Mail Call
Olympic Autograph Requests
After the Olympics in 1964, in Gary’s home state of Nebraska, he had such notoriety around the state that an envelope addressed
Gary Anderson
Olympic Winner
Nebraska
would find its way to the post office of Gary’s hometown of Axtell, NE (then the population was 350). Gary doesn’t often honor requests for his autograph by mail because he just simply does not have the time to do this, but he has been keeping some envelopes requesting autographs for a day when he has time to deal with them. But, if you are in his physical presence, he never turns down a request for an autograph.
I recently found a pile of over 100 unopened envelopes from autograph collectors, catching up with us at different addresses:
Our current address, Oak Harbor, OH
Our former address, Port Clinton, OH
Camp Perry Training Site, Port Clinton, OH
Sharpsburg, GA and Peachtree City, GA
(we lived there during the 1996 Olympic Games)
U.S. Olympic Committee in Irvine, CA
U.S Olympic Committee, Colorado Springs, CO
Gary’s hometown of Axtell, NE
The National Rifle Association
ISSF Headquarters, Munich
The most envelopes come from Germany. Next after that, from Czech Republic. We also have autograph requests from
Austria
Belgium
Estonia
Finland
France
Great Britain
Hungary
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Poland
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
USA
The hobby of collecting autographs is called philography. Autograph collecting started in the 16th Century when Germans kept albums of correspondence when they traveled. By the late 18th Century in Europe it was popular to collect letters of famous people. In the USA, the hobby of collecting autographs took off in the 1980s. By 1990 the industry skyrocketed and is today worth $500million.
We know that autograph collector clubs are very popularg in Germany. Many of the typed letters requesting a signature are form letters. Handwritten letters are rare. Collectors try more than once to get an autograph. Apologizing for their English is common: "Excuse me please my bad English," or "Sorry I no write this letter in your language but I have not talent for foreign language."
After opening over 100 envelopes with requests for Gary’s autograph, I learned a few things about collectors:
They pay for return postage four ways:
1. Using an international postage coupon for return postage:
2. A prepaid cancelled postal mark is on the envelope:
3. Include a postage paid envelope with uncancelled USA stamps (they can get stamps from the Internet).
4. Include 1USD for postage. Very rarely is a request sent without return postage.
They never want just one autograph. Multiple white (index) cards are for swapping with friends. “Because of the possibility to change great sport autographs with other collectors we have included a large number of cards. If you think we are asking for too much, we naturally prefer a signed card each before nothing.”
Some of the white cards are personalized:
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| Four examples of stylized autograph cards made by collectors |
If a photo is enclosed, they want the signature on the front of the photo; it must be an original signature, and signed with a water proof pen.
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| A collage of some of the photographs sent by collectors for autographs, all easily available on the Internet. Notice the directional arrow for placement of an autograph on the bottom left! |
They want addresses of other shooting Olympians: i.e. Jack Writer, Martin Gunnarrson, Launi Meili, Nancy Johnson, Lanny Basham, William McMillan, Huelet Benner, Arthur Cook, and Don Halderman and “any other Olympic champions working for the UIT (ISSF); please send addresses of future Olympic winners."
And here’s a really bold request:
“I also collect Olympic tickets, starting numbers, stamps, sportswear. It would delight me if you have anything for my collection that you can lack.”
One collector compliments Gary with the following: "What a fine and classy and outstanding and remarkable shooting personality you have been always. I admire you and your cutting from a magazine."
Of special interest:
"With this letter I dare to ask you a favor."
Another enthusiast sent a sample page from his collection of 3100 pages.
One included a post card of his home town in Slovakia with a letter which simply says, “I want your autograph and your signature.”
Request for autographs for a celebrity auction -- not one, but several.
"If you have any photographs to give away, please send two" --- or four or six!
"With this letter I dare to ask you a favor."
Another enthusiast sent a sample page from his collection of 3100 pages.
One included a post card of his home town in Slovakia with a letter which simply says, “I want your autograph and your signature.”
Request for autographs for a celebrity auction -- not one, but several.
"If you have any photographs to give away, please send two" --- or four or six!
Autograph seeker making a book for his children requests original signed autograph cards (no stamped autograph) WITH the event “Olympia 1964-1968 Gold” included and remarks “about your meaning of life.”
One autograph hopeful wishes to be Gary’s "pen friend" and sends a picture of himself. And he wants a UIT (ISSF) badge (that probably means a pin). He writes, "please return fluently and answer the questions: Where, when, and how did you begin your shooting competition? And since that time, what is your work in shooting?"
The task of keeping autograph collectors satisfied is not a priority in the Anderson household simply because the time to do this is not available.
