1993 J.D. Salinger Initialed Letter
Watch
GUEST:
I brought in a letter that I wrote to J.D. Salinger that he initialed. He wrote a little bit on the bottom, a little note saying that he doesn't respond to letters or give autographs, and he kind of did both on mine. I wrote this in '93, and beginning in '92, I started collecting autographs. My parents had a friend who was an autograph dealer, and he kind of told me who to write to. I wrote to several thousand people, I have about a thousand signatures now, and I entered them in a county fair as part of a 4H project.
APPRAISER:
Did you win?
GUEST:
I got a big purple ribbon, yes.
APPRAISER:
Oh wow, congratulations.
GUEST:
Thank you.
APPRAISER:
You've got a nice collection and this is really a star in your collection. I was just so intrigued that an 11-year-old girl would write J.D. Salinger. Had you read Catcher in the Rye at that point?
GUEST:
I hadn't, I had no idea who he was and my mom actually wrote underneath it in pencil "J.D. Salinger," so when I was older I could know what the "JDS" initials were.
APPRAISER:
So you wrote to him, you didn't know who he was, you didn't expect to get a response, is that correct?
GUEST:
Right. I was told that he was the hardest to get out of any celebrities, and so it was kind of a joke that I wrote to him and was expecting absolutely nothing in return.
APPRAISER:
Well, I love this letter, you tell him that you are collecting autographs for your 4H project, you're 11 years old, I think you must've sent a photograph with it. What was the photograph of?
GUEST:
It was just me with my pet llama, his name was Lance.
APPRAISER:
You're really tugging at the heart strings, trying to get this guy to write you back. He certainly was notoriously reclusive. He did not correspond with very many people at all, and consequently his letters and his autograph are rare. But you did it, you sent a letter, you defied the odds. And so Salinger's response here at the bottom is, "I don't sign autographs, Amber, "and, if I can help it, I don't answer mail. Lance, I imagine, feels much the same way about it." So he writes you this sort of funny, snarky response. And then because he says he doesn't sign autographs, he, of course, wrote himself into a box and couldn't sign his full name, but he did actually initial, "JDS", and then your mother added this little note so that you would know. In today's market-- again, as I say, he is very rare, he is very collectable-- and even though this is a very short note, with initials only, it's still quite a collectable piece. At auction, I would put a value of $1,500 to $2,000 on this piece. So not bad. There's a second ribbon for you for your 4H project.
GUEST:
Wow, my husband's going to freak out.
APPRAISER:
Is he? Good!
GUEST:
I thought maybe 50 bucks. I understand and appreciate it more now than I did when I was 11.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
