Net54 Virtual Autograph Museum - Let's see your best autographed item
 

There were some great, enjoyable items posted in my March thread on Mickey Mantle, so I thought I'd broaden the scope a bit with this thread and see what people post. Let's see your one best (interpret how you see fit) autographed item (not your 2, 3, 4 etc. bests, and not your best from each field, just your 1 solitary best item) There are some great collections on this board. Let's see your crème de la crème.

This is mine:

The Catholic Monarchs, and two people very influential in the discovery of the Americas.

This is a document signed by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in the Summer of 1492 as Columbus prepares to set sail for the Indies in nine days and the remaining Jews – all were expelled by edict – prepare to leave Spain within eight days.

Manuscript Document Signed “Yo el Rey” [I the King] by King Ferdinand V of Spain and “Yo la Reyna” [I the Queen] by Queen Isabella I of Spain, 1p, 8.5” x 6”. Penafiel [Spain], July 25, 1492.

Over 522 years old. Without question, the best piece in my collection.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps57f547de.png
Closeup of King Ferdinand autograph
http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...pscf885057.png
Closeup of Queen Isabella autograph
http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psdfb83fc4.png
Back of document
http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps41f86e64.png

I will go modern with this, my favorite item, more than any sports item I have. Complete main cast and crew signed Empire Strikes Back Poster. I know of 4 others like this, 2 of them owned by Steve Grad, but none on this poster type.

Movie had such an impact on me and putting the poster took so much time (over 15 years traveling to two continents) and money (I have a picture of Ford signing this poster). All that being said, many times I have thought about selling/trading as it doesn't really fit my collection.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...23821611_o.jpg

Walter Johnson signed Christmas card
 

Cool thread idea!

There are others, but this is one that I'm willing to share once again.
This is a signed Walter Johnson Christmas card that was given to a neighbor friend in the 1940's. The neighbor taped it into a juvenile book on WaJo about the time that he passed away.

It's unique, and one of my fav's.

The third and fourth Presidents of the United States.

Great stuff so far. Don't be shy, keep 'em coming

I'm happy to contribute to this thread my recent pickup (Thanks David!) that just happens to be the Holy Grail of my collection. I have had my eyes on this piece for a long time and I'm so excited to finally own it! This album page was cut out of long time sports reporter/beat writer "Rud" Rennie's scrapbook, who began covering the Yankees in 1925 for the New York Herald Tribune. He covered the Yankees for over 30 years and grew to have close friendships with many Yankee players, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He saw Gehrig grow as a young kid into an adult. He witnessed arguably the greatest team of all-time, the Yankees Murderers Row of 1927 and Ruth in the prime of his career. As noted in articles written by Rennie, he was steps away from Gehrig when he gave his famous "Luckiest Man" speech at the end of his career.

This is THE album page that Rennie used during the homerun race of 1927 to follow Babe Ruth's longballs, as he compared his homeruns hit by date from his previous record of 59 back in 1921. Rennie was then fortunate enough to get "Babe" Ruth as well as "Lou" Gehrig to flawlessly sign the album page near the end of the 1927 campaign. I also love the fact that both Babe and Lou signed using quotes, which is rarely seen by Gehrig. Ruth garnered much of the fans attention for his record-breaking 60 homer season, but a signature from Lou during his MVP winning season is icing on the cake!

The centerpiece to my autograph collection:

This is a postcard signed by Walter Johnson in June of 1908, during his second major league season. Walter wrote this card out between games against the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers. As far as I know it is amongst the earliest Johnson signatures in the hobby. Signed Walter J:

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m...psf959772d.jpg

A lot of Walter Johnsons on here - maybe not as rare as we all think?

Here's mine:

Wow, Brian!
This is really a monster piece & I fully understand why you're so excited to own it.
Congrats! :eek:

I don't know that Walter Johnson autographs are super rare, but each of these examples offered in this thread represent truly unique presentations of arguably the greatest pitcher of all time, IMHO.

John clarkson IMHO

It's hard to argue with Johnson's 417 career wins (2nd all-time) and 110 shutouts (#1 all-time and 20 more than any other pitcher).

If Johnson had pitched for a team that scored runs he would have won many more games. Imagine if he pitched for the NY Giants during their heyday? Yikes! :eek:

Did Walter have a win taken away? I thought he was at 417 but I know that these numbers are sometimes adjusted as his HOF plaque says 414.

Not the same quality as the other items, but as a Pirates fan and one who collects items related to the 1960 World Championship team, this is special to me. A commemorative fan signed by all the players, coaches and manager from the 1960 team.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...2014_00007.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...2014_00005.jpg

As far as I know, he's holding at 417. Great Walter pieces, here's my all-time favorite, for obvious reasons. In pencil, my grandmother has written "My first card from Walter."

My Ruth Check to Claire

Here is one of my Johnsons. Not sure why it turned sideways.

A Wagner. Obviously I can't get this photo thing straighten out. Sorry.

The book that I pulled the info out of said 416 wins, but I made the change to 417 in my earlier post... Either way, it's a crap load of W's ;)

Rats60,

That signed Pirates fan is pretty sweet. Would be awesome to have something like that of your favorite team.

Mike

1936 World Series program signed by Gehrig and several other HOFers including a rookie named Dimaggio. I think it originated from the Christy Walsh estate. I've had this as one of my crown jewels for a long time but if things don't get any better real soon I may have to put this bad boy on the block.

Jerry,

What a cool program! Fantastic piece

M

Thanks Mike. Considering some of the stuff you've shown us that's high praise indeed!

Chief Meyers on a Hal Chase M110...

http://luckeycards.com/pm110chasegraded.jpg

This is probably the most interesting one I have:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...per20Young.jpghttp://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...gper20back.jpg

Victor "Young" Perez was a flyweight champ of Tunisian descent who lived in France. Come WWII, as a Jew he was betrayed to the Nazis and sent to the Auschwitz death camp in Poland where he was forced to fight gladiatorial contests for the amusement of the guards. If he won, he was fed. If he lost, he would be executed. He never lost. He was finally murdered during a death march near the end of the war when he shared some bread with a fellow prisoner in defiance of a guard's orders. Perez's cards--there are a few--are sought after because of his story. His autograph is rare for obvious reasons. Another collector and I put our heads together and were able to come up with only a few examples.

Honorable mentions:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...utographed.jpg

For years I thought how cool would it be to get a signed Bowman Groucho card but who knew if one even existed. Then one morning while suffering through a bout of insomnia I came across this one on eBay, BINed and it was mine.

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...way_%20Cab.jpg

Favorite Jazz Age artist.

My most interesting. Various HOFers. Arguably some of the best to play their sport respectively. All acquired in person.

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Mine has to be my Eddie Gaedel autographed album page. They say there are less than 10 Gaedel autographs that exist and I personally think mine is the biggest and boldest I have seen. The image of Gaedel batting will always be a historical part of baseball history. Both PSA & JSA use my auto as an examplar for Gaedel autographs. When I had Spence authenticate it, he was looking at a pic of my auto on his computer and then charged me $150 to tell me it was real : )

That's a toughee! :cool:

My Grays Jersey
 

I love the old Negro League players. The autographs are great but sitting at a table and listening to the stories is what it is all about.

What a classy thing for Jimmy to do :eek::eek::eek:

Some of my favorites:

I really like that Kennedy brochure. I gave it serious consideration and don't even collect presidential signatures. That sure is a nice group James.

I'm breaking the rules, but only because they've been broken already:

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps4ccd86h7.jpg

This is my personal favorite...just like the classic feel of it.

That's a cool Ruth image.

M

I love the Gaedel. He has been on my want list for a long time. Hope to get one at some point.

Do any Gaedel exist on his 1961 Scoops card??

For what it is worth here is my John Clarkson autograph on a check dated 1883. It is not one of my ultimate favorites but it ranks in my top 25 or so.

Not many of those.

I love all the great Walter Johnson autographs.

My favorite piece in my collection. Historically significant and I have never seen another one

My most significant--and rare--autograph. (And, being a physicist, it's quite special to me.)

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...newton_sig.jpg

David,
I love the Newton. It is the only the second Newton I have ever seen. A truly unique and historical piece.

Carl,

That's a great piece. Enjoyed watching you put that one together over on SCN.

Mike

+1 That's just crazy! :eek: