Uncut Proof sheet c. 1913 with Cobb and Joe Jackson in May '24 Hunt Auctions

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by JustinD

Not an autograph collector, but I have had some people tell me they prefer pencil for display pieces (flats logically) as there is little to no chance of fading as there is with ink. Perhaps, that is a very small segment of collectors per this thread.

While that preference due to that logical reasoning has actually never come up in any of my conversations, it makes perfect sense.

Like Cobb's penchant for green ink, the poet John Greenleaf Whittier was known for a similar love of purple. He was much more famous many generations ago, and his autograph was widely collected and prized. He was a very willing signer and correspondent, so there still exists a ton of holographic material to this day. The items signed in purple ink were extremely susceptible to fading due to UV exposure, which ultimately faded some pieces to oblivion. If there's a twisted upside, it's that Whittier's unimportant material has really tanked in desirability in the ensuing century, and with it, much of the value. People just don't care about poets and poetry like they used to.

Emily Dickinson bucks this trend, and her holographic scraps are still coveted and expensive to this day. Hilariously, she preferred to write in pencil!