No comments about True to the Letter: 800 Years of Remarkable Correspondence, Documents, and Autographs.

1 comments about Collecting Sports Autographs.

1. I purchased this book about 2 years ago at a Barnes and Noble store and thought it was very informative and could guide any autograph collector in the right direction of autograph collecting. It depicts the positive aspects of autograph collecting. Not like Bryant Gumble depicts them on HBO. He seems to think that there are no real autographs on the market. It is true that there are forges but with some of Tom's tips in this book one can surpass forgeries and aim towards a 100% authentic collection.

5 comments about The Celebrity Black Book: Over 40,000 Celebrity Addresses (Celebrity Black Book).

1. I purchased this book for my husband who collects autographs, mostly through the mail now that we don't live in LA. He loves it! He uses the book on a regular basis to write to sports figures, politicians and actors/actresses. So far we have had good luck with the addresses listed.



2. I must say I'm quite overwhelmed by all the people listed in this book. It's got almost everyone you know of and more! I'm very impressed. The only thing that I think is "wrong" with this book is that they haven't written the title of everyone, so on some people you don't know who they are, but it's not that many. I was very very surprised to find David Mark Chapman's address (prison) in there. Of course it didn't say what he is, although pretty much everyone knows anyway. It seems that some of the addresses are to people's homes. You've got addresses to musicians, politicians, journalists, actors, athletes, writers, Nobel prize winners, doctors, anyone you can think of in the whole world!! It's a treasure! On the website they've got about 10.000 more addresses (I wonder why they didn't put them all in the book??) This is really the ultimate Celebrity Address book I've ever seen. Buy it!



3. This book's front cover boasts "over 40,000 celebrity addresses, everyone who is anyone." That's not quite accurate. I've discovered a number of people who were omitted or just plain forgotten. That aside, the book does include addresses for most mainstream celebs, musicians and athletes and presents them in a straightforward, alphabetical listing.
   
   But a word of caution: keep in mind that celebs change agents/managers often, which means their mailing addresses change often too. So this book's shelf life is limited.
   
   What this book sorely lacks is additional information to accompany each listing. For example, has the address for Brad Pitt been tested to see if it is accurate? And, if it has, has anyone (the author?) had success in contacting Pitt that way? This is the stuff that matters if you're a novice (or even exprienced) autograph collector. An address will do you no good if the recipient doesn't read (or get) their fan mail.
   
   Ultimately, though, the book only promises to give addresses, and that's what it does. These addresses have been culled from contactanycelebrity.com, which is
   the book's companion Web site. When you buy the book, you can mail/fax in a registration form, giving you one month's free access to the Web site's vast database. That's a nice extra. All in all, the book is good, but a bit pricey for what it delivers given its limited shelf life.



4. If you are looking for movie stars, this might be a great book. I bought this book (the 2005 edition) primarily to locate artists (e.g., photographers, painters, sculptors). The book is basically useless in this regard. Proportionately speaking, there are extremely few listings of those types of artists. Ironically, even well-known, i.e., "celebrity" artists are omitted, as are lesser known but important ones. The few listed are seemingly random, including comic strip "artists." Worse, several of those listed are either very old (no longer working) or dead. I wonder if the addresses given are for cemeteries? Actually, the addresses for the few artists of interest to me were most often wrong based upon a simple cross reference search on the web. Of course, that also makes me question the accuracy of the other listings. This seems a useful resource for those interested in actors, random athletes and opera singers, but for any other interest--it simply needs to be updated.



5. I've never had this much research material for so many celebrities until now. For anyone wondering out there, don't second guess buying it.
   
   I also love how you get a free month of their online database which has even more stars, plus you can check to make sure the addresses are up-to-date.

4 comments about The Autograph Collector Celebrity Autograph Authentication Guide.

1. I am not a big fan of this book. If you subscribe to "The Autograph Collector" magazine, you would know that 80% of the magazine is advertisements, and you would think spending [money] on a book you wouldn't have 25 pages of ads. Also, many of the signatures in this book do not match signatures I have received in person. In stead of the ad's they should have used that extra 25 pages to list more examples of stars signatures, or at least list more people. I would suggest that they make the signatures themselves smaller, as many people are copying the signatures out of the book onto index cards and photos, and selling the forgeries on ebay. All together, I would suggest you buy a different book; this one is not even worth what you would pay for it used.



2. This is a review of this product: The Autograph Collector Celebrity Autograph Authentication Guide. Amazon may display this review on the page of another version of this product, for which this review may not apply. After reading this review, please click on the link so that you can be assurred that the product this review applies to is the same one you thought it was for.
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   The first thing you'll notice about this book, the minute you open it up to page 1, are the ads. That's right, this book has *advertisements* in it. But not just a few ads, 25 FULL PAGES OF ADVERTISEMENTS! The ads clutter up the front and back of the book, which makes it a pain to quickly locate the index at the back of the book (placed right before all the ads). What good is an index if it itself requires a little bit of searching to find?!? The ads are mostly for companies selling autographed photos. A list of these companies should have been put at the back of the book (before the index) for those who are interested. Putting full-page and half-page ads is ridiculous. Because of all the ads, I feel that this book should be free, or at least cost less than half of what it currently sells for.
   
   Now that let me get to the REAL content of the book - the autograph examples. The book lists many, many stars, including a few I was surprised to see (Melanie Chartoff and Ray Parker Jr., for example), but there are also many that are missing which should have been in there (Samantha Mathis and Hayley Mills, for example). Granted, I know that it is virtually impossible to list every celebrity that ever existed, but they could have made the autograph examples a little smaller and fit more people in there. In fact, there are some pages where there is only one or two examples on the entire page. Heck, come to think of it, the text in the introductory lessons to authenticating autographs is way too large. It should have been shrunken down to standard size, so that more autograph examples could be placed in the book. Also, it would have been a great idea to put, at least, two examples of each star's autograph in the book, just to account for variations in the way a person signs (no person signs his/her name exactly the same way every time).
   
   All griping aside, this is actually a great book and I *am* glad that I bought it. The ads are a pain to deal with (I'm tempted to rip them out, but I don't want to ruin the book), but I guess nothing in life is perfect. At least now you have a little more information about this book than I did when I purchased it.



3. I was very disappointed that some big Hollywood stars were not in the book (including some that were easy to come by), and yet so many stars that I've never even heard of were filling so many pages. I've been a serious Hollywood autograph collector and enthusiast for over 20 years and was upset to see some of the bigger stars not included. Some big and popular stars missing were Dustin Hoffman, Orson Welles, Cyd Charisse, Christopher Reeve, and Gloria Swanson. And who in the world is Kelly Reno? Sherilyn Wolter? Jackee Harry??

   A waste of my money.




4. A great book full of tons of examples of signatures. I have used this book to go through my entire collection to check the authenticity. I wouldn't want to be without it. A BIG hit!

5 comments about Sign This.

1. This was a fascinating book to read as it is a sports book about the real personalities of sports personalities. Specifically, how a collection of professional athletes behaves when asked to make paid personal appearances and autograph material. How they react to unscheduled requests for autographs is also included in the analysis. There is a top ten good guy's list:
   
   *) Brooks Robinson
   *) Harmon Killebrew
   *) Lee Roy Selmon
   *) Otto Graham
   *) The Famous Chicken
   *) Monte Irvin
   *) Billy Williams
   *) Muhammad Ali
   *) Alan Trammell
   *) Dale Murphy
   
   They are people who always go out of their way to be polite and helpful. The only name on the list that surprised me was Ali, it appears that the loud mouth attitude that he projected was an artificial one. There is a companion top ten jerks list:
   
   *) Willie Mays
   *) Rickey Henderson
   *) Errict Rhett
   *) Mike Schmidt
   *) Darryl Strawberry
   *) Reggie Jackson
   *) Joe Dimaggio
   *) Pete Rose
   *) Gaylord Perry
   *) Denny McLain
   
   I cannot say that there were any surprises in this list.
   One hundred other sports celebrities are also ranked and there is a chapter devoted to Mickey Mantle, the most popular athlete. The author organizes sports celebrity appearances, so nearly all of the commentary is based on the author's personal experiences. It is indexed based on the athletes' name, so if you are interested in a particular figure, then this book will provide you with accurate information.



2. This book is a must have for anyone who spends Mondays cleaning black sharpie marker off their hands. You definately have to check out the Jerks and Good Guys lists to see if your favorite signers are there, and who you should not even try to get (unless you want to get yelled at).



3. I'm not a sports fan in the least, but I enjoyed Sign This immensely. Tom's stories about hundreds of his experiences are placed in an editorial column format, giving you just the information you need to know and usually containing a witty side note. If you ever wanted to know how our sports heroes from the last 4 decades really act, this book is a must read.



4. "Sign This" is a must read for any true sports fan. Unlike other books about sports personalities, Tom Bunevich cuts the fluff and tells it as it is when your heros are behind closed doors. I'm the kind of guy who needs to hear it straight from the horses mouth and in "Sign This," Bunevich seems to be the perfect horse. I don't think you could ask for a more fair and honest appraisal of sports personalities than from an author who has obviously danced with the greatest names. If you want to find out if the personality of your hero dims as the camera lights fade away - read "Sign This."

   The stories are fair to all. If a guy's a jerk, Bunevich lays it on the line and says so. But in fairness, "Sign This" certainly acknowledges those stars whose personalities off the field shine as brightly as their accomplishments on the field. Find the story on Dale Murphy and see if that still happens in todays era of autograph collecting!

   Bunevich also provides a great history from when autographs were just a hobby to the indusrty it is now. Check out Bunevich's first autograph guest in the mid 80's - a young New York flamethrower named Dwight Gooden - and see what an autograph ticket cost back then. You also might want to get a calculator to check what you could have saved by reading what Mickey Mantle charged for an autograph 15-20 years ago.

   Raed "Sign This"- I hope Bunevich's next project will be as honest and insightful as this one!!!




5. A really great book. I bought one for my brother who has always been a sports nut. I remember him following the careers of many of the people mentioned in the book. The stories about the players were interesting and enlightening. Most of the stories about the 10 bad guys confirmed my opionion. Same for the 10 good guys. You don't really have to be interested in collecting sports memorabilia to enjoy this book. I am sure everyone will find the stories interesting and enjoyable. It is definitely a book you will want to read and share with friends. Better yet, buy two, one to keep and one to give away.

1 comments about The Handbook of Historical Documents, A Guide to Owning History.

1. Designed completely to make you purchase goods from this pirate king of the autograph world, this book is amateu5rish and ingnorant. The author's father pioneer handbooks for tropical fish, ripped off people for their rare violins, and went to jail for income tax evasion; the son is well on his weay of following suit. All the illustrations are for sael, if you want to pay fifty times what you can buy a similar item selsewhere. His shop is in just the right place to sell Ameriucan history---Las Vegas---and his business is actually on the New York Stock Esxchange, which says more about the flaws in that institution's due dilligence, than it spoeaks to the reliability of the business. Avoid this at all cost; buy something by Rendell instead.

5 comments about The Standard Guide to Collecting Autographs: A Reference & Value Guide.

1. I don't know if there are many people out there who can lay claim to a Louis XIII autograph, or even a George Washington autograph. If they did, they probably also have Jesus Christ on a baseball.

   My point is, there are listings for hundreds if not thousands of people whose autographs probably don't even exist. The book is good for referencing celebrities and sports stars, but there are far too many pages dedicated to the various types of William Henry Harrison signatures, and other topics we need not explore.

   If this is the "standard guide" it should be a little more up to date. I would rather see five facimilies of a Robert De Niro or a Mickey Mantle autograph than of somebody who has been dead for 500 years, because you know what-- chances are I won't be getting their signature any time soon, so I won't need to compare it to a facimile.

   This book is a very comprehensive price guide for today's celebrities and sports stars, which is why I give it a four star rating. But if the book spent less time dealing with signatures from centuries ago, and more time dealing with the stars of today and tommorow (I got Heidi Klum's sig the other day, and she isn't listed-- she is probably one of the most famous models in the world), it would truly be the best autograph guide out there.




2. Wow, after reading so many books about autographs finally a realistic book enters the market. Unlike the Sanders guide it it deals with values at a realistic level and why not Baker has written more books about the subject than any other author in this genre. Not since Charles Hamilton's books on the subject have I ever learned so much, Bravo!



3. I'm not a fan of monopolies, but in this case, the Sanders Price Guide is the one and only. This book tries to be the "standard?" Sanders is the standard in the field, and while ambitious, this book simply doesn't measure up. Good for facsimilies, but that's about it.



4. This huge 608 page volume is loaded to the gills with over 50,000 autograph values covering 15,000 names. More than 1,000 facsimile signatures and photos of autographed items are shown. There are numerous chapters of background information that will be of interest and value to experienced autographers as well as novices. This book covers topics including sports, entertainment, music, artists, literary, business, medicine, space, heads of state and much, much more. The index alone is over 70 pages!! It provides accurate pricing, informative insight into market trends and many current topics. A super reference book.



5. This book filled with facsimile signatures and finally some accurate prices for a variety of autographs. The author's analysis of the market is also included and alone worth the purchase price.Well worth purchasing by anyone who loves the hobby!

2 comments about The Sander's Price Guide to Autographs (Sanders Price Guide to Autographs).

1. Sanders are THE experts in autograph pricing and have been for years, this edition had chapters on matting and framing your collection, with web sites to get tools and materials, also a chapter on internet auctions and watching out for forgeries which are prolific on the web. If you collect autographs, this book is a must!



2. I waited a long time for this new edition to come out and it is a whopping 700 pages but, it spends half of its content lamenting the loss of the original author who died last year and reprinting articles I have from earlier editions. The names were updated abit but the prices still seem inacurate. A disapointing end to a once prolific career for the author.

No comments about Beckett Guide to Collecting Autographs & Comprehensive Price Guide.

No comments about The Official Price Guide to Movie Autographs and Memorabilia.