The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-06-02
AUTOGRAPH COLLECTORS.

= York Mail and Express.

New York Mail and Express
New York. it appears. has money to in
vest not only in stocks and steamships but
in autographs and rarities of the printer
art such as those which have belonged to
the famous French collection, and which
Boston has steadily been losing to this
city in the sale that has been taking place.
The late Frederick W. French. of Boston.
was a collector of a fairly discriminating
sort. There is one kind of collector who
accumulates, and another who really
selects. The person of the first sort is more
DESTROYS of getting rid of his money and of
having things than of anything else. If
he can be known TO have paid an immense
price for a lot of things that somebody else
wanted he has glory enough. The discrim-
mating collector, on the other hand. may
not have much money, but he has deep
knowledge and genius for classified ton,
and little by little he gathers things which,
taken together. constitute famous colec-
ton. The late Dr. Pratt. of Chelsea. Mass,
was a poor man, but out of the savings Of
a very modest medical practice he ac-
cumulated a memorable collection of
Americana which, taken a whole, was
worth little fortune.
Mr.. French appears to have had money
and discrimination both: and now that his
treasures are being broken up ii is found
that, TO get his books at least large sums
are needed. In the matter of autogra phs
the case seems to be somewhat different.
Evidently there are too many autographs
in the world. Great people. well as little
people, have written their names too many
times. The art of letterwriting is supposed
10 be dead, but who Is there. II ne can write
at all. who has not in recent times penned
notes by the thousand? As to autogra PHI
albums, the ndefa tigabe solicitor. with his
little book. turks at every corner. One Of
the books at the French sales. which con-
tanned many signatures of noted authors,
drama lists and actors" was sold for $27-
of course TO a New York man. Ii may have
represented the labor and the expenditure
of cheek of a lifetime. Twenty-seve n
dollars was poor return for all this lying
in wait but il was probably all the book
was worth. The price ought TO discourage
autograph collectors. and il is to be hoped
that Il will. The stock of the autograph
business has been watered far too much.
The curious circumstance was brought
out at this sale that the letters of authors
sell for more than the letters of actors.
In his person the actor has in his day
vastly more notoriety, more running after,
than the author. Even the justly cele-
brated author il able TO walk down Broad
way without a general nudging of elbows
and a whispering of That's him. about
him. And one would suppose that the au-
thor's letters and little notes, from the
very fact that he is a writer and is expect
ed TO write would be more numerous than
the actors Therefore. we read with as
constituent that the average price of the
letters of well-known actors at the French
sale was a dollar, Even the best Of the
letters Of Edwin Booth brought no more
than S. Thus modest literature at last
bets In its revenge over the fambuoyantiy