For years, decades, Autograph collecting was a popular hobby. People often wrote to their favorite celebrity for a signature. A chance meeting would often prompt a customary request of a momento that was both a souvenir and proof of that chance meeting.
Early on AUTOGRAPHS became a popular hobby. One of the very first dealers ever, was a man named WALTER R BENJAMIN. Mr Benjamin's story is fascinating. He fished through trash and found relics in the way of letters, documents of historical interest that had been thrown away. Walter R Benjamin collected and marketed historical papers. Many historical papers were discarded or used as fillers. Paper was also reused as is was a scarce commodity and it is a known fact that papers written by Mozart were lost forever as they were used to wrap fish! Mr. Benjam not only found and pioneered a new market, he preserved history. His business was handed down to his daughter Mary Benjamin, and today lives on with Chistopher Jaeckel, Mary's nephew, running this business with the same care and integrity of his family members that began this company. [continued below]...
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