72a.nuth jhat kanna.te For collectors of Jewish signatures, there are plenty of famous folks whose John Hancock does not demand house-mortgaging levels of com- mitment. Some of the most valuable Jewish au- tographs are of those who played a role in America's Revolutionary War, and even they are not astronomically pricey, according to Basil A. Panagopulos, president of Alexander Autographs, who sells about 7,000 artifacts a year. Take Haym Solomon, for instance. A financier of the American Revolution, he handed over hard currency in exchange for almost $600,000 in worthless Congressional paper money. His cap- ital helped the colonists win the war and change the course of human history, yet you can pick up a letter in his hand for about $4,000. Other note- worthy Revolutionary War-era Jewish signa- 921,Stain/24 Harry Burstyn has more than 1,000 autographs in his burgeoning collection, one that includes Jewish notables. tures include those of Michael Gratz, a Philadelphia merchant; David Frank, killed fighting Na- tive Americans; and Aaron Lopez, a financier. Of course, it is more than just scarcity that makes someone's handwriting valuable. First and foremost there must be a market, which is driven in part by a person's fame. Einstein's sig- nature, for example, would be worth a lot more than an equally rare autograph from, say, the somewhat less famous Larry Storch. (The sig- nature of FIrrodp'shapless Corporal Agarn goes for about $20, compared to Einstein's, which starts at about $2,000.) But fame isn't everything either. While every- one has heard of Saddam Hussein, some peo- ple would scoff at the notion of paying for his penmanship on an 8-by-10 glossy. Then there is context, a key element ir auto- graph pricing, according to David Lowenherz, president of Lion Heart Autographs. A letter from composer Irving Berlin to his landlord has less historic interest than might a letter from him to George Gershwin. Likewise, Theodor Herzl's handwritten laun- dry list would have somewhat less value than a note in which the father of modern political Zion- ism discusses his plans for the return to a Jew- ish homeland. In fact, Mr. Lowenherz has one of those himself a letter in which Herzl corn- pares the need for a Jewish state to the spir- it of the American founding fathers. Mr. Lowenherz' favorite artifacts though (and the ones he collects) come from writers whose works were banned by the Nazis: Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brech, Stefan Zweig. "These names have resonance with me, because of my own parents having been forced to leave Germany," he explained. "At the same time, these were the books we had at home, these were the works I grew up with." In his recent catalog, Mr. Lowenherz offers a letter from Mr. Mann, in which the Nobel Prize- winning author ponders the meaning of the Holo- caust. "Six million and two hundred thousand Jews have been 'liquidated' on the continent," he writes. "Do we realize what this means? ... How to picture the sea of human suffering, shoreless and infinite?" Despite Mr. Lowen- herz' interest in this A=1;E:10=• era, there is one class of memorabilia he won't sell or buy: Nazi to , ► autographs. "I don't )111-1 want to make money .11111M111 " •■•■ off of people who killed Jews," he explained. Yet he can under- stand the desire of some people, especially Jews, to own Nazi signatures: "It's the feeling that I can put Hitler on my bathroom wall, and every time I go to the toilet I can look at his autograph and know that we won." George Gershwin (and Stick JD gi) It doesn't take a fortune to start an autograph collection: just a roll of stamps, and a lit- tle perseverance. Many fa- mous folks will respond positively to an autograph re- quest in the mail, but there are a few basic rules to keep in mind: • Always include a self-ad- dressed stamped envelope, or return postage for the items (baseballs, books, etc.) that you want signed. • Be courteous and brief: Your letter should be polite, and ought to mention your ad- miration for the individual lci his or her work. Celebri- ties ge ► : ! ,- ts of mail, though, so keep it short. And be sure to actually ask for an autograph. • Be patient: It can take several weeks or even months to hear back from some celebrities ... • ... and be skeptical, be- cause when you do finally get a response, it may not come directly from the celebrity. It's one of the down sides of col- lecting through the mail: the signature you get might come from a secretary, or from an autopen, which can reproduce a famous moniker at machine speeds. Professionals usually can spot the difference, but for 32 cents, you take your chances. Below are addresses for some contemporary Jews of note. A word of caution: celebrity addresses change of- ten, but other collectors have used the follow- ing and say they work. Happy hunt- ing! Woody Allen, 930 5th Ave, New York, N.Y. 10018 Mayim Bialik, 40 W. 57th St, New York, N.Y. 10019 Mel Brooks, P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, Calif. 90213 Rodney Dangerfleld, 530 E. 76th St., New York, N.Y. 10021 Bob Dylan, 29400 Bluewa- ter Road, Malibu, Calif. 90265 Kenny G (Gorelick), 648 N. Robertson Blvd., Los Ange- les, Calif. 90048 Steve Guttenberg, 151 El Camino Dr., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212 Dustin Hoffman, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212 Martin Landau, 7455 Palo Vista Dr., Los Angeles, Calif. 90046 Jon Lovitz, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212 Rob Reiner, 335 N. Maple Dr., #135, Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212 Adam Sandler, 9000 Sun- set Blvd. #1200, Los Angeles, Calif. 90069 Neil Sedaka, 888 7th Ave, #1600, New York, N.Y. 10106 George Segal, 711 Bedford Dr., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210 Jerry Seinfeld, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212 William Shatner, 3674 Berry Dr., Studio City, Calif. 91604 Henry Winkler, 4323 Foreman, Toluca Lake, Calif. 90049 — A.K.S.