I drove to the National from Virginia. I enjoy flying, but it would have cost quite a bit more to fly and stay in one of the close hotels, plus I wanted to stop at some of the antique malls I see advertised on the billboards on the highway. I stopped at a few places along the way and found a couple of nice items.
Morgan Bulkeley signed Sons of the American Revolution certificate. I do not collect baseball signatures, but I knew he was a desirable hall of famer and worth more than it was priced. It is 11x13 and printed on linen paper that feels like parchment. I was looking at items in cases at an antique mall and his signature jumped out. I used to find his signature for $20-$30 when I was buying and selling Civil War generals autographs. I did not even know he was in the Hall at the time. Rhys gave me a price range on the item at the National. Now I just need to sell it. The recipient of the certificate is the great grandson of the Alexander Hamilton of the $20 bill and the Broadway play. Interestingly, both he and Bulkeley served in the Civil War.
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Burton Holmes - was a writer and lecturer. He travelled the world and gave public lectures on his trips. He also wrote the first travalogues, predecessors of the tourist guides used today. He was one of two noted photographers at the 1896 Olympics in Athens. He published a book which covered the 1896 Olympics and 1906 Intercalated games which are generally credited with saving the Olympic movement. The IOC does not recognize the 1906 event as Olympic games as they did not follow the quadrennial plan, but most Olympic historians do. I already have two signed 8x10's of him, but this was only $10 and included the return envelope.
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