Today we’re talking about a particularly exciting appraisal: a volume of presidential autographs containing original documents signed by every American president from George Washington through Richard Nixon, with accompanying portraits. How do you even put a price on an item like this? Slowly and carefully. Complete collections of presidential signatures have been compiled before, so our evaluation largely comes down to the documents themselves: their condition, whether they were written while the president was in office, and how interesting or historically significant their content may be. Join us for an up-close look at 200 years of American history on this official new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #192 - Profiles in Courage
Today in the studio we have a copy of John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage, inscribed by the author to an interesting—but not especially well-known—figure from Boston’s history. We’ll use it as a jumping-off point into a discussion of signatures and inscriptions more generally: some are simply nice to have, others substantially increase the collectibility and value of a volume, and many turn out to be written by a secretary or printed with the book itself. A look at some of the most common and convincing faux signatures rounds out this 100% authentic #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #31 - Old News
In this episode Ken shows off a bound volume of Harper's Weekly from 1863, and flipping through it with him is like peering into a fascinating time capsule from the Civil War era. Harper's employed some of the best journalists, artists, and photographers of the time, and in its pages eye-witness battlefield reportage and sentimental woodcut illustrations of homesick soldiers share space with advertisements for dubious health tonics and prosthetic limbs.
Brattlecast #2 - The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant
Ken Gloss takes Jordan Rich on a trip through "one of the best military autobiographies ever written", detailing the book's origins, publisher Mark Twain's involvement, and the phenomenal success it brought to one of the nation's most celebrated presidents. Learn about the value of old books, both monetary and historical, and some not-so-common sense about determining a book's authenticity.