Classic Movie AutographsCollecting classic movie autographs has been popular since ... well, since there have been movies. For most of that time there wasn't any real monetary value attached to the vast majority of those autographs, even the big stars. Autographs generally changed hands through trading networks, or maybe someone would pay a nominal amount for a favorite. When the autograph collector tired of his hobby, or moved on to new horizons, those autograph books full of names like Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn resided on closet shelves and in dresser drawers. Nobody worried about thieves; thieves would take the pair of socks under the book before they would the book. That's all changed today. Vintage movie autographs are very valuable, but only a handful of names and movies drive the market. Today, dealers and collectors comb through those old autograph books looking for names like Bogart, Cagney and Gable. The majority of the autographs, with names that are even less remembered than practically forgotten stars like like Edmund O'Brien and Claire Trevor, are bundled and sold in lots on eBay for next to nothing. The big names from the past who are now movie legends will always have value. Movie classics like "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone with the Wind" will always be collected. Alan Ladd
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