Discuss : Hammer Films & Autographs

There seems to be a few on here collecting Hammer Film related autographs, so maybe it would be a good "non football" starting point for some healthy discussion, and sharing of information, tips, stories, etc.

What Hammer autographs do you have? What are your favourites? Does your Hammer collecting go beyond the horror films to their non horror films also?

Anyone who grew up with the original Hammer films enjoys them, what are your favourites from that era? Did you watch the Hammer tv series? Do you like the new Hammer films?

Other than Sir Christopher Lee who sends stamped signatures, and has also sent preprint signed pictures, is there anyone else connected with Hammer who sends facsimiles or secretarials?

I am certainly not a prolific Hammer autograph collector, but have my favourites and have picked up a few autographs related to these great films.

I have seen Let Me In and Wake Wood of the new mainstream Hammer films, but the media seems to forget that the first new Hammer film was actually Beyond The Rave which was released in an episodic format on the internet free of charge. It is almost as if it has been whitewashed from new Hammer history which is a shame as it is the best of the new films to date (still to see The Resident though). Wake Wood was quite good, and a decent stab at horror film making, and it was nice to see Timothy Spall. I was bored to death watching the original Let The Right One In, so it was no surprise that new Hammer's remake Let Me In was equally as boring. At least Beyond The Rave had a good mix of known British faces in it's cast, and married some humour to it's modern day tale of vampires to make it fun viewing. I hope they improve, and do not forget what made them great. The past should not be forgotten, and can be used to influence films of today with good effect. So far, the new mainstream films have ignored the past apart from Sir Christopher appearing in The Resident. The late and much missed Ingrid Pitt did also appear in Beyond The Rave. The Woman In Black may be a chance to put together a classic horror film, so fingers crossed it works.

I was a member of Ingrid's fan club, so have many autographs from her. She will always remain a favourite of mine, and Countess Dracula by default is my favourite Hammer film. We recently picked up Christopher Lee's 1966 Rasputin film on DVD, and rewatching it after many years it is still a good film experience. He is such a powerful actor, and works so well in the title role. Great supporting cast as well. Some creative licence with history, but accurate history does not always make for good film viewing. 🙂

I did try collecting signatures from Beyond The Rave for a while on my own customn 4x6 photos, but had a lot of people not reply. I may revisit this sometime as it is the launch point for new Hammer, and try getting some more. I have a section for this on my website which you can view directly via the following link -

http://www.cyshp.co.uk/brmain.htm

My best bargain purchase related to Hammer was one of Peter Cushing's compliments cards sent to a German fan. He was so considerate he wrote in German also. I picked it up on eBay in 2003 for £1 from a German seller.

I will not throw in all my scans in one post, but save some for another time. Just wanted to get this thread started, and hope it will be of interest.

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Re: Discuss : Hammer Films & Autographs

hello nigel,ive only really just come up with the idea of collecting hammer horror,ive always enjoted the films from being a kid,only sorry really ,that a lot of the greats are no longer with us,one item that is one of my favourites is a signed  christopher lee photo ,which was accompanied by his tie,it was sold at a auction in aid of an old  theartre,that was closing down,and christopher lee donated it:-) had a few good successes recently with hammer,and i will continue to sought out indivuals fom that genre,so watch this space,awesome cushing by the way,he is one autograph ive never managed to get hold of,maybe one day:-)

-- Edited by wheel-lose at 04/09/2011 5:49 PM BST
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Your recent successes, and some other posts on here prompted me to start this thread Daz. You have had some nice replies from some interesting names in Hammer's past.

I was lucky enough to meet Sir Christopher Lee in 2003 when he was promoting his Lord Of Misrule hardback, and have a few other bits from him myself. Amongst them is this cool framed piece I bought from Ingrid Pitt's website in 1999 featuring a marked stamp set, and sigs from Ingrid and Christopher -

Famous Movie Monstes framed display signed by Ingrid Pitt & Christopher Lee

Someone has one of these listed right now for £30, but has not mentioned in the title it is signed - 260764193615.

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impressive item that nigel,like it a lot,i was shocked when ingrid passed away,it was so unexpected,was considering joining the  pitt of horror club,is that still going,now that ingrid has gone?i have sent out a couple of more horror ones in the last week ,so fingers crossed there,the patrick mower one i am hoping to get back is a horror too:-) even he  was in a 1970s horror film:-)its quite surprising ,how many well known soap celebs have been in those classic british horror films:-)

-- Edited by wheel-lose at 04/09/2011 11:59 PM BST
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Re: Discuss : Hammer Films & Autographs

#4 - Ingrid had various health problems in recent years, and when I last met her in 2007, you could tell she was not doing so good. Despite that, I thought she would keep going and beat her problems as she always did, so was shocked also when she passed away. Her biography Life Is A Scream should be read by everyone - it is a reminder of how trivial our own day to day problems really are, and how much we have to be thankful for. The fan club is going to continue as a tribute to Ingrid, and an announcement will be made in the near future as to what that will mean. The old fan club had a lot of personal input from Ingrid. I still carry my membership card in my wallet. It is dated with my name in Ingrid's handwriting.

#5 - How many Christopher Lee and Michael Ripper signed bookplates did Hemlock Books end up with? They have been selling these books with the bookplates for a few years now. The bookplates are not attached. I bought one of the Hammer books from them for £17.95 in summer 2009, and it came with the Lee and Ripper signed bookplates - both are loose and have the backings to the bookplate attached, and are for both actor's respective own books. I have kept them separate until I get round to picking up nice copies of both books at reasonable prices.

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Re: Discuss : Hammer Films & Autographs

Not really into Horror to be honest and not sure if I have even seen any of the Hammer films.  However, I have a few of their autographs courtsey of other collections, namely Star Wars and Indiana Jones:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nice display Greg. I have always liked Peter's signature, it is really flamboyant. There used to be a wonderful web page with a brilliant study of Peter's sig a few years ago. Does anyone know if it still exists?

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Oooo, only just noticed this topic - nice! Just a quickie as I've got to dash off - no time to upload any scans - but probably my favourite Hammer signed thing I have is another Peter Cushing bargain. I picked up a signed FDC, hidden in a box under a table at a collectors' fair - just £3! 🙂

Funnily enough I just bought a hardback of "A Thing of Unspeakable Horror: The History of Hammer Films" in my local AgeUK shop for £2. Not signed by anyone, but a good read.

I love the old Hammer films but haven't got around to seeing the new ones yet.

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£3 lol,bargain:-)

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A lovely bargain at that price Caroline.

There are some great books on Hammer.

After Ingrid sadly passed away I decided to save some of the income from my eBay book sales to purchase the leather bound Hammer Story signed by Ingrid Pitt, Caroline Munro, Martine Beswicke, Barbara Shelley, Maddy Smith and Valerie Leon as a final souvenir featuring Ingrid's sig plus a great Hammer souvenir in general. They still have some at the Hammer site as well as The Pitt Of Horror. Only 600 of these were produced, but not cheap - £75. I have mine on order right now.

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looked at those nigel,,£75 a bit steep for me mate though:-)

-- Edited by wheel-lose at 04/20/2011 7:10 PM BST
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It would normally be a bit steep for me also Daz, but I wanted it badly, so saved for it. Glad I did, as it arrived today, and it is a truly gorgeous book. My picture does not do it justice. What's also nice is that the way the signing page has been managed, it would be possible to add signatures.

http://www.cyshp.co.uk/hammer.jpg

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does look awesome,how many pages are there? i noticed the emblem is the same what was on  the hammer trading cards,i have a few:-)

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Daz - see the following link. It is just what you need to learn about the book, including a look inside the book. 197 pages, large format.

NB: In the pictures they show the signed parchment sheet loose, but mine is bound into the book.

http://thehammerstory.com/

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tempting nigel:-) i have all the graphs on different items,but the book looks awesome,mmmmmn

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That's a great looking book, Nigel. Way beyond my means though. I've recently spent just over £30 on a limited edition signed book by one of my favourite small press horror writers, Peter Crowther, but my husband would kill me if I spent £75 on a signed book!  ?:|

Just going to start another post asking someone to explain to me how to get pics in a thread here, and then I might be able to take part more ...

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Trust me, £75 is beyond my normal means, but I did it the old fashioned way - I saved for it over a period of time.

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my horror ttm so far:-)quite good as not been doing it long

 

 

 

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