ENGLISH POET Autograph Letter Signed, two pages, octavo, 43 via Bocca di Leone [Rome], Friday, undated. To “My dear Reverend Hanna.” With the original black-bordered mourning envelope addressed in her hand. “Will you allow us to introduce to you Mrs. Hamilton and her daughter, country-women of your own, who will commend themselves to you, … [ Read More ]
Collectible Autographs from Famous Women in History
Autograph signatures, signed letters, and signed documents of famous women in many different fields of endeavor are avidly collected. Discussed here are women whose autograph signatures and signed pieces have been collected in part because they are women, as opposed to women whose autograph material has been of interest because of their accomplishments, for example authors. (Many of these authors are discussed in the section entitled “Authors.”) The leading figure in the women's rights movement, Susan B. Anthony, pioneered the movement to establish every woman’s the right to vote in the United States. Susan B. Anthony's signed letters have long been collected by a university library in New York, though signed letters do occasionally become available on the market. Susan B. Anthony was a popular figure who was very happy to sign her autograph on cards, and these are the most common form available for admirers and collectors today. Amelia Earhart was a very popular public figure as a pioneer in aviation, and while she readily signed her autograph on cards when people encountered her in person, they are clearly scarce, as the demand for her autograph signature exceeds the supply. In the field of science, the French chemist Marie Curie, known for her work in radioactivity, is very rare, and autograph signatures and signed letters have been collected by institutional libraries for decades; accordingly, her autograph signatures are rarely found. Mary Cassatt, the great Impressionist artist, is also quite rare in all autograph forms.
Catherine the Great, Czarina of Russia, is found in signed letters and signed documents, but neither is common and both are in significant demand, particularly by Russians, the newly avid collectors of their own history. Josephine, Napoleon's Empress, can be collected in signed letters, but her autograph signatures alone are not found. Her predecessor on the throne of France, Marie Antoinette, is rare in signed documents, and many of those that bear her name were signed by secretaries. Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s mistress, who greatly influenced his policies and French history during the period, is quite rare in signed letters or any other autograph form. A much more contemporary figure who influenced a country was Eva Perón, whose signed letters and signed documents are in much demand, particularly among South American collectors. Florence Nightingale, who had a tremendous influence on patient care and hospital reform, was a popular figure who was happy to comply with admirers’ requests for her autograph signature. She wrote and signed letters extensively, but these have generally been collected by institutional libraries and are not available on the market. Helen Keller, who was blind, deaf, and mute, captured America's hearts, and her signed letters are very popular to this day. Many form letters asking for money are not signed by her but, she was very happy to comply with autograph signature requests and signed cards, and genuinely signed letters can be found. Two female authors seem to have particular appeal for women collectors. Virginia Woolf is rare in any autograph form, with signed letters frequently bearing only her first name or her initials. Ayn Rand is rarer still; she sent signed letters only in response to serious questions that really interested her. Queen Victoria of England, with a very long reign in a position that required her to sign large numbers of official documents, is a very popular figure in the field of women's history. She succeeded a series of kings, all of whom were incompetent to one degree or another, and she led England through the industrial revolution, very actively involving herself in all aspects of the transformation from a rural to a manufacturing economy. The figure who has been of the greatest interest to collectors interested in women's history has been Eleanor Roosevelt. She became the First Lady 150 years after Martha Washington, and she created a role for herself unlike any of her predecessors or successors. She involved herself in every aspect of national concern, and established herself as an independent-minded woman who understood issues and was not afraid to discuss them. She seemingly answered every letter sent to her with a signed letter, always typewritten. Her autograph signature was very clear and there was no question whose it was, and these signed letters have been treasured ever since.
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
ROBERT BROWNING WROTE… “THE PORTRAIT IS…THE BEST IN EXISTENCE, PERHAPS” BROWNING, ELIZABETH BARRETT. A highly important photograph of her portrait painted in 1859 by Field Talfourd, now in the National Portrait Gallery in London, Signed by her on the mount below. Eleven inches by seven inches. Elizabeth Barrett Browning never owned the original of … [ Read More ]
Christie, Agatha
“….THE WORLD IS ALREADY PARTIAL TO DETECTIVE FICTION AND HAS BEEN FOR SOME TIME. HAMLET COULD CERTAINLY QUALIFY AS A DETECTIVE DRAMA….” English mystery writer; creator of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Typewritten Letter Signed, Agatha Mallowan, one page, octavo, Churston Ferrers, near Brixham, South Devon, June 12, 1972. To Dear Mrs. Frink. “As … [ Read More ]
Joanna
“TO PREVENT FOREIGN MOORS, ENEMIES OF THE FAITH, FROM CAUSING THE DAMAGE, LOSS AND ROBBERIES THEY HAVE BEEN ACCUSTOMED TO DO” JOANNA LA LOCA. Queen Joanna of Castile; daughter of Ferdinand V and Isabella I. An official royal document, signed in the name of the Queen by the Councillors of Castile, one page folio, (15 … [ Read More ]
Leigh, Vivien
VIVIEN LEIGH’S CONTRACT FOR ‘GONE WITH THE WIND’ VIVIEN LEIGH. Motion picture actress. Four Typewritten Documents, forty-two pages, legal folio, January 16 to November 8, 1939. Concerning Vivien Leigh’s role in the production of Gone With The Wind. Together with an Autograph Letter Signed. Typewritten Document, seventeen pages, legal folio, Culver City, California, January 16, … [ Read More ]
Maria Theresa
MARIA THERESA. Arch-Duchess of Austria; Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. Mother of Marie Antoinette. Document Signed Maria Theresa, one page, large folio, [171/2 by 21-3/4 inches], n.d. With the Queen’s large paper and wax seal. An ornate document commending Don Francesca de Magan “for his long-rendered service and steadiness and bravery in wartime,” and … [ Read More ]
Millay, Edna St Vincent
EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY. American author. A Collection of twenty-eight Typewritten Manuscripts, twenty-eight pages, quarto, [ca. 1920 and earlier]. Three of the manuscripts are signed by Edna St Vincent Millay at the conclusion; one bears a holograph correction in the text; and in another she has changed the title. Accompanied by a typewritten letter … [ Read More ]
Mitchell, Margaret
THE PUBLIC REACTION TO “GONE WITH THE WIND” MARGARET MITCHELL. American author of Gone with the Wind. Typewritten Letter Signed, one page, quarto, Atlanta, Georgia, January 7, 1936. On her name-imprinted stationery, to Dr. Mayos. “Thank you so much for your New Year’s note and all your good wishes. I had it on my mind … [ Read More ]
Piaf, Edith
EDITH PIAF. French singer and actress whose interpretation of the Chanson, or French ballad, made her internationally famous. A close-up, head-shot Photograph of the legendary chanteuse in a wistful gaze, her hand on her cheek, Signed Edith Piaf and Inscribed in the dark upper portion, “Pour Monsieur Maurice Croifer / Sympathique… / Edith Piaf”. The black … [ Read More ]
Porter, Katherine Anne
AN EXTRAORDINARY LITERARY LETTER ABOUT THE PROCESS OF WRITING “SHIP OF FOOLS” KATHERINE ANNE PORTER. American essayist, short story writer, novelist; wrote “Ship of Fools”. Typewritten Letter Signed, Katherine Anne Porter, three densely typed pages, on blue paper, quarto, August 18, 1958, Outpost Inn, Ridgefield, Connecticut. With corrections in her hand. To Mr. Clemons. “I … [ Read More ]
Sayers, Dorothy Leigh
“…ONE STATEMENT OF YOURS…IS VENOMOUS, BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THOSE ACCUSATIONS, OF THE HAVE-YOU-STOPPED- BEATING-YOUR-WIFE VARIETY, AGAINST WHICH THERE IS NO CONCEIVABLE DEFENCE….” DOROTHY LEIGH SAYERS. English mystery novelist; creator of the memorable sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey. Typewritten Letter Signed, Dorothy Leigh Sayers, three pages, quarto, Witham, Essex, July 25, 1947. To Dr. James … [ Read More ]