is beginning and end of all music", signed autograph document by Max Reger (dated 7 May 1912)]]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:[Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, p. 147. ]
-
a manuscript written by the author of its content.
-
a celebrity's handwritten signature.
History
What might be considered the oldest "autograph" is a Sumerian clay table from about 3100 BC which includes the name of the scribe Gar.Ama. No ancient written autographs have been found, and the earliest one known for a major historical figure is that of
El Cid from 1098.
Autograph manuscript
"Autograph" can refer to a
document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its
author, as opposed to a
typesetting document or one written by an
amanuensis or a
copyist. This meaning overlaps that of "
holograph".
Celebrity's signature
Autograph collecting is the hobby of collecting autographs of famous persons.
Some of the most popular categories of autograph subjects are presidents,
military ,
,
,
,
social and
,
,
, and
.
See also
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Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, stone blocks with depicted signatures
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, specifically a signature made by an agent on behalf of a principal
Further reading
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Collecting Autographs and Manuscripts by Charles Hamilton, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1961, 269 pages.
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Autographs and Manuscripts: A Collector's Manual edited by Ed Berkeley, Charles Scribner's Sons Pub., 1978, 565 pages.
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T.J. Brown's series on Autographs in The Book Collector.
External links
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(early 20th-century periodical, full view)
