The Enid Blyton Society

I am grateful because I don't have an interest in famous people's signatures including two of my favourite authors.

The only other autograph I have is from Ginger Rogers, which I know is genuine, as I wrote to her, and got a reply from her secretary telling me to please be patient as Miss Rogers signed all her autographs personally and didn't use an 'autograph plate'. She also signed it on the piece of paper I sent, which I later stuck into my Ginger Rogers Autobiography.

I have several famous autographs (some on photographs, some on record sleeves and some in books), but probably my rarest is a photograph of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans signed by both of them.

Eddie Muir wrote:I have several famous autographs (some on photographs, some on record sleeves), but probably my rarest is a photograph of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans signed by both of them.

That would definitely be one to treasure!

A friend of mine (now sadly no longer with us) once met Roy Rogers and Trigger when they came to the toy department at Lewis's in Birmingham. My friend worked there in the 1950's and 60's and he remembers Trigger walking up all the stairs to get to the toy floor!

I also have a Polaroid of Diana Durbin, which was sent to the same friend's sister (she was a member of the Diana Durbin fan club). It's signed 'To Sheila, Best Wishes from Deanna Durbin David' - which was her married name. I also have several hand-written letters to her from Deanna Durbin, written in the 1980's - but I guess they wouldn't be worth much as hardly anyone even knows who Deanna Durbin was!

Great memory of Roy Rogers and Trigger. I was a big fan of the King of the Cowboys when I was a youngster.

sixret wrote:I am grateful because I don't have an interest in famous people's signatures including two of my favourite authors.

Rob Houghton wrote:I also have several hand-written letters to her [a friend's sister] from Deanna Durbin, written in the 1980's - but I guess they wouldn't be worth much as hardly anyone even knows who Deanna Durbin was!

A signature on its own is of minimal interest but letters like those ones from Deanna Durbin, or like Enid Blyton's letter to Barbara (discussed recently in another thread), are real treasures. Even a short letter sheds a little light on the person's character - and on a bygone era.

My sister and I used to love watching Deanna Durbin films, Rob. They were still shown on mainstream TV channels in the 1980s.

Rob Houghton wrote:The only other autograph I have is from Ginger Rogers, which I know is genuine, as I wrote to her, and got a reply from her secretary telling me to please be patient as Miss Rogers signed all her autographs personally and didn't use an 'autograph plate'.

Nice one, Rob! I do like all the old movie stars & the era they belong to. Ginger Rogers was one of my favourites, too. They certainly don't make stars like they used to!

Eddie Muir wrote:Great memory of Roy Rogers and Trigger. I was a big fan of the King of the Cowboys when I was a youngster.

I've now got this image in my head of Eddie riding into Brighton on his trusty Horse, wearing a ten gallon hat!

I love the films, nine in all, that Ginger Rogers made with Fred Astaire. Great stuff!

number 6 wrote:

Eddie Muir wrote:Great memory of Roy Rogers and Trigger. I was a big fan of the King of the Cowboys when I was a youngster.

I've now got this image in my head of Eddie riding into Brighton on his trusty Horse, wearing a ten gallon hat!

I've just read your post, Number 6. I didn't have a horse to ride, but I used to improvise by slapping my backside and galloping home from the cinema. Happy days!

As long as you're not returning from the cinema in the same fashion nowadays, Eddie!

Now there's a thought, Number 6.

Anita Bensoussane wrote:
My sister and I used to love watching Deanna Durbin films, Rob. They were still shown on mainstream TV channels in the 1980s.

Yes - I used to watch them in the 1980's. My great aunt was a big deanna Durbin fan and we sometimes watched them when she happened to be visiting. I also have all deanna Durbin's films on DVD now.

Eddie Muir wrote:I love the films, nine in all, that Ginger Rogers made with Fred Astaire. Great stuff!

Me too. I have them all on DVD - my favourite being Top Hat but I enjoy them all.

Top Hat is brilliant and my favourite too. I've got six of the films on DVD. I must keep a lookout for the remaining three.

I have to admit my weakness on signed things is children's books, preferably first editions. Most of these are from current authors so they are not worth a fortune and simply cost the price of the book, but I have got some nice ones as well. One or two I picked up by accident without realising they were signed and it is also nice when the author has written personal messages inside. I bought a first edition of the first Wombles book and the shop owner apologised that someone had written a few lines on the endpapers and reduced the price which was cheap anyway - the 'someone' was Elizabeth Berrisford the author!