Alexander Autographs

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from other articles related to it. (February 2009)

A major contributor to this article appears to have a conflict of interest with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (November 2008)

Alexander Autographs is an auctioneer of historic autographs, manuscripts, and other collectibles. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, the auction house first opened its doors to bidders in 1993. In a similar fashion to Christie's, Sotheby's, Heritage Auction Galleries, R&R Enterprises and others, Alexander's offers several bidding platforms to its customers. Patrons can attend auctions in the traditional floor style in the company's Stamford offices, or they can bid via a phone proxy, or use the internet to bid in real-time. Alexander's is a member in good standing of the Professional Autograph Dealers Association, the Manuscript Society, the Ephemera Society, and the Universal Autograph Collectors Club; their business is guided by the collective ethics of those groups.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Notable and Controversial Sales 2.1 October 2005 2.2 February 2006 2.3 August 2008 2.4 November 2008 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Overview

Alexander's typically holds 3-4 auctions per year, and concentrates on the following categories: Colonial and Revolutionary War; The War Between the States; Americana; Presidents and Vice Presidents; Supreme Court, Cabinet Members & Politicians; Royalty and Heads of State; Military Leaders; Scientists and Inventors; Aviators, Explorers, Astronauts; Business Leaders; Authors and Writers; Artists, Illustrators and Animation Art; Composers and Musicians; Entertainers; Rock and Roll; Notables and the Notorious; and Sports.

Alexander Autographs is smaller than the three major auction houses. Heritage, for example, sees annual sales exceeding $600 million. Christie's Great Estates, a Christie's subsidiary, achieved over $100 billion in revenue during 2007, while Sotheby's can easily count on earning $3 billion per year. However, the company seems to have carved out a definite niche in the market over the past ten years, becoming famous for its high-dollar controversial sales.

[edit] Notable and Controversial Sales

[edit] October 2005

Alexander Autographs auctioned off a gold Rolex wristwatch inscribed with a message from Marilyn Monroe to President John F. Kennedy. The message reads: JACK, With love as always, from MARILYN May 29, 1962, only ten days after her famous "Happy Birthday" performance at Madison Square Garden. Included in the watchcase is a poem from Monroe to Kennedy ending with a passionate plea: "Let me love or let me die!" The watch and accompanying items sold for $120,000 to an anonymous East Coast collector^[1].

[edit] February 2006

Alexander Autographs was forced to withdraw a letter it was auctioning, purporting to be from Ronald Reagan and written during the President's later years while he suffered with Alzheimer's. The auction house was very excited by the letter's content-- hand-written annotations and references to the disease-- and advertised it on CBS News, the U.S. News and World Report, and other media. When the forger saw the news stories, he decided to privately come forward to the auction house and advise them of his handiwork. Bill Panagopulus, company president, then decided to pull the lot from its auction and issue a statement to the press^[2].

[edit] August 2008

Alexander Autographs found itself embroiled in a row with eBay, the online auction house, when eBay refused to run Alexander's Nazi and other German World War II items on its website. Alexander's complied, but issued a statement on its own website declaring that, "Though these items are indeed controversial, we maintain that they are of vital historic importance and cannot and must not be ignored^[3]." The house is now running many of the items in its November 2008 auction.

[edit] November 2008

Alexander Autographs receivied news coverage when the company announced plans to auction two particular items in the November 6-7 auction: the flight suit of Paul Tibbets^[4] and secret audio tapes from Jack Ruby's legal defense team^[5]. Tibbets, a colonel during World War II, flew the Hiroshima bombing mission-- the auction house is now selling the very suit he wore on that mission^[6] and the Distinguished Service Cross Tibbets earned for his actions^[7]. Additionally, Alexander's has uncovered taped conversations between Ruby's defense team, including attorney Melvin Belli, that call into question Ruby's contention that Oswald's murder was an unintentional act. The Tibbets suit is estimated to sell between $125,000-$250,000 and the Ruby tapes are expected to go for $5,000-$7,000.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Alexander Autographs website
• Tibbets sale