INTRODUCTION
uch has been said on the value of collecting autographs of celebrated personages. I would only referto the remarkable introduction to the Bovet catalogue by Etienne Charavay (Paris ), to the work ofFischer von Roeslerstamm (Germany ) and to the recent eminent publications of Professor E. Wolbe(Berlin ). I may also mention one of my Swiss compatriots: Germain Talloud of Geneva, who is aboutto publish a book on autographs.
In all these excellent works we find full appreciation of the value of this interesting field ofresearch, they clearly show us the scientific and historical importance of collecting autographs. Eminentmen such as Goethe , Napoleon and many more are known to have indulged in collecting manuscripts totheir utmost gratification. Goethe said that „autographs show us men in a magic light“.
The present publication claims merely to be a compilation of autographs of celebrated personagesextending over several centuries and is specially intended to guide younger collectors by way of comparisonand to serve as a foundation for systematic collecting.
Owing to the non-existence of a Handbook of this kind, I was induced to compile this book ofreference comprising in one volume all fields of autographic research.
Since the public sales of the great collections of Fillon (1876), Bovet (1884) and Morrison (London )no important facsimile work embracing all epochs has been published. Paar’s catalogue (1893) containedonly 49, that of Meyer Cohn (1905) only 78 facsimiles.
These catalogues as also well known works, such as the „Isographie des hommes célèbres“ areout of print and can only be procured if at all, at high prices. Thus the younger generation of collectorswill practically only come across such facsimiles as may be shown in works treating of the history of literature.
As a result of over 40 years’ collecting I have accumulated a rich material of which I wish tolet other collectors have the benefit.
In order to keep the size of the work within reasonable limits, I had to select the most prominentnames, leaving aside autographs of still living or recently deceased persons, which are easily obtainableconfining my choice to a few typical representatives of each kind. Of princes and rulers I chose onlythose of great historical importance.
I venture to hope this handbook will meet with the approval of collectors in general and contributetowards recruiting new friends for this field of research, also that students of art, literature, history andgraphology may find the book worth their attention.
In conclusion I wish to convey my sincere thanks to all who kindly lent me their most valuableassistance, namely Messrs Noël Charavay, Simon Krâ (Paris ) Maggs Bros. (London & Paris ), K. E. Henrici,J. A. Stargardt, Leo Liepmannssohn , Martin Breslauer, Prof. E. Wolbe (Berlin ), C. G. Boerner (Leipzig ),V. A. Heck, Gilhofer & Ranschburg (Vienna) Rudolf Geering and the Library of the University of Basle .
CHARLES GEIGY.