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Michael E. Johnson the Collector
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Magician Michael E. Johnson
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Welcome to the About Me page, where I can share with you the spirit and heart of Michael Johnson Collectibles. I'm a collector at heart, with a strong spirit for paper memorabilia. I started collecting as a kid, hunting through swap meets and garage sales, searching for old books, newspapers, letters, photos, diaries, anything unusual. I didn't just want to learn about history, I always wanted to own it. After several decades, I did get old but I never grew up. And now, I've got hundreds of pounds of paper collectibles.
Because collecting is so much fun, I enjoy writing about the experience. For many years in the 1990s, I published my own newsletters Autograph Research, Space Autograph News and Celebrity Home Address Newsletter. I wrote a book called the Space Autograph Price Guide in 1999. I also wrote lots of articles for publications like Autograph Collector, The Pen and Quill, The Astrophile, The Autograph Review, The Autograph Collector's Magazine, Genii, Magic and M-U-M. I'm recognized as a bit of an authority on autographs, and I've been quoted in sources as diverse as the American Journalism Review and Playboy magazine.
So far I've written more than a hundred eBay guides. Once I had dreams of becoming one of eBay's top Guide writers. But guess what? A few people took a disliking to my many guides about fake autopen autographs. In just a few days, they swept through all my guides and left negative feedback. It happened so fast that I know they didn't even read my guides. They tried to suppress my information. At first it hurt my feelings, but then I realized that I must be doing something important. I gave up my dreams of making the top 100 guide writers, or even the top 1,000 guide writers. I want people to know about fake autopen autographs, especially among the astronauts. Maybe someday someone will sweep through all my guides and leave positive feedback. That sure would surprise me!
Now it's a turning point for me. I've decided to sell off my collection and pursue a new dream. I want to get out of debt, buy a little piece of land in the country, and get my family out of the city. It's a simple formula--trade paper for land. I know it might take a while, but I've got dozens of boxes of cool things, and a boundless supply of optimism. Sure, it's a goofy idea. But maybe, just maybe, I will succeed.
My collecting interests have always been diverse, so my collection is all over the place. Here's some of my mini-collections, many of which will end up for sale on eBay, and the stories behind them:
- Autographs of contemporary celebrities from politics, art, music, acting, science, sports, business, etc.. I got into this hobby because my Mom once collected autographs. She gave me her collection of signed photos, from people like Elizabeth Taylor, from the 1950s. When she told me all she did was write fan letters, I was hooked. I've since written thousands of fan letters, and have received thousands of great responses and autographs in return.
- Magician's memorabilia including autographs, books, posters, programs, clippings. As a kid I always enjoyed watching Magicians. Today it's more than a hobby; it's been my bill-paying job for the past 13 years! I perform 200-300 shows a year around the country. I love studying the art and business of magic. I believe that to be the best, you have to learn from the best. My own career is building: last year I was named San Diego's "Entertainer of the Year" by my peers in the International Brotherhood fo Magicians. This year, I'm going for the Strolling Olympics sponsored by the world-famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. I might be 47, but I still dream like a kid.
- Celebrity newsclippings from all fields from the 1980s, most clipped from tabloids or local newspapers. I saved this stuff because I once had a business called the Celebrity Newsclipping Service. My Grandma read all the tabloids, and I recycled them for her, along with all the local newspapers I could find. For a brief while, I sold my newsclippings by mail-order, but I gave up the business and sat on my inventory for a decade or two. Now the material is even rarer! Apparently, not too many people saved clippings in the 1980s. There's a lot of juicy stuff there.
- Space memorabilia including astronauts and cosmonauts, autographs, publications, NASA reports, covers and photos. I've always been fascinated by space, so I've amassed quite a collection of American and Russian space autographs. I also picked up a lot of interesting paper during my tenure as editor of The Astrophile, a philatelic journal of the Space Topic Study Group (Space Unit). My own newsletter, "Space Autograph News", was even used by the astronauts themselves to help valuate their autographs. That was a thrill, having them contact me and even buy my book "Space Autograph Price Guide."
- Ridesharing transportation memorabilia related to carpools, buses, bicycling, etc. In a previous job, I was a transportation consultant for government agencies, and my specific job was to promote transportation alternatives like carpooling. Being the packrat I am, I ended up with a fascinating collection of posters and promotional materials on ridesharing in California in the 1980s.
- Clint Eastwood memorabilia, especially related to his term as Mayor of Carmel. In the mid-1980s when I lived in Monterey, Clint Eastwood was Mayor in nearby Carmel. I accumulated a fabulous collection of clippings, booklets, campaign buttons (including his only authorized Mayoral button, with an error), various sundry promotional rip-offs, and even a rare authentic campaign poster. I personally sat in on his last Council meeting, and I can report that he was really good as a local Mayor.
- Punk music paper, including posters, zines, albums and stickers from the 1980s. When I was a college student in San Diego, I enjoyed hardcore punk music. I didn't have a mohawk, but I still went to a few concerts and slammed a bit! It was fun. I also had my own short-lived zine for a while, Punk Research. I almost became a legend in my own mind! The concert memories are fuzzy, but the awesome box of collectibles remains.
- Old photos, especially cool baby pictures, rustic scenes, tin types, and the archive of photos by Frank Metz of Tucson, Arizona
- Old newspapers and magazines from the 1800s, old letters, diaries and financial documents
- San Marcos paper memorabilia, since my home town is San Marcos, California; this includes fruit crate labels for San Marcos Lemons (not local, but still a cool name) and cancelled stock certificates from Escondido Mutual Water Company (a nearby town)
- Back issues and Annuals of my own out-of-print newsletters like Autograph Research, Space Autograph News, Celebrity Home Address Newsletter, my book Space Autograph Price Guide, and my special reports
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