Jack Kuster Hollywood Autograph Collection Sold For $165,406

For nearly seven decades, Jack Kuster pursued his dream of amassing an extraordinary collection of autographs, spanning the golden era of Hollywood through to the modern age. His dedication and relentless pursuit of iconic signatures culminated in an astonishing assortment of autographs, including Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Bruce Lee, Elvis Presley, Halle Berry, and Jackie Robinson.

His collection, a remarkable lot of 25,000+ signatures, topped RR Auction's Fine Autograph and Artifacts Sale, fetching $165,406, while the sale went on to generate $1,127,476.


This diverse collection primarily comprises 5 x 3 cards, often adorned with images of the signer, and a select number of smaller signed photographs, most of them approximately postcard-sized. Notably, the autographs of modern stars in the collection often bear the distinct, youthful, and legible signatures from the early stages of their careers.


Other highlights in the sale included:

• Adam Smith's signed letter discussing Student's Sickness, penned one year after publishing The Theory of Moral Sentiments, sold for an impressive $43,750
• a rare Napoleon Bonaparte signed letter granting forgiveness to a double-agent spy in the French Republic, achieving $29,948
• a handwritten letter draft by Napoleon Bonaparte on the Defense of Marseille which realized a price of $25,000
• a signed letter from Queen Elizabeth I, dating back to 1592 (sold for $15,495)
• at John Quincy Adams signed letter addressing political hypocrisy during the French Revolution (sold for $13,225)