Rule: Know the people that you are writing or emailing in order to get an autograph.
Many of the websites that I use to get addresses allow users to post their successful autograph attempts. Many of these people post a picture of the actual autograph, like I do with mine here on this blog. I have noticed a disturbing trend that is popping up on some sites…..people who get an autographed photo and have no clue who it is from. Most of the envelopes that arrive in the mail do not have any type of return address. Some will have a return address but no name. Most celebrities choose not to advertise their name and address on a envelope travelling all around the country or the world, do you blame them? If you are truly in the hobby for just the pure joy of collecting autographs….you have to be able to open an envelope and pull out a picture and immediately know who that person is. What did you tell them in your request letter or email in order to get a photo? Did you admit that you have no idea who they are or what they look like? That is a big autograph collecting taboo. If I ever get to the point where I get a signed photo and I have to post it on this blog along with a request for readers to help me figure out who it is…..I will quit the hobby. Many of the Stars signatures are illegible and unreadable. This is understandable. Mine is too. I write worse than a monkey on Ritalin. Even if I can’t read the signature, I still instantly recognize the celebrities photo, even if it is a photo of them from 20-30 years ago. It is a great hobby, if you don’t go overboard and start sending out requests to people you won’t even recognize.
