The term
Autograph is something written by someone, being of their own hand. A book with
"To John, with best wishes, from the Author" is autographed but not signed.
All signatures are autographs, but not all autographs are signatures...
An Autograph also means a person's signature, most commonly being used when describing collecting celebrity autographs. The hobby of collecting autographs is known as
Philography.
Signed or a Signature means the book has been signed by its author (or illustrator, or editor).
A signed book will always be more valuable than a book of the same, that is not, of course.
A dated signature is usually a plus, as well. The closer the date of
the signature is to the book's publication, the better; or more valuable
I should say. (
Sometimes booksellers make reference of this, by noting that a book is "Signed in the Year of Publication")
You may have come across a description for a book that lists it as
"flatsigned" when looking for books on the internet, lets just say, it's not a generally
accepted term among booksellers, since being first coined by a
bookseller on ebay, using it to describe a signed book ( that hasn't
been inscribed.) Some other sellers have also copied it's use. However,
the word
"signed," as described above, means just the same and is
understood by all collectors & dealers.
Bookplates also known as
ex-librīs [
Latin,
"from the books of..."], usually a small print or decorative label
pasted into a book, often on the inside front cover, which indicates
it's owner. Simple typographical bookplates are termed a
'booklabel'.which.are sometimes signed by the author, then affixed to books later. Signatures signed directly onto a book are more highly desired by collectors than one that appears on a booklabel. Here is a great blog that explains bookplates more in depth:
Signing Books By Bookplate.
Some references above from source link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookplate
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