Charles Hamilton (autograph dealer)

Charles Hamilton Jr. (born December 24, 1913 in Ludington (Michigan) , † December 11, 1996 in New York City ) was an American manuscript expert, autograph dealer and graphologist . He made a name for himself with auctions of autographs by contemporary politicians and celebrities. Early on, he publicly referred to the Hitler diaries as a forgery. In 1994 he wanted to have discovered the lost drama Cardenio by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher .

Live and act

Hamilton grew up in Flint, Michigan and Los Angeles . He majored in English literature at the University of California, Los Angeles and graduated with a Master of Arts degree . In 1938 he moved to Manhattan where he worked in the advertising industry until he joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1942 and took part in World War II in the European theater .

After the war, Hamilton initially worked in the advertising industry again, but decided in 1953 to turn his hobby of collecting autographs into a profession. He founded a business and auction house and became one of the most famous autograph dealers in New York through his offer of autographs by celebrities, especially by contemporaries, but also by National Socialist politicians. In the mid-1980s, Hamilton closed his business and worked as a consultant, author, and handwriting expert.

When the fake Hitler diaries caused a stir in 1983 , Hamilton was one of the first to publicly question their authenticity.

In 1994, Hamilton joined with the thesis to the public, the piece The Second Maiden's Tragedy , which is generally the author Thomas Middleton is credited was actually the lost Shakespeare -Stück Cardenio . He relied on his expertise that both the play and Shakespeare's testament were written in the same handwriting. In addition, the publisher Humphrey Moseley had applied for the right to reproduce pieces in 1653, including the title The History of Cardenio, attributed to John Fletcher and Shakespeare, and the title The Maid's Tragedie, 2nd Part . Hamilton's thesis was not recognized by experts because Shakespeare's will is written in two different manuscripts. Moreover, the story of the Seconds Maiden's Tragedy has very little to do with the story of Cardenio, told by Miguel de Cervantes in his novel Don Quixote . Handwritten notes and corrections to Middleton's manuscript, however, could have been Shakespeare's. Despite all doubts, the play under the title Cardenio of The Second Maiden's Tragedy , or only Cardenio with John Fletcher and William Shakespeare as alleged authors, was repeatedly performed in the USA and Great Britain.

Publications

• (Ed.): Cry of the Thunderbird. The American Indian's own story. Macmillan, New York 1950.
  • Call of the Thunderbird. The culture and history of the Indians told by themselves. Verl. Der Arche, Zurich 1960.
• Men of the underworld. The professional criminals' own story. Gollancz, London 1953.
• Braddock's defeat. The journal of Captain Robert Cholmley's batman, the journal of a British officer [and] Halkett's orderly book. 1st edition. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman 1959.
• Collecting autographs and manuscripts. 1st edition. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman 1961.
• Lincoln in photographs. An album of every known pose. 1st edition. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman 1963.
• The robot that helped to make a President. A reconnaissance into the mysteries of John F. Kennedy's signature. , New York 1965.
• The book of autographs. An introduction to the joys and techniques of autograph collecting by the world's foremost authority. Simon and Schuster, New York 1978, ISBN 9780671242589 .
• The signature of America. A fresh look at famous handwriting. 1st edition. Harper & Row, New York 1979, ISBN 9780060117948 .
• Great forgers and famous fakes. The manuscript forgers of America and how they duped the experts. 1st edition. Crown Publishers, New York 1980, ISBN 9780517540763 .
• Auction madness. An uncensored look behind the velvet drapes of the great auction houses. 1st edition. Everest House, New York 1981, ISBN 9780896961234 .
• American autographs. Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Revolutionary War leaders, presidents. 1st edition. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman 1983.
• Leaders and personalities of the Third Reich. Their biographies, portraits, and autographs. 1st edition. RJ Bender Pub, San Jose, Calif. 1984, ISBN 9780912138275 .
• In search of Shakespeare. A reconnaissance into the poet's life and handwriting. 1st edition. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, San Diego 1985, ISBN 9780156445535 .
• The Hitler diaries. Fakes that fooled the world. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 1991, ISBN 9780813117393 .
• William Shakespeare and John Fletcher: Cardenio or the second Maiden's tragedy. Glenbridge Publ, Lakewood, Colo. 1994, ISBN 9780944435243 .

literature

• Robert mcg. Thomas Jr .: Charles Hamilton Jr., 82, An Expert on Handwriting , In: The New York Times , December 13, 1996.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "These people belong in prison" . In: Der Spiegel 19/1983, May 9, 1983.
2. ^ ^{A b} Roger Chartier : Cardenio between Cervantes and Shakespeare. The Story of a Lost Play . Polity Press, Cambridge 2013, pp. 172-174.
3. ↑ Eric Rasmussen: Shakespeare's Hand in "The Second Maiden's Tragedy" . In: Shakespeare Quarterly 40, No. 1 (1989), pp. 1-26.