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  Availability, value of Korolev autographs

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Author Topic:   Availability, value of Korolev autographs
David Stephenson
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Posts: 294
From: England
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 05-02-2009 12:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Stephenson   Click Here to Email David Stephenson     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I would like to know if any items signed by Sergei Korolev ever come up for sale and if they do what is the price range?

spaceflori
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Posts: 1499
From: Germany
Registered: May 2000

posted 05-05-2009 02:01 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceflori   Click Here to Email spaceflori     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There's quite a lot of Korolev signed stuff out there. I personally would prefer some of the signed or initialed documents which appear to be authentic based on my information.

I'd be a bit more careful buying Korolev autographs on signed covers, photos and books [warn-sign on] which seem to flood the market lately [warn-sign off].

His documents seem to realize between $400 to $700 lately.

Bob M
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From: Atlanta-area, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 05-05-2009 07:44 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Bob M   Click Here to Email Bob M     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Just a quick check of eBay presents 14 items signed by Sergei Korolev (the super-secret "Chief Designer," whose actual identity wasn't divulged until after his death in 1966), all from prolific eBay seller "Maksuta," who has a well-known reputation as the source of autograph material for virtually any Soviet space figure, including all the early cosmonauts. He's specialized for years now as "the" source of ultra-rare (some say non-existent) Soyuz 11 signed material (postcards, covers, photos) and for a while now has been providing all sorts of Korolev signed material.

Some defend him and his wares because of his connection to the Soviet space program and his father being involved.

mjanovec
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Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 05-05-2009 04:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Bob brings up several good points regarding the availability of Korolev items on eBay, particularly from one seller. While it may technically be possible for someone to have certain connections that allowed them to obtain certain rare signatures, the shear volume of these signatures is concerning.

Korolev and Gus Grissom died at roughly the same time. Compare their public lives. One was not all that well known and not very accessible for autographs, because his true identity was not really known until after his death. The other was very well known and quite famous, and often signed autographs for an admiring public. Now, considering those two backgrounds, think of how odd it would be to see a single eBay seller listing 14 Gus Grissom autographs at any given time, whether it be signed photographs, covers, or documents.

Something would sure smell fishy, wouldn't it?

gliderpilotuk
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Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 05-07-2009 04:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for gliderpilotuk   Click Here to Email gliderpilotuk     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by David Stephenson:
I would like to know if any items signed by Sergei Korolev ever come up for sale...
The answer is "yes they do" in very limited quantities - and not just on eBay, which is as unreliable a source for genuine Armstrong signatures as it is for Korolev.

Just under ten years ago there was a "liberation" of material from the former Soviet Union, with hitherto rare signatures becoming available. Some of the auction houses sold these items and there were reliable Russian sellers like Tykoon on the scene. The trouble was that within a couple of years people had obviously recognised the demand in the West for these items and mass forgeries flooded out (again, not dissimilar to the Armstrong forgery industry).

Some signatures like Gagarin can be filtered with experience. The problem with Korolev is that he was unidentified within his own country as well as outside, unlike the early cosmonauts who enjoyed wider domestic adulation than many in the West realised. In my opinion, it is very unlikely that you will find a genuine signed Korolev photograph, but are more likely to find an annotated document or book - although even in these cases provenance is difficult to establish.

It would be interesting to hear if any cS members believe they have a genuine Korolev autograph that they can share with others.

gliderpilotuk
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Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 06-13-2009 06:25 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for gliderpilotuk   Click Here to Email gliderpilotuk     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
For anyone looking for a genuine sample of Korolev's handwriting go here and scroll down to the red handwriting. Although I can't see a signature, if you have a basic grasp of cyrillic you should be able to make a reasonable comparison with Korolev scripts that come up for sale.

MIsterTrunk
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Posts: 59
From: Moscow, Russia
Registered: Feb 2015

posted 11-26-2015 11:05 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for MIsterTrunk   Click Here to Email MIsterTrunk     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Some authentic Sergei Korolev autographs I would like to show you. Always pay attention to the loop in the end in his late 50s and 60s examples, if it doesn't match authentic examples — then it's more likely "maksuta" forgery. He also forged with that loop style as well. Though his autographs forgeries are pretty good, the penmanship differs much from Korolev's authentic examples.


MIsterTrunk
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Posts: 59
From: Moscow, Russia
Registered: Feb 2015

posted 11-26-2015 11:15 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for MIsterTrunk   Click Here to Email MIsterTrunk     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

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