The prices paid for these famous authors’ signatures will have you checking your bookshelves.
ByClaire Cock-Starkey|Apr 11, 2024, 1:44 PM EDT
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The signature of a renowned author can greatly increase the value of a book. However, books aren’t the only things authors sign—their signatures can also be found on legal documents, letters, and other types of manuscripts. In general, the more scarce the signature, the higher its value. The John Hancocks of the following authors are particularly prized.
Table of contents
- Harper Lee
- William Shakespeare
- James Joyce
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
- J. D. Salinger
- Ernest Hemingway
- Charlotte Brontë
- Charles Dickens
- George Orwell
- J. K. Rowling
Harper Lee
Reclusive author Harper Lee seldom signed her books, so a signed first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird in good condition can be worth at least $20,000. In 2015 Lee’s publishers released 500 special leather-bound signed editions of Lee’s second book, Go Set a Watchman, for $1500 each, no doubt hoping that those books would also become highly collectable. Indeed, Lee signed far fewer copies of Watchman than Mockingbird before her death, so it is possible signed editions of Watchman will eventually become even more sought-after.
William Shakespeare
Today there are only six known copies of William Shakespeare’s signature, which makes his autograph hot property. All of the signatures are featured on legal documents, with three of the six from copies of the celebrated playwright’s will. Scholars are especially fascinated by Shakespeare’s signature in part because it was so messy, and he seemed to spell his famous name in a number of ways, from Shackper to Shackspere. Because of its scarcity, it is thought to be the most valuable author signature in the world. Were a Shakespeare signature to come onto the market today (extremely unlikely, since all the existing signatures are held by institutions), it’s estimated that it would fetch at least $5 million, and were one to be discovered on a play or poem written by his own hand, it might be practically priceless.
James Joyce
Because James Joyce‘s Ulysses was banned in both the UK and America for its racy content, first editions of the book have become one of the most sought-after 20th century tomes, making a signed first edition a bit like gold dust. A super-rare signed first-edition of Ulysses in mint condition—the only part that had been read was the last section, with all the naughty bits—sold at auction in 2009 for £275,000 (about $398,000 at the time). Joyce’s signed letters are also impressively valuable; in August 2015, two of them fetched $25,000 at auction.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Signatures by F. Scott Fitzgerald are fairly rare, in part because at the time of his greatest success, after The Great Gatsby was published, he was living in Paris and was relatively inaccessible to autograph hunters. Letters signed by Fitzgerald are particularly sought-after, and because institutions and libraries are especially keen to archive his letters, the prices are often pushed up—in 2004, one letter came up for auction and fetched $m. A first edition of The Great Gatsby, inscribed by Fitzgerald himself to Harold Goldman (who Fitzgerald calls “the original Gatsby”), was auctioned in 2015 and went for an impressive $191,000.
J. D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye author J.D. Salinger became reclusive in the 1950s, rarely replying to fan letters or engaging with the public, making his signature extremely rare. When he did sign books, he often inscribed a message alongside his signature. Today, the inclusion of a message is one of the ways dealers discern whether a Salinger signature is genuine. A batch of 41 typed and signed letters from Salinger to a person named Christine, which comprised over a decade’s worth of correspondence, was auctioned in 2014 for $185,000.
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway’s signed letters, especially those to his celebrity friends, are a good investment—a fond note he typed to his great friend Marlene Dietrich in 1955 sold for $35,000 in 2014, and a handwritten missive to Ezra Pound in 1925 netted $157,326 when it was sold in 2007. Signed Hemingway books can be even more valuable—a first edition copy of his most celebrated work, For Whom the Bell Tolls, inscribed to his wife, Martha Gellhorn, sold in 2004 for $310,400, and a very rare early edition of his 1926 book was sold at auction for $366,400.
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë’s signature rarely comes onto the market, but when it does it most often comes in the form of her letters. In 2009 a letter refusing a proposal of marriage from Reverend Henry Nussey went up for auction and sold for $56,250, despite the signature having been cut away and later restored. In 2013 a tiny signed handwritten poem Brontë composed in 1829, when she was just 13, was auctioned for £92,450 (about $134,000). However, items such as these are extremely few and far between.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens generally signed his name with a blue fountain pen, making forgeries easier to spot. In 2014 a signed copy of Dickens’s best-selling book, A Tale of Two Cities, inscribed to his fellow author Mary Ann Evans (otherwise known as George Eliot), was sold for an astonishing £275,000 (about $398,000). Letters written or signed by Dickens are also valuable—a simple handwritten note can go for about $4,000 to $7,000.
George Orwell
Sometimes, though an author’s signature is valuable, there is a particular book that makes that signature even more valuable. George Orwell’s signature is very collectable, with letters going for around $10,000, but signed copies of his most celebrated novel—1984—are so rare they are exceedingly valuable. When the novel was published in 1949, Orwell was already extremely ill, and he died not long afterward. He therefore signed very few copies of the book; despite this, one came onto the market in the mid-2010s and was snapped up for $26,500.
J. K. Rowling
The print run for the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone published in the UK (it was renamed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the U.S. release) included only about 2000 copies, and of those, roughly 500 were hardback. Most of these first editions were sent to libraries, and so very few survive in good condition. This has meant that a signed first edition of J.K. Rowling’s first book is now worth about $24,000 (and sometimes much more).
In 2007, a handwritten copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard was sold at auction—Rowling handwrote just seven copies of this book, intending it never to be published. Six copies were gifted to people closely connected to the Harry Potter franchise and the seventh was auctioned for charity, where it was acquired by Amazon for an astonishing $3.98 million.
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A version of this story was published in 2016; it has been updated for 2024.
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6 Slang Phrases From Jane Austen’s England We Still Use Today
These six slang phrases from Jane Austen’s era are still part of our vocabulary.
ByLogan DeLoye|Oct 27, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT
Georgian England, 1714 to 1837: a world where social class, status, manners, and estate were held in the highest regard, and women had very little choice but to marry for convenience and financial security.
These were the realities of the era, but Jane Austen believed they deserved a rewrite, and she did just that. In her stories, women were quick-witted, educated, and picky about the partners they chose to spend their lives with. Society’s seemingly silly rules and manners fed her unmistakable satire, and women were no longer side characters passing time in the tea rooms of rich and powerful men.
Between the ages of 19 and 41, Austen wrote six novels, published from 1811 to 1817: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion, in that order.
Throughout these works, she explored love, sisterhood, affluence, naivety, self-awareness, survival, practicality, regret, moral integrity, and imagination; her dry wit unfailingly in step with the drama that unfolded in every chapter.
She also introduced phrases first recorded in her novels that we still use today, bringing a bit of Austen’s England into the present.
From Pride and Prejudice:
Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice in 1796, unaware that Mr. Darcy would one day flex his hand and inspire a generational rewatch in 2005, more than 200 years after the novel was published. The story follows the Bennet family through love, heartbreak, and… boiled potatoes. Elizabeth and Mary, both determined to marry for love, capture the special attention (as Mr. Collins would say) of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley. Through trials, misfortunes, and characters fond of walking, everyone learns a lesson and finds their match in the end, be it true love, immaturity, or security.
Phrases Austen introduced in the novel:
Dress a Salad
“These two girls had been above an hour in the place, happily employed in visiting an opposite milliner, watching the sentinel on guard, and dressing a sallad and cucumber.”
Doorbell
“She was suddenly roused by the sound of the door bell, and her spirits were a little fluttered by the idea of its being Colonel Fitzwilliam himself.”
From Emma:
Austen began drafting Emma in 1814, at age 38. The novel invites us into the life of 21-year-old Emma Woodhouse, “with very little to distress or vex her.” In one of her most satirical stories, Austen examines social classes, self-discovery, and marriage as Emma and her family and friends navigate everyday life in Highbury. Emma matures through matchmaking (both successful and failed) and her affections, and lack thereof, for those of lower social status, influenced by her eventual suitor, George Knightley. True to Austen’s storytelling, everyone learns from their missteps, and their choices determine their ending.
Phrases Austen introduced in the novel:
Dinner Party
“Dinner-parties and evening-parties were made for him and his lady; and invitations flowed in so fast that she had soon the pleasure of apprehending they were never to have a disengaged day.”
Brace Yourself
“It was particularly necessary to brace her up with a few decisive expressions…”
From Mansfield Park:
Mansfield Park was published in the same year Austen finished writing Emma. The novel follows poor Fanny Price, who moves in with her wealthy aunt and uncle at just ten years old. Her cousins are cold towards her, except Edmond, whom she considers a friend and mentor. Siblings Henry and Mary Crawford arrive: Mary is interested in Edmond, and Henry is attracted to both Maria and Julia. Henry later proposes to Fanny, who rejects him. Edmond, turned away by Mary’s reaction to her brother’s scandal with the previously wedded Maria, falls in love with Fanny and her good morals. After a few changes of setting, the pair settles at the parsonage near the main estate. Once again, everyone gets what they deserve.
The phrase Austen introduced in the novel:
Family Portrait
“Of pictures there were abundance, and some few good, but the larger part were family portraits, no longer anything to anybody but Mrs. Rushworth, who had been at great pains to learn all that the housekeeper could teach, and was now almost equally well qualified to shew the house.”
From Persuasion:
Persuasion was published posthumously six months after Austen’s passing in 1817 and tells the story of Anne Elliot and her second chance at love (eight years later) with Captain Frederick Wentworth. When Anne was 19, she was persuaded not to marry the sailor due to his lack of fortune. He returns when Anne herself is experiencing financial misfortune, now a decorated military man. Realizing his feelings for Anne remain the same, he travels to Bath and confesses his love in a letter. The pair become engaged, both never having loved another. As always in Austen’s literary worlds, everything settles as it should by the last page.
The phrase Austen introduced in the novel:
Dirt Cheap
“His chance for the Kellynch estate was something, but all the honour of the family he held as cheap as dirt.”
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