World of Chig   

1.7.03
Sign Your Name

Just before Christmas, my Dad reminded me about an autograph he's had for decades (since the 1960s, I think). A Hollywood megastar was dining in a restaurant in Stratford-Upon-Avon, where he grew up, so he dared to ask her to sign the menu, which she duly did, and he has kept it for 40 or so years. He asked me in December to use the interwebnet thing (with which he has never interfaced) to see how much the autograph might be worth. It seemed, looking at memorabilia signed by the said actress, that it was probably worth £200-300. And it was gratifying to be able to look at samples on the internet which proved that the signature was indeed the same as the one my Dad has. Yesterday, my first thought on hearing the sad news of Katharine Hepburn's death - for it was her who he met all those years ago - was to wonder if the value of the autograph had gone up. Indeed it has. Comparable Katharine Hepburn autographed items now seem to be worth around £500. I don't know whether to be pleased or not. Should I advise my Dad that now would be a good time to sell, or do these things carry on increasing in value once someone has been dead a long time?

· link

Home