A NEWLY discovered letter signed by poet Phillis Wheatley–the first black American to have a book of poetry published–sold for $253,000 to a private collector last November 22 at Swann Auction Galleries. (Photograph courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries.)

A college history major turned high-end autograph hound, Markowitz has brokered the sale of some of the country’s most valuable correspondence, including letters from Abraham Lincoln. He has also handled documents of lesser value that nonetheless provide a window into the daily life of national legends, such as a letter from Daniel Boone in which he transferred ownership of his Kentucky home to his nephew.

One item that gave Markowitz a true frisson of discovery was a letter that surfaced in spring 2005 signed by Phillis Wheatley, the first black American to have a book of poems published. Markowitz traveled to a private home in Maryland to examine the document, keeping his hopes in check.

"We are trained to be skeptical," Markowitz says one recent morning at Swann’s sunlight-filled gallery. The firm receives four or five calls every week from people claiming they have a signed copy of the Declaration of Independence. The callers are often unaware that these can be purchased from the Liberty Bell Museum Shop website, printed on antiqued parchment, for $6.95.

But the Wheatley letter turned out to be authentic. "As soon as the letter hit the table, my eyes popped out," Markowitz recalls, opening a portfolio with a flourish that is worthy of Harry Houdini (whose autograph he has also sold). Revealed is a yellowed, tissue-thin letter, initially remarkable only for its humbleness. Dated Feb. 14, 1776, it is signed with a sure, neat hand by Wheatley, who was born in Senegal in 1753 and sold as a slave in Boston in 1761. In the letter, written to Obour Tanner, another slave, Wheatley discusses the American Revolution.

Wheatley’s letter became the buzz of the autograph collecting world and was the centerpiece of Swann’s autograph auction last November. The high end of the auction estimate of $80,000 to $120,000 was twice the price fetched by an unsigned poem attributed to Wheatley in 1998. "Arriving at a price was difficult because with this, there weren’t any others like it," Markowitz says. The hammer price exceeded Markowitz’s expectations: $253,000 (including the 15 percent auction fee) paid by an anonymous collector of African-American art and literature. The sum was an auction record for a letter written by a black American, and may be a record for a letter written by a woman.

Washington Signed Here
The Wheatley letter is indicative of the prices in the high-end autograph market, where a letter signed by George Washington can easily fetch several hundred thousand dollars. In the past decade, the value of autographs has been rising steadily, spurred by interest from historically inclined investors. Many of the most famous documents have been snapped up by shrewd collectors and institutions. Experts in the field note that values are also supported by the dearth of new autographs emanating from contemporary notables, caused by the popularity of email and similar technologies that have replaced old-fashioned handwritten and hand-signed documents.

But aside from supply and demand, the market is buoyed by collectors’ passion for links to the best minds and crucial events in the past. Michael Horowitz, an attorney and fellow at the Hudson Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., was given a note from Walt Whitman–one of his favorite poets–to a professor at Trinity College in Ireland. It tells the professor that a copy of Leaves of Grass is in the mail under separate cover. "It is not just the autographs," Horowitz muses. "It is something that gives me the thrill of having an association with a figure in history." The note hangs in Horowitz’s living room, along with a document signed by Lincoln and several items from great women of the 19th century, including Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

"People come in the house and the impact emotionally is greater than if we had some Picasso hanging on the wall," he says. "It transports you back to an extraordinary point in history."

Horowitz, general counsel to the Office of Management and Budget under Ronald Reagan, paid less than $10,000 for each item in his collection, but is now taking a step toward more significant purchases. He is attracted to the combined value of the documents as investments and as objects of great personal interest–a sense that traditional investments alone rarely provide. "Every once in a while, I think we should buy more emerging-markets mutual funds," Horowitz muses. "Then I think we should take a more major chunk and spend it on autographs."

VALUE JUDGMENT: While auction prices for coveted historic autographs have reached seven figures, some experts still consider this market undervalued compared with other historical collectibles. Investment-minded collectors seek out "excellent letters," which tie famous personalities to important events. But buyers need to be wary of hucksters, find reliable dealers and keep in mind that the field’s appeal as an alternative investment is secondary to the enjoyment of owning a piece of history.

Although signatures of famous people have been prized for centuries, autographs are relative newcomers to the arena of investment-quality collectibles. This once very quiet corner of collecting began showing signs of growth in the early 1980s; it has been particularly robust in the past few years. Nathan Raab, a principal at the Raab Collection in Philadelphia, which specializes in American letters, notes interest in the high end of the market is especially strong. "We are watching the market move," he says.

Last year, the Raab Collection, founded by Raab’s father, Steven, commissioned Abraham Wyner, a statistics professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, to conduct a historical study of autograph values. Since World War II, the highest quality documents have averaged an annualized return of more than 10 percent.

Wyner tracked autograph prices for 60 prominent figures, starting in 1892 when signatures of obscure presidents sold for less than a dollar. In 2002, Lincoln’s and Washington’s autographs were the most valuable, almost 100 times more expensive than documents signed by George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter or Gerald Ford. In 2002, a Lincoln letter sold for a record $3 million, and a document signed by Albert Einstein went for almost $2 million. While these prices may seem inflated, several veteran dealers and collectors believe the market is still undervalued compared with other historical collectibles, such as coins, books and stamps.

Message, not Medium
Determining the value of a signed document is as much art as it is science, but there are guidelines. In most categories of collectibles, condition and rarity are the value drivers; with signatures, however, the content associated with it is king. "Condition is almost the least important," says David Lowenherz, president of Lion Heart Autographs, a dealer in New York. "A fascinating letter written pre- or post-presidency will be worth more than a commonplace letter written during a presidency," he explains. All things being equal, however, letters signed when a president is in office typically sell for more; if the letter is addressed to a well-known figure, the value increases.

Like many dealers, Lowenherz has his own passion: international autographs of artists, musicians and scientists. He sells pieces in those areas and also handles Americana. He recently offered a letter from Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Paine about the Embargo Act of 1807 for $75,000. It is the last known communication between the two men. "The fact that it is a last letter and a relationship that stretched over many, many years makes it not only important, it makes your hair stand up a little bit. You get goose bumps," Lowenherz says. He estimates that a more common letter, from Jefferson to a senator, for example, would sell for about one-fifth that price.

Autograph collecting encompasses a range of items: letters, documents such as property deeds, signed photographs, books, manuscripts and sheet music. Some collectors opt for historical content, while others look for letters with personal and even deeply moving passages, Lowenherz says.

There are six grades of autographs, starting at the low end with a "signature," which is just that, a signature clipped from a document or letter without other content. In increasing order of value, the grades that follow are: document; routine letter; moderate letter, in which the writer relates something of interest or worth knowing but which is not deeply significant; and excellent letter, which touches on an important event. The most valuable autograph, according to the Wyner study for the Raab Collection, is "highest," which refers to the most money paid for any autograph by a person, no matter the type of document.

Part of the appeal of collecting autographs–and one of the challenges–is that for virtually any historic figure or area that piques one’s interest, whether art, music, politics or science, there are likely to be signed documents that can be ferreted out and collected. "It is almost limitless. Whatever you love, there are manuscripts out there," Raab says.

THIS BROADSIDE of the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward in Philadelphia in 1864. The estimated value is $650,000 to $850,000. (Photograph courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd.)

One can amass a wide-ranging collection like that of David Karpeles, a mathematician turned residential real estate investor based in Santa Barbara, Calif. Karpeles got the bug for autographs in the late 1970s before they were recognized as having value as investments, and in less than a decade he amassed 1 million items, many of which rotate through the nine museums he has funded across the United States.

Among Karpeles’ prizes is a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Lincoln. He bought it at auction in 1978 for $40,000. "I thought it was crazy. Something like that should be worth millions," he says. While it may not be worth millions yet, a similar document signed by Lincoln went for $688,000 at auction at Christie’s last November.

Karpeles is an unusual case. For most collectors, dealers advise focusing on one or two topics and on buying the best. "The more important it is, the better it is and the more chance you have of appreciation," Raab says.

The autograph market is not immune to hucksters; experts advise collectors to tread carefully. First, they should know exactly with whom they are dealing. Dealers often develop relationships with serious collectors and can serve as their representatives at auctions. The Professional Autograph Dealers Association has stringent membership requirements; its roughly 50 members guarantee the authenticity of the work they sell.

Opinions differ on the best source for high-quality autographs. In addition to dealers, large auction houses hold autograph sales regularly, and dealers like Raab and Lowenherz recently began selling at high-end art fairs, including the annual Connoisseur Fair in Palm Beach. Unfortunately, a few apocryphal stories aside, opportunities for collectors to unearth treasures at flea markets or yard sales are becoming ever rarer.

Horowitz, the Washington attorney, clearly enjoys seeing his treasures hanging on the wall. The Whitman note was a wedding gift from his wife 31 years ago. "We both love it," he says. "When I see the Whitman, I think, ‘Oh God, I married the right lady.’"

Louise Kramer is a freelance writer based in New York.