The Autographs and Collectible Memorabilia Blog

The Conried Met, 1906-1908: Farrar, Caruso, and Salome

AN AMERICAN DIVA Geraldine Farrar was the only opera singer to rival Enrico Caruso’s popularity at the Met. Born in Melrose, Massachusetts in 1882, an authentic American diva, she studied in New York, came to the attention of soprano luminaries Nellie Melba and Lillian Nordica and, not yet twenty years...

Adelina Patti: 19th Century's Diva and Queen of Voice

Dubbed by many as “one of the greatest sopranos of all time”, the opera singer Adelina Patti took the mid-19th century by storm with her unmatched coloratura singing and exquisite tone of voice. A child prodigy at birth, she would then rise to fame and rank among some of the...

The Conried Met: 1903-1906

A NEW MANAGER From 1891 to 1903, Maurice Grau had been an urbane and knowledgeable steward for the Metropolitan’s transformation into an international opera house. The style of Heinrich Conried, his successor in the manager’s office, could not have been more different. Grau had made the Met a congenial home...

Autograph Books - A Record of Past and Present

Autographs are some of collectors' most prized possessions, often scribbled onto photographs, programs, memorabilia, or any odd piece of material. But what is better than one famous signature? An entire collection, of course! Some of the most impressive collections of autographs are stored in autograph books from throughout history. ...

Star Wars Autograph Values - A Complete Guide

Star Wars is an American film franchise, originally created by director and producer George Lucas. The story is set in a distant galaxy, where the ultimate battle between good and evil is being fought. The Star Wars autograph universe can be described as something of a modern space fairy tale, as a mysterious power...

Giuseppina Strepponi - The Real Traviata

Giuseppina Strepponi (1815–1897) was a famous nineteenth-century Italian operatic soprano. The eldest daughter of the famous Italian composer and conductor, Feliciano Strepponi and the second wife of Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) . Giuseppina’s performances in a number of Verdi’s early such as Oberto (1839) and Nabucco (1842) helped launch the composer in Italy...

Autograph Collecting 101: A Beginner’s Guide

Collecting autographs: You might have thought about it or even done it over the years. Every time you go to a concert, you see a gaggle of autograph collectors lining up to get their music memorabilia signed by their favorite artist. Sometimes, you wonder if you’re bold enough to join...

Ole Bull:The Norwegian Violin Virtuoso

Born Ole Bornemann Bull (1810-1880), the violinist has been overshadowed by contemporaries of his time as Paganini (1782-1840), Wieniawski (1835-1880) and subsequently Ysaÿe (1858-1931). Be that as it may, Bull was still one of the most celebrated artists of his time, often being hailed as the “Norwegian Paganini” for...

Teresa Berganza: The Legacy of a Spanish Opera Star

A dramatic figure with flashing dark eyes, Teresa Berganza passed away last May 13th, 2022, at 89, and was acclaimed as a coloratura mezzo-soprano, with a vocal register that was warm at its lower range and supple at its higher end. Her repertoire included mostly the operas of Mozart and Rossini and...

Live at the Met, 1900-1903: the Mapleson Cylinders

Miracle of miracles, we are obliged not only to imagine the sound of some of the starry evenings in the last years of Maurice Grau’s regime--we can actually hear their dim echo in recordings made “live at the Met” from 1900 until 1903. For this boon we are grateful to...

Autograph Collectors of the Past: Louis Koch

Autograph collectors are what keeps the hobby alive, and sometimes their collections become so vast and important, that they can make a mark in history as keepers of valuable historical documents and photos. Louis Koch (1862-1932) was a true Renaissance man with a profound appreciation for beauty in any form....

Gone with the Wind Collectibles: An Overview

Gone With the Wind is an all-time American movie classic. Even when it was released, way back in 1939, it was already a national sensation, as its opening day was declared a state holiday by the governor of Georgia. Gone With the Wind was the most expensive film production until...

Radu Lupu, A Romanian Pianist, Has Died At Age 76

On Sunday, April 17, 2022, Lupu passed away in Lausanne, Switzerland, after a protracted illness. Lupu served as a role model and a source of motivation for musicians worldwide. Among the many composers whose works he has recorded are Schubert, Mozart, Bartok, Beethoven, and Brahms. Pianist Radu Lupu was born...

The 2022 New York international Antiquarian Book Fair!

After a 2-year absence due to the pandemic, the largest fair in the antiquarian book world is now open With nearly 200 dealers from the US and Europe, the fair at the Park Avenue Armory attracts over 25,000 visitors in every edition. There is, as always, lots of...

Bronislaw Huberman and the Orchestra of Exiles

A SON IS BORN On December 19, 1882, in the small city of Czestochowa, Silesia, Poland, Alexandra Huberman births her first child, Bronislaw. Jacob barely showed any interest in his child but was content to know that he had long, strong fingers with which he can play the violin with...

The Met’s Golden Age in the Gilded Age: 1891-1903

Each generation of music-lovers tends to look back longingly at the recent past and reminisce about what seemed to them a “Golden Age.” But commentators of opera in New York tend to agree that the true ”Golden Age” corresponds to what has been called “the Gilded Age,” the late 19th...

How to Protect your Autographs from Fading

Welcome to this guide on the steps you can take to take care of your autograph collection. Over time, autographs will fade if they're not taken care of appropriately and there's nothing worse than a beloved autograph fading and becoming unrecognizable. By storing them properly, you can rest assured that...

The Rimsky-Korsakov Museum in St Petersburg, Russia - A Visit

For classical music fans visiting St. Petersburg, a visit to the Rimsky-Korsakov Museum is a must. This preserved apartment honors the legacy of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, one of Russia’s most famous composers. The lovingly reconstructed apartment is St. Petersburg’s only museum dedicated exclusively to one composer, making it a unique find...

Famous Signatures - Top 100 Celebrity Signatures in History

"The music of some composers resembles their handwriting: difficult to read, strange to look at once you get the hang of it. It is as if it couldn´t be any other way, handwriting belongs to the thought, the thought to the character" Robert Schumann, German composer (1810-1856) A signature...

Lily Pons - Prima Donna Assoluta

Lily Pons was a French-American operatic soprano actress known for her skills at marketing herself and becoming one of the most well-known and beloved culture icons of her time. Her career was long and varied, working as an actress, opera singer, and concert singer plus made multiple appearances on radio...

Movie Memorabilia: The Many Items Collected Around the World

During the 1920s the movie industry really started to bloom, with big blockbusters capturing the imagination of old and small all over the world. For a select few that passion went further than just watching and re-watching their favorites on the silver screen, they wanted something more, something they can...

Famous Pianists: The Top 18 Classical Pianist of All Time

In the world of piano playing, prodigies and masters of the instrument have been dominating the scene since the time of J. S. Bach. From composer-pianists to those who performed their roles solely as players of the instrument, let us take a look at why these 18 historical pianists from...

Brünnhilde and “Holde Aida”: The Metropolitan Opera's German Seasons, 1884-1891

1890-91 The German company. Left and right of the table are Walter Damrosch and Anton Seidl OPERA IN THE RED The Metropolitan’s opening season, 1883-84, ended deeply in debt. Henry Abbey’s all-star Italian opera company had been enormously costly. And the impresario had not taken into account the...

Lillian Nordica: Lily of the North - A Biography

Aged just two, Lillie Norton's mother took her to see "Aunt Eunice", a neighbor who had a local reputation as a witch. Looking at the child's palm, she made the following prediction - "you shall sail the seven seas, and the crowned heads of Europe will bow before you". Whatever...

THE AUTOGRAPH BLOG

The Conried Met, 1906-1908: Farrar, Caruso, and Salome

Adelina Patti: 19th Century's Diva and Queen of Voice

The Conried Met: 1903-1906

Autograph Books - A Record of Past and Present

Star Wars Autograph Values - A Complete Guide

Giuseppina Strepponi - The Real Traviata

Autograph Collecting 101: A Beginner’s Guide

Ole Bull:The Norwegian Violin Virtuoso

Teresa Berganza: The Legacy of a Spanish Opera Star

Live at the Met, 1900-1903: the Mapleson Cylinders

Autograph Collectors of the Past: Louis Koch

Gone with the Wind Collectibles: An Overview

Radu Lupu, A Romanian Pianist, Has Died At Age 76

The 2022 New York international Antiquarian Book Fair!

Bronislaw Huberman and the Orchestra of Exiles

The Met’s Golden Age in the Gilded Age: 1891-1903

How to Protect your Autographs from Fading

The Rimsky-Korsakov Museum in St Petersburg, Russia - A Visit

Famous Signatures - Top 100 Celebrity Signatures in History

Lily Pons - Prima Donna Assoluta

Movie Memorabilia: The Many Items Collected Around the World

Famous Pianists: The Top 18 Classical Pianist of All Time

Brünnhilde and “Holde Aida”: The Metropolitan Opera's German Seasons, 1884-1891

Lillian Nordica: Lily of the North - A Biography

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Autograph Collecting Guide

Framing and Storing Autographs