AUTOGRAPH, an inscription made by hand, but commonly meaning the signature of i a person in his own handwriting. Apparently there is nothing in which one's personality is so inherent as in his handwriting, for the law recognizes the fact that one person cannot suc cessfully counterfeit another's autograph. This is probably the reason why the accumulation of autographs of famous men has been one of the favorite pursuits of collectors from the most ancient tunes. It is recorded that one of the Egyptian Pharoahs paid high prices to the Greeks for the autographs of Sophocles, Eurip ides and others of their noted countrymen. The Greeks and Romans were also voracious collectors of such souvenirs, one of the Roman emperors having even the autographs of Chi nese scholars. In the British Museum there is one collection which was begun as far back as the 14th century. It is an established fact that in the early Middle Ages there were Man ufactured in Germany books of blank pages which were sold to travelers that they might obtain the signatures of prominent people in other countries. In the British Museum is such an album dated 1554. It is only within comparatively recent times, however, that the collection of autographs has been commercial ized. The buying and selling of signatures has
become an international industry, or business, in which experts may command very high sal aries. The value of an autograph depends, not only on the fame of the writer, but upon the rarity of his autographs and its condition. Naturally, if it is accompanied by a letter also in his handwriting, the value is many times in creased. The most valuable collection of American autographs is in the New York Pub lic Library; it includes the best set of the signers of the Constitution, among which is the autograph of Thomas Lynch, which once brought $5,000 at a sale. Among the most high priced autographs are those of Raphael, the younger Bach, Charlotte Corday, Sir Francis Drake, Thomas More and Milton. Of the signers of the Constitution the rarest auto graphs are those of Lynch, Gwinnett, Hart, Morton, Heywood and Middleton. It is esti mated that a set of autograph letters of the signers of the Constitution in good condition would be worth about $25,000.