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  Signing history and experience: Harrison Schmitt

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Author Topic:   Signing history and experience: Harrison Schmitt
steelhead fly fishing
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Posts: 29
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Aug 2010

posted 06-08-2011 05:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for steelhead fly fishing   Click Here to Email steelhead fly fishing     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Does Dr. Schmitt sign at public appearances? I have an item that I'd like to have him sign, but I've heard recently he is more reluctant to accommodate than in the past. Any past experience or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

MrSpace86
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From: Gardner, KS, USA
Registered: Feb 2003

posted 06-08-2011 06:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for MrSpace86   Click Here to Email MrSpace86     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, he does sign in person but he only signs his book. His assistants make sure you have only his book(s) when standing in line to have a small meet and greet with him and if you ask, they will specify he will not sign anything else.

He is very polite, very nice, and it seems that he enjoys talking to fans and people. I really enjoyed his lecture when he came to KC a few years ago and am grateful that he signed my copy of his book.

mjanovec
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From: Midwest, USA
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posted 06-09-2011 07:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I agree with this assessment. When I attended a day-long field trip of JSC last April that Schmitt helped lead, he actually provided each field trip attendee with a signed copy of his book. But it seemed clear that he didn't want to sign any memorabilia that people brought (photos, models, etc.), though he remained polite about it.

If you get the chance to meet Dr. Schmitt, you'll find him to be a very friendly and engaging person. Of all of the moonwalkers I have been lucky enough to meet and talk with, Schmitt has been the highlight so far.

Daugherty54
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From: Cabot, Arkansas, USA
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posted 06-09-2011 09:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Daugherty54   Click Here to Email Daugherty54     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Does anyone know why he has taken such a hard line on autographs?

MCroft04
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Posts: 1634
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 06-09-2011 09:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for MCroft04   Click Here to Email MCroft04     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
He's a geologist. I think he is more concerned with the science than signing things. He is very pleasant in person, and seems to be consistent with his signing guidelines.

Wehaveliftoff
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posted 06-14-2011 01:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Wehaveliftoff     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
When I got him he signed other things, and not because I knew a thing or two about geology. Although the last time I asked him he was only signing his book as that was what he was promoting.

JasonIUP
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Posts: 282
From: PA
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 08-28-2012 07:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for JasonIUP   Click Here to Email JasonIUP     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Armstrong's passing has given me, and probably many others, reason to re-reflect on his autograph stance.

I know I don't post very often, which perhaps causes my posts to get few responses because I'm not seen as "one of the gang", but I would like to know what others' thoughts are as to why Schmitt has given up doing signings.

328KF
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posted 08-28-2012 07:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 328KF   Click Here to Email 328KF     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I think he was pretty good about it TTM and in person for many years but a combination of things brought it to an end. One, of course, being that he is no fool, and may have felt the effects of ebay and the increase in profiteering by some.

The other was his hectic work schedule several years ago. He was simultaneously working as a consultant on the Constellation program, chairing an alphabet committee, and writing his book.

I last spoke to him during the book tour in D.C., and he was very engaging and talkative. I was coming off of a trip at Dulles, and he and I had a great time talking about the "cookie cutter" pilot training he got when he joined NASA.

However, when a young man and his dad approached the table and asked for him to sign a photo, he said something to the effect of he was only signing books, and that he couldn't sign other items right now. I am paraphrasing, and that "right now" may well have been "any more," but I didn't really commit the words to memory at the time.

Once one stops signing, I would imagine it's difficult to find good reason to start again.

COR482932
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From: Cork, Ireland
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posted 08-29-2012 07:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for COR482932   Click Here to Email COR482932     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Would you think that he would sign his book if you sent it to him TTM?

Chegi
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From: Czech Republic
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posted 08-29-2012 04:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Chegi   Click Here to Email Chegi     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have the same question.

JasonB
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posted 08-30-2012 08:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for JasonB   Click Here to Email JasonB     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I think you'd probably just lose the book. I don't think Schmitt even sends back mail anymore, let alone sign anything through it. The only way to get his book signed, I believe, is to meet him and hope for the best.

Rick Mulheirn
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From: England
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posted 09-04-2012 10:14 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Dr. Schmitt will usually sign his book in person but nothing else and certainly nothing through the mail.

steelhead fly fishing
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From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Aug 2010

posted 04-08-2014 05:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for steelhead fly fishing   Click Here to Email steelhead fly fishing     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I was wondering with the recent signing habits of Dr. Schmitt, if his autograph on a photo or other memorabilia will soon be the third most expensive moonwalker (behind Apollo 11)? I realize Shepard on the lunar surface is not cheap, but a non-personalized lunar Schmitt is getting close.

Steve Zarelli
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From: Upstate New York, USA
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 04-09-2014 07:26 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Steve Zarelli   Click Here to Email Steve Zarelli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Schmitt signed through the mail freely for many years and was a good in-person signer as well. There are a ton of Schmitt SPs sitting in collections.

I have to assume it is going to hit a certain price point and people will begin selling off in quantity. I can't believe he will maintain this astonishing price point indefinitely.

For comparison sake, Schmitt lunar surface SPs probably outnumber Conrad lunar surface SPs 5 to 1.

Daniel Lazecky
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Posts: 480
From: Czech Republic-Europe
Registered: Oct 2007

posted 04-09-2014 01:43 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Daniel Lazecky   Click Here to Email Daniel Lazecky     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Astronaut Mr. Harrison H. Schmitt to me is a hero as well. I got his autograph because of his kindness to lithography. I gained even in times when there was a country in Central Europe-Czechoslovakia. Now it is the Czech Republic as well. This was a time when about 1978., On senator New Mexico. At this time, you ruled in the former communist Czechoslovakia.

You can not imagine when he received a letter-sized envelope from Washington DC autograph, I had to assume the office and explain who he is HHSmith. Been drawn up. I just got an autographed lithograph. Envelope and letterhead Papis with the letter I was seized by the secret police of the former regime. Autograph since protecting its collection. The same procedure applied by the secret police have in the case of Mr JHGlenn. If someone in your community Collectors meet these extraordinary people then please say hello to him from me please thank them as well.

Here is a look.

JasonB
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posted 04-14-2014 08:00 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for JasonB   Click Here to Email JasonB     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
When I saw him in Nov. 2012 in Chicago I asked him if he would ever do another signing and he said "Well you never know but I'm really busy". He was very nice, answered another question I had and even let me get extra books signed because there was no one in line. He even did two book signings that day.

ejectr
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Posts: 1751
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 04-17-2014 07:25 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ejectr   Click Here to Email ejectr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Got his autograph in my pilot log book at MIT way back in 2005 or so. He asked me if I had an aircraft I flew and at the time I had a 1948 Globe Swift I owned. Led to a nice conversation and I think he signed the log book very willingly knowing it wasn't going anywhere.

kosmo
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posted 04-17-2014 09:00 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for kosmo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I had the pleasure of meeting Harrison Schmitt in March of 2001 at Hoffman Estates, IL for a talk. He willingly signed a few photos for me and posed with me for a photograph.

At another talk in Cleveland, OH, in October of 2009, he would only sign his new book and nothing else. He did pose for photographs. I think this has been his position ever since.

SpaceyInMN
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Posts: 355
From: Andover, MN
Registered: Dec 2013

posted 04-26-2014 04:28 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceyInMN   Click Here to Email SpaceyInMN     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I had the great fortune of seeing Mr. Schmitt today at the Go Boldly Expo in St. Paul, MN. His talks were very interesting, and he wrote a short but nice inscription in his book that I purchased, including a mission notation under his signature. I asked him if I could take a picture of him signing the book, since the exhibit said that no posed photos were allowed, but he suggested instead that he stand up and take a picture with me. It was a great thrill for me, one that I will never forget. He really couldn't have been more gracious.

moonnut
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Posts: 248
From: Andover, MN
Registered: Apr 2013

posted 04-26-2014 11:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for moonnut   Click Here to Email moonnut     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yep, Dr. Schmitt is outstanding! I too got a book signed and a quick chat. I just asked him if he still had the family cabin on Battle Lake in Fergus Falls, MN. He replied, "Yes," and that he liked to fish for walleye and large mouth bass.

No fancy suit for him, in fact he wore jeans and a button-up shirt. Dr. Schmitt is a very down to earth person and very approachable. Willing to do photo ops and sign his book.

His visions differ with Buzz Aldrin on getting to Mars. That was interesting to hear in the presentation.

bklyn55
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Posts: 361
From: Milford, CT
Registered: Dec 2014

posted 12-13-2015 11:28 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for bklyn55   Click Here to Email bklyn55     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I was just wondering, how frequently did/does Dr. Schmitt autograph items as "Jack" (as opposed to Harrison)?

Most of the ones I've seen are the latter. Does he sign certain items as Jack and others with his "official" name?

(I am, of course, referring to collector items, and not official documents.)

Jurg Bolli
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Posts: 977
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 12-15-2015 10:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jurg Bolli   Click Here to Email Jurg Bolli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A long time ago the ones I got in person were all "Jack," and then at some point he changed to "Harrison"; but I do not remember when that apparent change took place. I never had the impression that the item made a difference, rather the timing.

NovaRob
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Posts: 242
From: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Registered: Nov 2008

posted 12-16-2015 11:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NovaRob   Click Here to Email NovaRob     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I think Jurg is correct about timing, instead of item. When Schmitt had his Novaspace signing in 2005, he signed almost everything with "Harrison", and I think I recall him saying that "Jack" is what his friends call him, but he prefers signing his full "Harrison H. Schmitt" for the general public.

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