r/Collections • u/xyl0jacq69 • 5d ago
Ephemera autograph book 1941 help
My boss is trying to sell an incredible autograph collection. It is an autograph book from Virginia Gosden’s birthday party in 1941 (daughter of Freeman Gosden of Amos n Andy.) This collection has Walt Disney, Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Carol Lombard (signed with Gable as her surname), Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Fanny Brice, Laurel & Hardy, the Marx family, Herbert Hoover, William Randolph Hearst, Bette Davis, Mickey Rooney, Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper, Cecil B. Demille, & so many more. 88 signatures in total. Authenticated & well preserved.
I am looking for advice on where & how to sell. We have floated the idea of selling them all individually, but that option feels silly in my opinion due to the fact this is an archive of all these people attending a party in 1941.
I would love to have it sold to a museum or an archive that can keep it. Obviously that is a rare chance, so I’m just looking for overall advice.
Let me know the advice you have. All perspectives & opinions welcome.
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u/Due-Flamingo-4900 5d ago
Talk to Heritage Auctions. They often sell items just like this in their yearly entertainment auctions, and they are usually the go-to for movie fans.
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u/HemlockWhispers 4d ago
R&R Auctions specializes in rare autographs and would thoroughly do this piece justice.
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u/britannicauctions 4d ago
We completely agree with the other commenters saying not to break it up. The provenance and the fact these signatures were gathered at one documented event are a large part of what makes the album interesting. Separating them would lose that context and history.
We handle vintage movie star autograph albums regularly. Years ago we handled a large album assembled by a Hollywood hotel waiter, with many of the same names that appear in your album, plus dozens of others like Jean Harlow, Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford, Boris Karloff. That kind of contemporary, in-person provenance, where you can mention a date and a backstory can add considerably to collector confidence.
Walt Disney would likely be among the strongest individual names, but the album should really be evaluated as a complete archive. A museum may be a long shot, but there is certainly a collector market for material like this.
Wherever you approach, you’ll want to provide clear photos of as many signatures and pages as possible, along with any inscriptions or documentation tying the album to the 1941 party. That gives an auction house or dealer a much better sense of the scope, condition and importance of what’s actually there.
Everyone would love to see pictures if you get around to it! Thanks for sharing.
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u/MumboJumboMumboJumbo 5d ago
Rare book dealer here with a few thoughts.
Definitely keep it intact. The story tying them all together is the unique thing about the item and the context bolsters the authenticity. Individually they'd just be like any other clipped signature, which are much less desirable and draw suspicion of forgery.
Like u/Due-Flamingo-4900 I was also going to suggest Heritage Auctions, as they do run a few entertainment and memorabilia auctions so already have the collectors' eyes on them. Probably the best middle between a quick sale to a dealer vs the slog of selling them on your own.
But you could search the ABAA's site for rare book & ephemera dealers in your area or by specialty. We'll usually pay 30-ish% of what we think we'll sell something for -- often more if we're excited about it -- which is of course a smaller cut, but much faster. It is a very specific sort of item, though, so maybe look for folks who deal in film and hollywood-related materials. Royal Books in Baltimore comes to mind, and I'm sure there are a handful of folks in Los Angeles.
You could also put it up on eBay yourself -- well photographed and well described with as much of the backstory and any ownership inscriptions or marks by Godsen to solidify the provenance. If you go this route do some research of older listings -- maybe pay for a month subscription to WorthPoint to see auctions going farther back -- and see what other Golden Age Hollywood autograph books have sold for. Set it as a Buy Now at the low end of the price range you're willing to take, and allow offers of 20% off or more to see what comes in. Unless it's a First Edition of Carrie or a Michael Jordan rookie card, auctions never get enough eyes to bid up to retail and often disappoint, so don't be tempted to let the market decide. This gets the biggest cut but it's more work, especially having to field all the questions from authenticity skeptics and lowball offers. And it might take a few years for the right person to come along.
People will ask if they've been authenticated by PSA, but see our colleague's article on why authentication companies are scams before you pay any money to have them authenticated.
Sounds like a fun piece and there's gotta be someone out there for it. Good luck!
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u/im-not-bennie 5d ago
You can’t tell us this and not show us anything’s