Why Autographs?
What is it about autographs that makes us like collecting them? Is it the connection with the signatory that we get? Is the acknowledgement of us from someone we admire? Is it the investment value? It could be all these things of course along with many others aswell.
I think for me it was “just the done thing” when you met someone famous, this is in the days before camera phones of course and
lets face it, you didn`t always carry your Kodak with you every time you left the house. Getting a signature from a famous random you met on a day out (Fraser Sugden from Emmerdale was the first random I came across when I was about 8!) was proof you met someone famous
and gave you something to talk about in the playground on a Monday morning but unless your friends were fans of said random it had to remain your personal pleasure, your friends, they just don`t get it. Unless of course it’s a signature of someone they like, in which case they are full of envy that you met them and they didn`t.
Once you have a few signatures under your belt you probably fall into being a collector by accident. I don`t think anyone decides “I`m going to collect autographs” it`s just that we all have someones signature and almost automatically, we decide to never, ever, throw them away. Sure some get lost or dismissed but I don`t think anyone has made the
conscious decision to throw a signature away have they?
Surely not?
So, slowly but surely these signatures you haven`t thrown away start to form the beginnings of a collection and when you look at them you feel proud, you got them, looked after them and have admired them since, it`s a great feeling. Then the inevitable happens, someone in your collection passes away and the photo or piece of paper that you have, that they held and signed suddenly becomes much more important, especially if it`s accompanied with memories of meeting said dearly departed celebrity.
We then realise that there is more to Autograph Collecting than just meeting people randomly, we can actually get in touch with our favourite celebrities through the mail, via their agents or venues and a
whole new world opens up. I went to a boarding school from the age of 10 and I remember that seeing my parents at the weekend was the
4th thing I looked forward to the most, after seeing my cat, getting some real food and seeing who had replied to my fan letters and been kind enough to send me some signed photos. Sometimes you actually get a letter from them too which just felt amazing.
For me, my favourite TV shows were Auf Wiedsersehen Pet and Red Dwarf so to open an envelope postmarked London invariably and find inside something from a cast member made my day. The buzz you get, the connection, the recognition and acknowledgement was fantastic and continues to put a smile on this 31 year old little boys face when it happens.
Is getting an autograph better than scoring a goal for your football team? Is it better than catching a fish? Is it better than cooking a delicious meal? I don`t think so no, it`s just different and while some people want to catch fish, score goals or cook nice meals we get our kicks where we get them and there is nothing wrong with that.
Autograph collecting is free (in the most part), can take you on
adventures, introduce you to great people, make you feel part of something, and I guess most importantly, make you feel like you are 12 years old again.
I will be a collector till the day I die and I guess you will too, because you`ll never throw them away, will you?
I`d love to know why you guys love collecting autographs, please
let me know why it`s your hobby too.
Thanks
Mr G.
What is it about autographs that makes us like collecting them? Is it the connection with the signatory that we get? Is the acknowledgement of us from someone we admire? Is it the investment value? It could be all these things of course along with many others aswell.
I think for me it was “just the done thing” when you met someone famous, this is in the days before camera phones of course and
lets face it, you didn`t always carry your Kodak with you every time you left the house. Getting a signature from a famous random you met on a day out (Fraser Sugden from Emmerdale was the first random I came across when I was about 8!) was proof you met someone famous
and gave you something to talk about in the playground on a Monday morning but unless your friends were fans of said random it had to remain your personal pleasure, your friends, they just don`t get it. Unless of course it’s a signature of someone they like, in which case they are full of envy that you met them and they didn`t.
Once you have a few signatures under your belt you probably fall into being a collector by accident. I don`t think anyone decides “I`m going to collect autographs” it`s just that we all have someones signature and almost automatically, we decide to never, ever, throw them away. Sure some get lost or dismissed but I don`t think anyone has made the
conscious decision to throw a signature away have they?
Surely not?
So, slowly but surely these signatures you haven`t thrown away start to form the beginnings of a collection and when you look at them you feel proud, you got them, looked after them and have admired them since, it`s a great feeling. Then the inevitable happens, someone in your collection passes away and the photo or piece of paper that you have, that they held and signed suddenly becomes much more important, especially if it`s accompanied with memories of meeting said dearly departed celebrity.
We then realise that there is more to Autograph Collecting than just meeting people randomly, we can actually get in touch with our favourite celebrities through the mail, via their agents or venues and a
whole new world opens up. I went to a boarding school from the age of 10 and I remember that seeing my parents at the weekend was the
4th thing I looked forward to the most, after seeing my cat, getting some real food and seeing who had replied to my fan letters and been kind enough to send me some signed photos. Sometimes you actually get a letter from them too which just felt amazing.
For me, my favourite TV shows were Auf Wiedsersehen Pet and Red Dwarf so to open an envelope postmarked London invariably and find inside something from a cast member made my day. The buzz you get, the connection, the recognition and acknowledgement was fantastic and continues to put a smile on this 31 year old little boys face when it happens.
Is getting an autograph better than scoring a goal for your football team? Is it better than catching a fish? Is it better than cooking a delicious meal? I don`t think so no, it`s just different and while some people want to catch fish, score goals or cook nice meals we get our kicks where we get them and there is nothing wrong with that.
Autograph collecting is free (in the most part), can take you on
adventures, introduce you to great people, make you feel part of something, and I guess most importantly, make you feel like you are 12 years old again.
I will be a collector till the day I die and I guess you will too, because you`ll never throw them away, will you?
I`d love to know why you guys love collecting autographs, please
let me know why it`s your hobby too.
Thanks
Mr G.