I was born in Dover, Delaware, a few blocks below the Mason-Dixon Line in 1942. My father was stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia for most of the war and my earliest collectible was acquired when I was 3 1/2: a toy cannon that shot spaghetti. It was quickly removed from my "collection" as I became too adept at winging the cat.

Most of my formative years were spent in Philadelphia where I graduated from Central High School and the University of Pennsylvania. Mabel Zahn, of Sessler's Bookshop, sold me my first autograph, an ALS of James Garfield, for $12.00. This was to be paid off in $.25 increments with a $.50 down payment, not too easy for a 5 1/2 year old boy with no income. But as luck may have it I sold it shortly afterwards to an old paper dealer in Gilbertsville, Pa., for $15.00 shortly after the initial down payment.
While at Penn I had the good fortune of buying a major Philadelphia business archive of the Yeates family. In the collection were the lecture notes of William Smith, the first Provost of U of P in 1760, the year the college was founded.

Over the years I have acquired tens of millions of dollars more autographs, manuscript archives, photographs, and art. Most memorable were the Dunninger Collection of Houdini's Magic Illusions, Manuscripts, and Handcuffs, The Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. Collections of literary manuscripts, letters, and rare stamps, The Herbert Bayard Swope Library and manuscript archive, the W.Grancel Fitz and Carl Van Vechten photography and literary archives, the manuscript archives of two members of FDR's cabinet, plus thousands of other significant individual rarities. I have also appraised such notable archives as the Dean Acheson Papers, and the John Lord O'Brien estate.

We are currently looking for major collections or individual rarities of American historic autographs, drawings, oil paintings, and sculpture. Of particular interest are items relating to the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, the War of 1812 in the South, and life portraits of Presidents and other historic personages.