Welcome New MTF Contributor Suddenly Susan! Find Out How She Got Started In Philography AKA Autograph Collecting!

I just love it when I get new submissions from people, and today one of the coolest collector’s out there, Susan just wrote in about her passion for the autograph collecting hobby. I have to think of a new fun name for Susan… I’m so terrible at this… I’m going with Suddenly Susan… I like that.

Anyway, Susan wrote this wonderful introduction to how she got started in the hobby. It’s actually quite similar to how I got started and how I became fascinated with filmmaking, actors, and the whole Hollywood process.

I love hearing all this, and I love hearing stories of how people got started in the hobby!

Hopefully, we will be hearing more from Susan now! You might remember her from the D23 write up last year.

Give a warm MTF welcome to Susan and check out her first report for MTF below!

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Philography. Is that the study of people named Phil? No, it’s the name for the hobby of autograph collecting. I’ve been a philographer for years without knowing it what it was called. How did my autograph collection journey begin? Well, it started about 20+ years ago when my mother suggested I write fan letters to the actors (and by actors I mean teen aged pinups) I liked and see if they write back. You see, she had done the same thing when she was my age. Oh, the collection she had. It would certainly be worth a lot of money today. Unfortunately, the signed photos she had been collecting and storing in a dresser drawer were left just there, along with the dresser when they moved a few years later. Bummer. Big bummer.

Cut to my taking the reins and firing off a few letters. Once I started receiving replies, I fired off more, and more and more. I remember how exciting it was to check the mailbox when I got home from school and find an 8×10 or 5×7 envelope addressed to me. I knew something great was waiting inside! The likes of Ricky Schroder and Jason Bateman made the ranks of my most wanted list.

I heard back from both and even received a hand written note from Jason. My heart was crushed, however, when I read that Ricky had to hire 3 women just to answer all the fan mail he was receiving. So my photo, addressed “dear Susie” (yes, I went by Susie then), although actually hand signed, was not actually signed by him but rather a helper monkey. Et tu Ricky?

Now, some years later, I live in the land of bread and honey for a Philographer. Some of my non-collecting friends, who always oh and ah when I show them a photo of me with a celebrity, can’t comprehend waiting hours in sometimes bad weather, just to meet a favorite celeb and get their name on a piece of paper. Well, for starters, I always bring a photo, or a DVD cover, or a magazine. I don’t do blank cards or scraps of paper. I’m a professional for goodness sake! But back to the point – I’m not sure. The thrill of the hunt? The agony of defeat? The sweet success of victory? It’s just plain fun. I’ve met some very cool people along the way too, like Mike the Fanboy, Pinky, Scotty, Angel, and Erica to name a few. On the down side, I’ve met quite a few douche bags along the way as well, but that happens no matter what your hobby is, right?

And so, a new chapter in an old book begins. Typing up my celebrity encounters for Mike the Fanboy’s site and becoming just as famous as the people we seek. Well, close enough anyway.