International Autograph Society Convention - Kesswil, Switzerland - June 12, 2010

The next autograph meeting and show will be held on June 12, 2010 at the "House of Handwritten History" located in Kesswil, Switzerland.

Admission to the show is free and everyone is welcome to attend. Autograph dealers are encouraged to book their tables in advance. The expense for a dealer's table is only $50.00. Tables are free for collectors who just trade autographs or display their collection.

The first 50 collector's who attend the convention will receive a free copy of the current issue of Autograph magazine. Samples of the club's magazine Autographensammler will also be given to those collectors.

For questions or reservations please contact Markus Brandes
(++41 714602842) or contact him directly at autographconvention.com/kontakt-contact

During the show a raffle will be held three times. Collectors who hold the winning ticket will win an autograph that has a value of at least $50.00

This is an International show and we hope to see many of our members and friends from around the world during this event.
_____________________

Join the

INTERNATIONAL AUTOGRAPH SOCIETY

The German Autograph Society (AdA) was founded in 1986. We were the first autograph organization in Continental Europe that organized meetings with collectors and dealers. We have designed an English version of our homepage effective April 1, 2008. The club is aware that collectors and dealers worldwide have a desire for an International organization where they can exchange ideas, educational information and find ways to protect themselves from acquiring forgeries. Additional plans of the club are to notify the membership of future autograph events and the publication of autograph educational material such as reference books and signature studies. These are the main goals of our organization. Members who publish their field of collecting will be able to exchange information with other members who have similar interests. Log onto the International Autograph Society and see for yourself how this club has expanded. For just 10 Euro (about $15.00) members have the ability to publish autograph related articles and much more. Those who write the most interesting article will win a monetary award. The website also offers the ability to discuss autograph related topics and exchange successful addresses in a moderated forum. A membership application will be found on the homepage. The German Autograph Society is a non profit organization and is looking forward to your support. Join today and help keep this wonderful hobby of autographs alive!

(Click image for larger version)

*********************

Robert Pattinson Autographs Guitar for the Midnight Mission in L.A.

tonic - The 'Twilight' star stopped by a guitar store to pick up a new axe, and the shop's owner convinced the notoriously autograph-shy Pattinson to sign another one for charity. Here's how.

Robert PattinsonAs the owner of a rare guitar shop in Tarzana, Calif., Norman Harris sees his fair share of celebrities on a weekly basis. His store, Norman's Rare Guitars, has been visited by Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, Nick Jonas and Keith Urban. But Harris doesn't use his love of rare guitars and his celebrity connections for personal gain; he uses them for good. This philanthropic spirit is what stood out to Twilight star Robert Pattinson when he stopped by Norm's Rare Guitars to check out the selection and visit a friend in 2009. Tonic spoke to Norman Harris to get the complete story about meeting Pattinson, the Midnight Mission and how rare guitars have helped him unite celebrities and charity.

A few years ago, Harris began volunteering at the Midnight Mission in Los Angeles. According to its website, the Mission provides "a bridge to self-sufficiency for homeless people through counseling, education, training and job placement." It also offers food, shelter, clothing, medical care and personal hygiene products to those it serves. In order to provide these services free of charge, the Mission relies on kind volunteers like Norman Harris, Anthony Hopkins and Richie Sambora.

Since becoming involved with the shelter, Harris has used his musical connections to host benefit concerts in conjunction with the Nokia Theater. One show featuring Tom Petty raised over a quarter of a million dollars for the Midnight Mission. Other concerts have featured Richie Sambora, REO Speedwagon, John Mayall (a pioneer of English blues), Slash and Los Lobos.

In addition to the concerts Harris puts together to raise money for the Mission, he manages to charm most celebrities who come into the shop into signing guitars to auction off for charity. Seriously, check out the "Famous Faces" section of the store's website. We asked for just the short list of musicians who have signed guitars to auction off for the Mission, and Harris reeled off Nick Jonas, Maroon 5 and Jacob Dylan. Of course, none of those names will garner as much attention as the main reason we contacted Harris, which of course was to ask the following question: "What was Robert Pattinson like, and how did you get the notoriously autograph-shy star to sign a guitar for you?"

"He's really a nice guy — very shy, very quiet," Harris told Tonic. "People follow him around like crazy, so he kind of liked it because we’re a little off the path here, and the paparazzi didn't really follow him in here. He's friends with one of the fellows who works here from England. [Pattinson] came in, and he actually bought a nice guitar from us. He was playing this other guitar, so I said to him, 'We're doing this thing for the Midnight Mission, would you sign this guitar for me?' He said, 'I don't do a lot of these things, but you seem like a good guy, and it seems like a good cause.'"

"He was playing the guitar in the store, and we got to take pictures of him playing it. He doesn't really like to do interviews — he'd rather sort of fade into the background a little bit. He loves vintage guitars, [and] he's a pretty good guitar player. It's kind of nice to see [fame like this happen to] somebody who is fresh and not expecting a 'this should happen for me' kind of thing."

So there you have it. R-Pat is nice, shy, musical and charitable. (Not "bothered," Jimmy Fallon.) To bid on the autographed guitar, visit the Midnight Mission website. The auction begins on March 12 to correspond with the opening of Pattinson's new movie, Remember Me, and the winner also gets the picture above showing Rob with the guitar. We expect it to bring in a lot of money for the cause. Just a hunch.

Lil Wayne Not Allowed To Sign Autographs In Prison

musicrooms - The rapper started a one year sentence for being caught in possession of a loaded handgun this week, and officers at the New York jail where he is being held are reportedly not making any allowances for his fame.

An officer told website TMZ: "Lil Wayne is not a celebrity in here."

Although they have adopted a tough stance, the rapper has reportedly not asked for any preferential treatment since he got to the prison on Tuesday (09.03.10).

Meanwhile, the 'Lollipop' hitmaker's ex-wife Atonia Johnson, has spoken to say how hard the news of his jailing has been for her and their daughter, Reginae, as Wayne, 28, has been on the verge of being put away twice, but the sentencing was delayed both times - firstly because he needed dental treatment and secondly because of a fire in the courthouse where he was to be given his sentence.

Atonia said: "It was up and down. One minute we thought she was going and she'd be sad and then he didn't go.

"The last day he finally went in, we didn't go. My daughter was like, 'I wish I would've went.' It was just too much. I just didn't want to let her see that again because both times she took it real hard."

The day before he was jailed, Wayne spoke to Antonia on the phone to tell her to "be strong".

The rapper is expected to serve eight months of his sentence with good behaviour.

*********************

Schumacher is Back! Collecting Formula One Autographs at the Barcelona Testings 2010

Markus Brandes gives his Formula One signing report from Barcelona - Markus Brandes Autographs

Jenson Button:

Jenson was difficult to collect. His motorhome was located inside the paddock and everytime he had a break of testing he disappeared inside. The only chance to collect his autograph was to wait in front of his truck. Then it was possible to get 1 autograph.

Lewis Hamilton:

Collecting Lewis’ autograph was similar to Jenson’s. He was always in a rush. With a lot of luck it was possible get 1 autograph per meeting.

Michael Schumacher:

The master is back. All the interest was focused on him. Between all his appointments he tried to write some autographs, most of the time without dedications. 1 autograph per day was tough to get but possible.

Nico Rosberg:

The rush around Schumi made Nico’s day calm. But he wasn’t writing as nice as in the past, only his short version. The number of autographs was less than last year, too.

Sebastian Vettel:

Unbelieveavble. Sebastien was very nice to his fans and tried to fulfill nearly every wish. This is not the normal behavior of a star like him. It was possible to get many photos signed.

Mark Webber:

No comment.

Felipe Massa:

He wrote his full signature one time, during his arrival at the track. The next days he only wrote his short version. The Ferrari bodyguards tried to protect him.

Fernando Alonso:

It’s a great joy to collect him in Spain. Hundreds of fans admired him and he seemed to enjoy that. He wrote surprisingly much and nearly every letter of his name. This won’t happen again this year. Alonso and Ferrai: great motive.

Rubens Barrichello:

As always, he wrote just „RB“. 1 autograph per meeting possible. He was angry with the collectors during he last day, as always.

Nico Hülkenberg:

He is a classical example fort he development of a new driver. He wasn’t as kind to collectors as in the time during F3 and GP2. He behaved a little arrogant and writes less and uglier than last year.

Robert Kubica:

He was very kind to the collectors, sometimes in a rush. He asked the collector for the number of the requested autographs. When there were more photographs than promised, he stopped writing.

Vitaly Petrov:

The first Russian F1 driver. He is very kind and wrote much. A nice, long signature. Let’s see how long…

Adrian Sutil:

Very kind, as always. Without any problems.

Tonio Liuzzi:

Same as Adrian. He wrote much and nicely.

Sébastien Buemi:

He was very kind, too. But the Toro Rosso guy who escorted him was annoyed about the high number of autographs the collectors asked for. Buemi didn’t mind…

Jaime Alguersuari:

Jaime wrote many autographs. Amazing how fast he is able to write his sign.

Jarno Trulli:

In contrast to the past years the wrote acceptable and sometimes nicely. Every time he has a
conversation he doesn’t stop writing.

Heikki Kovalainen:

Similiar to his McLaren time, he wrote 1-2 autographs per day. He remembers every collectors face and the number of autographs he wrote for him.

Timo Glock:

Timo wrote nice autographs, better than last year. Virgin seems to relax him, although the car is not fast enough.

Lucas die Grassi:

He does not have much fun while writing autographs. Regretfully his sign is not very nice and also very fast. Like a typical Braslian…

Kamui Kobayashi:

He’s a kind driver. He tried to fullfil nearly every wish, but this will change during the season.

Pedro de la Rosa:

He is one of the „old“ drivers,who is very kind. He wrote many autographs. Great he’s back!

test drivers:

All the test drivers were easy to collect. No special remarks.






*********************

Miranda Cosgrove and Justin Bieber Sign at Nickelodeon 2010 Upfront Presentation

zimbio - Actress Miranda Cosgrove and musician Justin Bieber attended the Nickelodeon 2010 Upfront Presentation. The event was held in the Hammerstein Ballroom on March 11th, 2010 in New York City.

Bieber signed autographs for fans and sported his now signature purple sneakers. Bieber was first discovered on YouTube and later signed with Island Records. Justin Bieber's first album, My World, was released on November 17th, 2009. He also recently participated in the 'We Are The World Remix'.

Suspicious Minds Prove Elvis Signature Fake

odt - The prospect of owning an autographed Elvis Presley LP had Dunedin Elvis fans all shook up - until suspicious minds realised the King's signature was nothing but a hound dog.

Elvis Sings Country Favourites was one of about 20 records for auction at the Regent Theatre's Anything But Books Sale.

The album was among 20,000 pieces of vinyl donated for the sale, and volunteer Barry Morris said he came across the album while setting up for the event.

"My immediate thought was, `You've got to be kidding'.

"I remembered the famous story about the guy who bought a book about Mt Everest at the Regent Book Sale for $1 and sold it later on eBay for $1200 because no-one had noticed it was autographed by [Sir Edmund] Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

"I thought this might be one of those items."

Mr Morris said he and other volunteers searched the internet to verify the authenticity of the autograph. But searches found Elvis' signature was less than consistent.

The only way to be certain was to send it to the United States to be authenticated, he said.

But after a little more conversation, the penny dropped.

The album was released in 1985 - eight years after Elvis' death in 1977.

Rather than be auctioned, the album will be placed among the $1 stacks at the sale tomorrow.

Gems up for auction include the Beatles' debut album Please Please Me released in 1963 and in mint condition, and a limited edition of the Beatles Christmas album, which was released to the Beatles' fan club.

Mr Morris said he had no idea what people would pay for the albums at the auction, but believed they could fetch thousands of dollars on the internet.

The sale runs from 9am to 5pm and includes CDs, DVDs, videos, artwork, jigsaws, board games and "elegant junk".

*********************