Letters, manuscripts, books, I get, but autographs? I cannot even. Franz Peter Bach could, though. The July 24th auction of his autograph collection includes the following, almost surreal text:
He began collecting in the 1980s, from following music tours in Germany, as well as attending swap meets in Hanover, where as well as exchanging autographs, he was given addresses of celebrities, who he would then write to directly for signatures. His collection was meticulously collated, mostly in albums, and added to over many years. Authenticated prior to the sale by Adam Andrusier. Collated in a presentation album by Mr Bach, with tipped in photograph on opposing page. Following the sale, the autograph(s) will be removed and paired with the photograph, ready for collection / shipping.
Besides dismantling this guy’s meticulously collated collection, the autographs are being sold mostly in inexplicable and entertaining groups. The groups that include artist autographs are as follows:
Lot 51: Christopher Reeve, Francis Bacon, Liza Minelli, Bob Hope, Marsha Hunt, Tom Cruise, Burt Ward, and [Austrian actress] Eva May
Lot 53: Christopher Lee, [director] Ettore Scola, Karl Malden, Lynda Carter, [composer] Johann Maria Eduard Strauss III, and Cy Twombly
Lot 56: Shelley Winters, Lionel Messi, Gregory Peck, Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Don Ameche, Tippi Hedren, Anthony Perkins, and Olafur Eliasson.
Gerhard Richter and Leni Riefenstahl are each sold separately. The postcard with Leni’s autographs is pretty unflinching.