An autograph is a person’s own handwriting or signature. The word autograph comes from Ancient Greek (αὐτός, autós, “self” and γράφω, gráphō, “write”), and can mean more specifically:[1][2]
- a manuscript written by the author of its content.[1][2] In this meaning the term autograph can often be used interchangeably with holograph.[1][3]
- a celebrity’s handwritten signature.[2] Autograph collecting is the activity of collecting such autographs.[1]
History
The Schøyen Collection states that it holds the “world’s oldest autograph signature”, namely a clay tablet (Ms. 2429/4) from about 3100 BC in archaic Sumerian, which includes the name of the scribe Gar.Ama.[4]
Whether an autograph of a major figure of antiquity survives is disputed: Some scholars, especially the American papyrologist Peter van Minnen, are of the opinion that Papyrus Bingen 45 (33 BC) contains a Greek word written by Cleopatra. The papyrus would thus contain the only surviving autograph of an important figure from antiquity.[5]
More than a millennium later, an autograph of El Cid is known, dated 1098.[6]
Autograph manuscript
“Autograph” can refer to a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist. This meaning overlaps that of “holograph“.[3]
Celebrity’s signature
Autograph collecting is the hobby of collecting autographs of famous persons.[1] Some of the most popular categories of autograph subjects are presidents, military soldiers, athletes, movie stars, artists, social and religious leaders, scientists, astronauts, and authors.[7]
See also
- Asemic writing – Wordless open semantic form of writing
- Profiles in History – Auction house in Los Angeles, California
- Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, stone blocks with depicted signatures
- Autograph show – Meeting of autograph collectors
- Law of agency#Allograph – Person representing another person in legal matters, and the laws enabling this, specifically a signature made by an agent on behalf of a principal
References
- ^ a b c d e Thompson, Edward Maunde (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 45–47.
- ^ a b c Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, p. 147. ISBN 0-87779-206-2
- ^ a b Tomita, Yo (2016). “Autographs, Copies and Original Manuscripts”. In Leaver, Robin A. (ed.). The Routledge Research Companion to Johann Sebastian Bach. Taylor & Francis. pp. 52–54. ISBN 9781315452807.
- ^ “MS 2429/4”. Schøyen Collection. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- ^ Miles, Margaret Melanie (2011). “Cleopatra in Egypt, Europe, and New York: An Introduction”. In Miles, Margaret Melanie (ed.). Cleopatra: A Sphinx Revisited. University of California Press. pp. 1–20. ISBN 978-0-520-24367-5. JSTOR 10.1525/j.ctt1pnvmm.
- ^ Fletcher, Richard A. (1 January 1989). The Quest for El Cid. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195069556 – via Google Books.
- ^ “Collection: Autograph Collection | USF Libraries – Tampa Special Collections ArchivesSpace”. archives.lib.usf.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
Further reading
- Collecting Autographs and Manuscripts by Charles Hamilton, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1961, 269 pages.
- Autographs and Manuscripts: A Collector’s Manual edited by Ed Berkeley, Charles Scribner’s Sons Pub., 1978, 565 pages.
- T.J. Brown’s series on Autographs in The Book Collector.
External links
- The Autograph at the HathiTrust Digital Library (early 20th-century periodical, full view)
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