Autograph Collecting - The Basics

An imaginative autograph from John Cleese

Here are a few tips for those who want to get the best and most successful results as possible out of autograph requests. Remember that success is not guaranteed for obtaining autographs and the more famous the actor/star, the harder to obtain the autograph. Basically for certain people it is near impossible, two examples perhaps being Sean Connery and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Remember to include an S.A.S.E in your envelope. This is a Self-addressed Stamped Envelope (S.A.S.E) and is certainly one of the most important things you have to do when sending an autograph request. It is simply another envelope with your name and address on it, and a stamp put inside the envelope you have sent. If you do not, autographs are usually not sent or are delayed greatly. Think about it, why should a celebrity pay for postage and take time to write out an address just so you can have their autograph?

What you write to them...

A Jack Nicholson Autographed Photo

Remember to always keep your letters short. Celebrities really do not have the time to sit and read everything you like about them. Certainly keep your letters less than one A4 page of writing, or the celebrity may just sign the autograph and ignore the letter. Make sure they know that you are a fan! When you write letters to them, be sure to include a few reasons why you like them and of course, be polite and say that you would be grateful if they would give you their autograph. Maybe you could state your favourite film/TV Series/song of theirs or include a question to show you actually know about their work.

Don’t say that you are an autograph collector, as lately people have simply collected autographs and sold them. Aware of this, stars may not sign if they hear you collect autographs. Also, for better results you might want to include a photo you have of them in the envelope, because they might sign one of their photos which you may not like as much, but equally, there is a danger your photograph may not be returned. Note that it may be wise to write on the S.A.S.E ‘Do Not Bend’ to prevent damage to the photo the celebrity has returned to you.

Autographs come in various forms as this one from Ian McKellen proves

International Reply Coupons will be required to send an autograph request to another country. These are available from a post office. The outer envelope would still have your country’s stamps on it but your S.A.S.E would not. This is because for your SASE to be returned, you need that other country‘s stamps on it, so when it gets there it will receive that country’s stamps. Remember that depending on the country and star, autographs can take up to two years to receive, or may not arrive at all, so good luck!

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