Autograph
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An autograph (from ancient Greek αὐτός autós "self" and γράμμα grámma "letter", "writing") is a handwritten signature . Autographs are always also autographs , i. H. handwritten documents. The term "autograph" is mainly used when a famous person writes a signature on a photo , CD , book or the like.
Celebrities also often hold so-called autograph sessions, at which the stars' books or other products are sold and signed by them . These events are mostly associated with advertising or merchandising , e.g. B. when presenting an autobiography .
history
The Bavarian King Ludwig II is the first to write autograph cards with photos . Shortly after his accession to the throne in 1864, he began giving away photos of himself, which he sometimes also signed.
Collector
There are two large associations in Germany that work in the field of autograph collecting: the AdA (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Autographensammler eV), founded in 1986, and the CdA'94 (Club der Autographsammler eV). Roughly speaking, there are several thousand autograph collectors in Germany, around 2500 of which are organized in associations. In addition to the two associations mentioned, there are various print media in Germany that deal with the topic. The Autograph Collector Magazine has been published in the USA since 1986 .
Contrary to all assumptions, most autograph collectors are “desk criminals”. The celebrities are written to by post and usually send back a signed picture. The proportion of personally collected autographs (IN-person autographs) is rather low in the collector scene.
So-called collectors' fairs are regularly organized, where autograph collectors from all over Europe can meet and exchange or buy their autographs. The best known is the Gütersloh autograph exchange, which has been held annually since 1996.
Fakes
Anthony Daniels , known as a C3PO actor from Star Wars , is taking an extraordinary campaign against forged autographs . On his private website he shows many forged autographs and blatantly calls the sellers by name. David Prowse (Darth Vader actor in Star Wars) has joined in and posted information on his official website about forgeries of his signature on eBay.
Not only are deliberate counterfeits by “dealers” in circulation, but also “legal” counterfeits make it difficult for collectors. Some stars let so-called secretaries sign; this is how secretary signatures came onto the market for years. These signatures are very difficult to identify as forgery based on the lettering. So-called autopen signatures are also becoming more and more common. The dimensions of the font (height, width) are absolutely the same.
The detection of forgeries is often difficult. Clear indicators for forgeries are z. B. Pens that did not exist in the era of personality. A "Goethe" with an Edding signature can therefore be ruled out as genuine.
Serious appraisers cannot make clear statements based on scans and screen displays. In particular, the potential for manipulation of the scan or distortion by the scanner must be taken into account here. Furthermore, important details of the lettering are lost for an expert when scanning or copying, which makes work even more difficult.
Legal
Autograph cards with a photo of the celebrity are protected by copyright and may be traded, but not readily reproduced and reproduced . The situation is different with pure signatures, e.g. B. on a sheet of white paper. There is no copyright on the signature itself (see legal protection of characters ).
literature
- in German language
- Peter Krevert , Heinz-Ulrich Kammeier: Autographs and autographs. A fascinating passion Medien-Verlag, Münster 1999ff.
- Autographs and autographs, part 1 . 1999, 322 pages, ISBN 3-9806710-0-3 .
- Autographs and autographs, part 2 . 2001, ISBN 3-9807905-0-9 .
- Celebrities report on their fans . 2005, 245 pages, ISBN 3-9807905-1-7 .
- Peter Krevert: The Schalke Autograph Book . Royal blue documents and anecdotes . 1st edition Agon Sportverlag, Kassel 2005, 252 pages, ISBN 3-89784-268-8 .
- Herbert Gerigk : New love for old scripts. From autograph hunter to autograph collector . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1982, 108 pages, ISBN 3-421-02421-9 .
- Milorad Raïtchewitch: biographies and autographs of famous statesmen and other personalities of the 20th century. 1910-1957 . Self-published, Lübbecke 1957, 316 pages
- Winfried Bornemann : Five thousand international celebrity addresses. Bornemann's manual for the autograph collector . Fackelträger, Hannover 1991, 269 pages, ISBN 3-7716-1527-5 .
- Josef L. Krancher: Autograph and Signature in Culture . 1st edition Pentheus Verlag, Regensburg 2004, 205 pages, ISBN 3-929101-11-4 .
- Rudolf F. Kallir: Autograph collector - life sentence . Atlantis Verlag, Freiburg / B. 1977, 120 pages, ISBN 3-254-00025-0 .
- Heinz Gebhardt : The fairytale king's court photographer (when the people of Munich learned to take photos). In: tz-Munich from March 9, 2009
- in English
- Richard Saffro, Jim Smith, Don Shaw, Helen Sanders, Ralph Roberts: The Sanders Price Guide to Autographs. The World's Leading Autograph Pricing Authority. 6th edition. Alexander Books, Alexander, NC 2003, 620 pages, ISBN 1-57090-213-5 .
- Lee A. Ellis: The Celebrity Address Directory & Autograph Collector's Guide. 2nd edition. Americana Group Publ., River Falls, WI 2002, 180 pages, ISBN 0-9667961-7-9 .
Web links
- Online tool to create and print autograph cards
- World Leaders Autograph Society , the international community of autograph collectors who collect the autographs of world leaders
Individual evidence
- ^ Wilhelm Gemoll: Greek-German school and hand dictionary. Munich / Vienna 1965.
- ↑ http://www.anthonydaniels.com/darkside/index.html
- ↑ Ebay Forgeries - Seller List. In: The Official Dave Prowse Web Site. Archived from the original on August 22, 2007 ; accessed on January 13, 2016 .