manuscripts, letters and au-
tographs were under the hammer in
New York. A dozen autographs
were knocked down at from SIS to
$40 apiece. A"'a
"That would-be purchaser was
telling me that in few months it
will be the proper thing to mount
the autographs of ex-Presidents,
literary men, generals and all men
of note in some unique style and
give them place beside the plaque.
This firm is now buying up all the
registers it can get hold Of. Some
bright men 60 over each page care
fully, and cut out the signatures of
all the most prominent men. They
have quite long list, and whenever
one of the names is found it is
clipped out and attached to a little
slip on which are noted the date and
city. The register, of course, indi-
Gates each. He says that right now
Grants signatures are in demand.
He never stopped at hotels much,
however. There were generally
people in all of the cities through
which he passed who wanted to en-
terrain him, and l never knew him
to decline.
"This enterprising firm, you see,
are first getting supply on hand,
and will then introduce the rage
and fill the demand"
"'Thrift is blessing'-Shake-
speare," gasped the reporter, dazed
by the wonderful display of enter
prise.
''The registers are really no use
to us, and most hotel men, / believe,
are willing to dispose of them at q
low figure" resumed the clerk.
"One of this size, which is the stan
dard, will hold 5000 names. 1t is
seldom that register in the large
hotels of big cities does not contain
half dozen good names. I know
that from personal observation. In
some seasons there are one hundred
good names. A great many of the
signatures, to be sure, were written
before the owner came into promi.
hence. When the autographs come
to be sold, however, l half suspect
they are dated up, though they may
not be. The residence, which is
written opposite the name, is also
cut out. In mounting, which is
generally on cardboard, Bristol, OF
some such kind, the residence is
placed below the name, thus:
.'.''.'.'''' '.''.'.'.''':