Hollywood autographs are always in demand.
Though the industry is a very different one from that which sprung up around the world famous Hollywood sign.
Perhaps it’s a perfect summation of the biz that that iconic stunt was originally nothing to do with movies and used a different name - Hollywoodland - to advertise a housing development.
But the dream factory never dies. And fans of its Golden Age, which is imprecisely dated to around 1927 to around 1960, still celebrate its big names.
Autographs, if well sourced and sold with good evidence, can be a great investment.
And, even if you’re not in the resale market, they are a wonderful link with the real person behind those big silver screen moments.
Rarity is one of the prime drivers of value in autograph hunting. But it’s very hard to quantify and is often overstated. The Hollywood of the mid-20th century was a ruthless marketing machine - stars, often on restrictive and unfair contracts, were expected to churn out signatures to keep fans happy and paying for tickets.
And that means forgeries are a big issue with big star names - prints, stamps, and forgeries penned by staff are all issues. Make sure you only buy authenticated Hollywood autographs.
Paul Fraser, founder of Paul Fraser Collectibles, says: “Don’t be tempted by too-good-to-be-true bargains.
“To build a rewarding collection takes time. Hold out for good-quality examples and only buy if you’re sure it’s genuine.
“But research will be rewarded, and I think anyone can feel close to the biggest stars in history with a little effort.”
Here are 10 of the rarest from the age when Hollywood ruled the world.
10 - Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
Because they’re a twosome, Fred and Ginger signatures are twice as hard to get, and that ups the rarity.
It certainly didn’t dim the star quality of either though, and both are collectible in their own right.
Pairs from the 10 movies they made together though are the most sought after and can sell for thousands of pounds.
9 - Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood in 1973 by Allan Wood.
Tragedy is good for value. It’s a sad fact of autograph collecting that stars who lived short lives are more likely to have valuable signatures.
Natalie Wood was a transcendent star, best known for Rebel Without a Case (she’s in good company in this list) and West Side Story. Three Oscar nods capped a hugely successful career, and a marriage to handsome star Robert Wagner seemed to indicate domestic bliss too.
Tragically, she drowned in 1981 in circumstances that have remained somewhat mysterious and the focus of some lurid speculation over the years.
You should expect to pay hundreds of pounds for a good Natalie Wood autograph, quite a few of which are signed in concert with her husband.
8 - Rita Hayworth
Hayworth’s autograph is highly sought after, and can realise thousands in good condition and on the right medium.
She was born Margarita Carmen Cansino in New York but the studios did their best to cast off her Hispanic heritage (her fiery red hair perhaps came from her Irish side) along with her name.
Like many Golden Age women stars, dancing was her route into the movies, and she shone in more than 60 of them - and through five marriages.
7 - Leslie Howard
Expect to pay out hundreds of pounds for good examples of Howard’s signature.
He was British born, and played that way in Hollywood roles, that included an appearance in Gone With the Wind.
Undoubtedly a star, (a notorious ladies’ man) and a fine actor who became a director, he dedicated himself to producing propaganda during WWII and died when the plane he was traveling in was shot down by the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay.
Was he an intelligence agent too? Some have speculated that he was.
He was extremely close friends with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, whose daughter was named Leslie Howard Bogart in his honour.
6 - Montgomery Clift
Again, tragedy puts value on a signature, and Clift autographs go for between £200 and £200 at the moment.
Clift was a successful stage actor who went into film in the 1940s. He became known for playing sensitive and moody characters in films like Red River, A Place in the Sun, and From Here to Eternity, and received four Academy Award nominations.
He was incredibly handsome, so a 1956 car accident that severely damaged his face was crippling in many ways. He continued to work, but his personal battles with addiction became harder and he died at age 45 in 1966 from a heart attack.
His performances as a troubled, vulnerable leading man left a lasting impression on film history and give him a mystique that still appeals.
5 - Rudolph Valentino
Image courtesy of Orange County Archives.
The archetypal Hollywood leading man died just as the Golden Age started. His short life means autographs are in limited supply and should be valued at over £1,000.
Born in Italy, Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filibert Guglielmi, moved to the US in 1913 and found work as a dancer and actor.
A breakthrough role in 1921's The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse led to leads showcasing his suave, romantic screen persona in films like The Sheik, Blood and Sand, and The Eagle.
Another great dancer, women swooned over Valentino’s tango. When he died suddenly in 1926 at age 31 there was mass hysteria among his devotees. His brief career is as an icon of silent films, an early sex symbol, and Hollywood's first male superstar.
4 - Richard Burton
Richard Burton was a renowned Welsh actor born in the mining village of Pontrhydyfen in 1925.
Acting was his escape, and he became an acclaimed Shakespearean, whose magnetic persona and rich voice soon made him an in-demand leading man.
When Hollywood came calling, he starred in epics that showcased his macho appeal, and romances like My Cousin Rachel. He was nominated for seven Oscars, but never won one.
His two marriages to Elizabeth Taylor are now the centrepiece of his story. A real-life romance worthy of the movies, that keeps focus on both actors and demand for his signature high. It is now valued at several hundred pounds in the right condition.
3 - Lupe Velez
I think Lupe Velez autographs are undervalued. Her life story is so compelling - and touches on questions of identity that are very current - I think she is ripe for rediscovery.
She was a Mexican-American actress who found fame in Hollywood in the 1920s and 30s.
Born in 1908, Lupe began her career performing in vaudeville and Broadway shows. She soon caught the eye of Hollywood producers and made her film debut in 1927.
Films like The Gaucho, Hot Pepper, and the Mexican Spitfire series played on her heritage, but she also did more serious work, continued to work in stage musicals and was a Spanish-language star who could bring 10s of thousands of people to the streets of Mexico City.
The fiery persona the studio publicists attached to her wasn’t entirely an invention and her personal life was turbulent. She took her own life aged just 36 in 1944.
You may pay hundreds of pounds for some of the best examples of her signature.
2 - James Dean
Frozen in his beautiful prime by just three roles, James Dean is synonymous with the youthful rebel persona of his films.
Born in 1931 in Indiana, Dean began acting on stage and television in the early 1950s. His first major film role was in 1955's East of Eden, followed by Rebel Without a Cause, cementing his status as an icon for teenage disillusionment.
Dean's third and final film, Giant, was released after his untimely death in a car accident at age 24 in 1955.
Though his career was short, James Dean had a powerful cultural influence as a symbol of cool teen angst. With his signature jeans and red jacket, good looks, and nuanced performances, Dean embodied the restless spirit of 1950s youth.
He remains one of the most celebrated actors of Hollywood's Golden Age and one of the most valued signatures for autograph hunters. His signature should cost you thousands of pounds, and in the right place can rise to 10s of thousands.
1 - Marilyn Monroe
Who else?
There’s not much that hasn’t been said about Marilyn Monroe, whose attraction seems to show little sign of diminishing decades after her death.
Her signature will - I’m confident - always be in demand, and it’s in relatively limited supply.
She’s many things to many people, but genuinely iconic. In her life she was a sex symbol, in her after life she has been used to symbolize all sorts of things - feminism, exploitation, mass produced imagery.
No Hollywood star is more collectible, and Monroe’s autograph is both rare and a record breaker, realising $300,000 in 2022.
Finding your own rare Hollywood Golden Age autographs
The Golden Age of Hollywood is an age never to be recreated.
And one to celebrate.
Autographs have a particular magic to them: no physical artefact is more personal than our signature.
If you’d like to know more, then take a look at our autograph store.
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