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- Chapter I: Introduction
Hardly a day goes by that www.autographalert.com doesn’t
get an email from someone asking where they can go to learn more
about the hobby of autographs. Almost everyone who writes wants
to know if there is a course available.
Basically the answer is there are no longer any courses of any
value available to autograph collectors. During the mid-to-late
1990's fourteen different autograph courses were available around
the United States. All of the instructors of the courses are
household names in the industry such as Kenneth Lawrence, Bill
Butts, Kevin Martin, Gil Griggs, Christopher Jaeckel, Joseph
Maddalena, Bill Miller, Daniel Weinberg, Stephen Koschal and
Kenneth W. Rendell.
Christopher Jaeckel of Walter R. Benjamin Autographs, Inc. instructing
the class
“Observations of the Autograph Industry” Nov. 1996
Daniel R. Weinberg of Abraham Lincoln Book Shop Inc. Instructing
his class
“Getting Write With Lincoln: The Forgers View” August
1999
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A Los Angeles Class waiting for Bill Miller of Autograph Collector
magazine
to begin his course “The Autograph Market: An Overview”
September 1999
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- Kenneth W. Rendell having dinner with
Paul Tibbets (Pilot of Enola Gay) before
Ken gave his educational course “Hitler, Mussolini, the
Mormons and Now
Jack the Ripper: How Human Nature has Propelled Bad Forgeries
into Great Hoaxes.”
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- Listed below were some of the collectors favorite
courses. Each took approximately one hour or more.
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- Basic Course on Autograph Collecting. Instructed
by Stephen Koschal, October 15, 1995.
- Famous Fantasies and Fakes. Instructed by Kenneth
Lawrence, March 17, 1996.
- Purchasing From Dealers and Auctions. Instructed
by Stephen Koschal, May 18, 1996.
- What Collectors of Autographs Should Know. Instructed
by Stephen Koschal, September 8, 1996.
- Observations of the Autograph Industry. Instructed
by Christopher Jaeckel, Walter Benjamin Autographs, Inc. November
10, 1996.
- Themes In Collecting. Instructed by Joseph Maddalena,
Profiles in History, October 31, 1997.
- Signed Books and Autographs. Instructed by Bill
Butts, Main Street Fine Books and Autographs, July 12, 1998.
- Hitler, Mussolini, the Mormons and Now Jack the
Ripper: How Human Nature has propelled Bad Forgeries into Great
Hoaxes. Instructed by Kenneth W. Rendell, Kenneth W. Rendell,
Inc., December 5, 1998.
- Getting Write With Lincoln: The Forgers View. Instructed
by Daniel R. Weinberg, Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc., August
15, 1999.
- Buying and Selling Smart At Auction. Instructed
by Gill Griggs, Signature House Auctions, May 16, 1999.
- The Proper Use of an Autograph Price Guide. Instructed
by Kevin Martin, Piece of the Past, Inc.,
July 11, 1999.
- The Autograph Market: An Overview. Instructed by
Bill Miller, Autograph Collector Magazine, September 26, 1999.
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- These courses were very popular however they were
mostly regional events. Unfortunately because of travel and expense
it was not convenient for the International Autograph Community
to benefit from one of these courses. Actually records indicate
only three individuals were able to attend all fourteen courses.
Everyone who took any one of these courses received a Certificate
of Completion hand signed by the instructor.
The creation of these courses was the brainchild of Stephen Koschal.
He also was the instructor for three different courses.
Recently, because of the strong demand for a basic autograph
course, from both U.S. and International collectors, Stephen
Koschal has created the first Internet Basic Course for Autograph
Collectors. This course is a condensed version of the one he
gave in October 1995 which has now been updated.
For those who read this course, Certificates of Completion, hand
signed by Stephen Koschal are available. More information on
receiving your certificate will be found at the end of this course.
- Chapter II: Where and What to Collect
(continued)
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