Growing up, I always thought that I was the most into movies in the family. But recently, I found out that my great uncle was an even bigger fan! I wasn't that close with him, to be honest. He lived a state away and I only saw him a few times every year.
I remember him being so old that I could barely get a word out of him. After a polite "hello," he would already fall asleep. He remained a mystery to a lot of us, but when he passed on and left us all of his stuff, we discovered just how fascinating a character he was.
To my surprise, he was also an autograph hound. In fact, I hear from my great aunt that he was sort of proud that someone in the family followed suit. I asked her why they never mentioned it to me, but then she turned it around and said I never really mentioned my passion to them. That got me feeling extremely guilty. But here was a treasure trove of autograph hounding from the 40s, 50s, and the 60s. Classic posters with autographs from the most legendary stars in Hollywood history.
A collection that caught my attention was that of Disney's "Aristocats." My great aunt said that my late great uncle was one of the first autograph hounds to ever ask the cast of an animated film to sign anything. Usually, Hollywood stars that actually starred on-screen were chased by autograph hounds, not actors who just lent their voices to cartoon characters.
Having been a fan of the movie, I was ecstatic that my great uncle actually did this. "The Aristocats" has always been one of my favorites within the Disney classics canon. The film always had a jazzy and almost modern feel to it that I liked. And seeing the likes of Eva Gabor, Phil Harris, and Lord Tim Hudson sign these posters had me in chills!
Knowing how much I would appreciate them, my great aunt gave all of the copies. I gave one to her, I kept one in my apartment, and the rest are now on this website. Folks, you have some historic posters within the reach of your fingertips!
Please note: Our inventory is limited as we may have only received a few posters in total. Most of our items are obtained from film premieres, studios, and from autographed hounds such as the one in the story above.
