|
Author
|
Topic: Has John Young signed for free?
|
JasonIUP
Member Posts: 282
From: PA
Registered: Apr 2004
|
posted 04-24-2006 09:14 PM
   
I'm wonderinf if John Young has signed when asked since he is no longer a NASA employee (which somehow prohibited him from signing anything besides the portrait). Has anyone asked him in the past year?Thanks,
Jason
|
hammer&feather
unregistered
|
posted 04-25-2006 01:58 AM
Hi,
I think Young will never sign for free again. Since his base fee is set by Novaspace Gallery at US $500.00 for one signature. He might have signed a Novaspace contract that does not even allow him to sign for no charge.
Sad but true.
Andy |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 04-25-2006 08:55 AM
quote:
Originally posted by hammer&feather:
He might have signed a Novaspace contract that does not even allow him to sign for no charge. Sad but true.
Sad yes, true no. To the best of my memory, Novaspace never said they had a contract with Young (other than to cover their one-time signing) and as evidenced by the recent print for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Young is free to sign for whomever he pleases. That said, it does appear true that he has decided not to sign outside of the two organized autograph sessions that he has participated in thus far. |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
|
posted 04-25-2006 12:35 PM
I wonder if he gives out any in-person autographs these days. Granted, from what I heard, he was usually a tough in-person autograph...even when he was at NASA. But I'd be curious if there have been any/many in-person successes since his organized signings. Or does he feel less obligated to give out the occaisonal free autograph now that he no longer works at NASA?Then again, do any of the moonwalkers give free in-person autographs anymore? And if so, do they just limit it to their books? (Not that I feel any less about them for stopping signing...they signed more than enough over the years.) Also, going back to the original question about whether he has signed for "free" or not...I would assume he signed the Astronaut Scholarship prints for free...in that he didn't personally profit from the signing (someone correct me if I'm wrong). The price for the prints is likely the price set by the foundation, based on the market value for STS-1 signed items. [This message has been edited by mjanovec (edited April 25, 2006).] |
hammer&feather
unregistered
|
posted 04-25-2006 02:16 PM
Mr. Pearlman quote: Novaspace never said they had a contract with Young (other than to cover their one-time signing) and as evidenced by the recent print for the Astronaut Scholarship FoundationAndy: I am aware of this ASF print but I believe that is not the subject here as the first posters question was did Young sign for any private collector after his official days at NASA. I bet Novaspace does not mind this ASF signing as the print is not free for collectors but amazingly the price is meeting the base fee set by Novaspace. Also I have said Young -might- have signed a contract and never claimed Mr. Young is under contract with Novaspace that does not allow him to sign as he pleases in private. May I point out another interesting fact.
I have seen nobody come forward here saying : Yes, I was successful and Young signed an older NASA litho portrait for free at some place.
Again this fact is, sad but true! That is what the first topic opener was asking for.
Sorry Jason but I fear John Young is not signing for free any longer. In fact four years ago I requested via the Astronaut office one of his free signed latest portrait photos and he chose not to send one. And yes I checked my JSC address and addressed it C/O John Young
I believe other collectors had the same experience. I remember one member who sent a letter like I did with no response and when he met Young at the 2003 AHOF event he handed him a card with his address and told Young exactly what I described above.
This collector did not have to wait long to receive this nice orange envelope in the mail. He got a free signed litho of Mr. Young. I was at this 2003 AHOF event but chose not to bring this topic up. Maybe next time I will hand out a card with my address. Who can blame me?
Andy [This message has been edited by hammer&feather (edited April 25, 2006).] [This message has been edited by hammer&feather (edited April 25, 2006).] |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
|
posted 04-25-2006 04:48 PM
quote:
Originally posted by hammer&feather:
This collector did not have to wait long to receive this nice orange envelope in the mail. He got a free signed litho of Mr. Young. I was at this 2003 AHOF event but chose not to bring this topic up. Maybe next time I will hand out a card with my address. Who can blame me?
Andy
Nobody could blame you if you tried. However, I believe the other person succeeded because Young was still at NASA and had access to their stock of lithos and the mail room to process the mailing (and pay for the postage). I suspect Young didn't take home a stack of lithos for the purpose of sending out signatures after his retirement. But I could be wrong. Your best approach would be to kindly ask that if you sent him a photo, if he would be willing to sign it. Be prepared to hear the word "no"...partly because his address isn't commonly known, even on the autograph address lists. But, just in case pigs are flying that day, have a photo with you (out of sight) in the event he says "Well, do you have one with you now?" If you approach him with photo and sharpie visibly in hand, he may evade you. If you give it a try, good luck. [This message has been edited by mjanovec (edited April 25, 2006).] |
Novaspace
Member Posts: 434
From: Tucson, AZ USA
Registered: Sep 2004
|
posted 04-25-2006 05:05 PM
Novaspace is being made the bad guy here (again) from an anonymous source. WE HAVE NO CONTRACTS, NOT EVEN ONCE, WITH ANY ARTIST OR ASTRONAUT. WE HATE LAWYERS. We have operated on goodwill only, for 28 years now.Capt. Young has an agent, as Mr. Pearlman will attest, and it's not us. We don't set the prices. Capt. Young, while still at NASA was required BY LAW to sign for free if at all. He and any other astronaut were not allowed to sign anything commercial or endorse anything. Once he quit NASA he could do anything he likes. And no, McDivitt will NOT be in San Antonio. His choice, not ours. Kim Poor
[This message has been edited by Novaspace (edited April 25, 2006).] |
JasonIUP
Member Posts: 282
From: PA
Registered: Apr 2004
|
posted 04-25-2006 05:24 PM
Thank you all for your responses. I would be interested to hear results from anyone who does try him in person. However, I infer that the answer from Young has been "No!"Jason
|
divemaster
Member Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002
|
posted 04-25-2006 06:56 PM
In answer to the "free" question:I was honored to have Edgar Mitchell sign something for free for me several years back. Also got a freebie from Buzz on one of my models during one of his book tours. Bob Glass almost passed out when he witnessed it. I was as surprised as he was. However, both of these were exceptions - and were, at least, three or four years ago. Maybe five. John Young [and several other moonwalkers] were kind enough to sign the Corporate Angel Network charity teddy bears during the last Aurora auction. I'm eternally grateful to them and to those who made those particular signings possible. I never expect a freebie anymore - from anyone. |
mdmyer
Member Posts: 900
From: Humboldt KS USA
Registered: Dec 2003
|
posted 04-25-2006 08:15 PM
Buzz has been known to sign some of his books for free at some of his signings for Reaching for the Moon. Last summer Charlie Duke signed for free at a public lecture in Wellington KS. Mike |
Machodoc
Member Posts: 207
From: DE
Registered: Aug 2005
|
posted 04-27-2006 12:00 AM
I think we all need to take a deep breath and then exhale on the subject matter at hand. If the John Youngs of the world want to charge for autos or give them away, that's their own decision we need to respect.Let's not cast stones at folks who sponsor public and/or private signings we could not otherwise get autos from under any other circumstances. I don't have a birth right to get an auto from anyone, public or private. If I pay for it, then that's a commercial transaction that both parties benefit from and agree to, and I respect the right of an astro, especially the more marketable ones, to take advantage of our free market society. SW |
mensclub10@aol.com
New Member Posts:
From:
Registered:
|
posted 04-27-2006 07:51 AM
I was fortuate to get a free autograph from Buzz Aldrin at a toy show in Chicago 2 years ago. He signed one item per person on anything you brought or signed a stock photo of him that they had on the table. Most people weren't very knowledgeable about Buzz and his achievments. When I contemplated about the signing I couldn't believe I got to meet him ( a very big deal fore me) and get a free signatue. However, being selfish, I wish I had brought a photo of him on the moon and had him write "We Came In Peace For All Mankind". It would have been a great addition to my collection. As far as John Young signing for free versus his signing at Novaspace, I had receive a signed photo of him many years ago through the astronaut office. Two years ago my son wrote him for a autographed photo and receive one from him. It must have ben one of his last free signatures. I applaud Novaspace for getting these non signing astronauts and giving us collectors a chance to get that impossible signature and also allow us to complete the many crew photos we thought we had absolutely no chance to complete. My personal belief is that there is no chance to get John Young for free anymore and I hope we can get the chance through Novaspace to get Mr. Young to sign again. I know that the price was steep for most people but at least there was a chance to get his signature which we didn't think would ever happen.
Dave |
advertisement