I wonder if another 93Q employee ended up with the boards and owned your house? Or, maybe he rented the property or temporarily lived there with someone else who owned it? It's possible he may have never owned these boards. I would guess they technically belonged to the radio station. They could have given them to an intern for all we know...just to get rid of them.
Possibly. Is it really a terrible thing that I want to know? The guy was a radio legend in Houston. There is a Texas Radio Hall of Fame...but I'm not sure if they have a physical space.
It's not. I wouldn't assassinate (in a soft sense) other posters for trying to understand your true intentions here. It originally sounded like you were in it to possibly make some money. But, the more you clarify, it sounds like you would be willing to return them to him for nothing in return. It's just possible that, if you do get in touch with him, he may say he lost track of them and would like them back. Then, basically, your reward could only be an act of kindness with a fuzzy feeling of goodness from having done a good deed. On the flip side, if you were trying to get something more out of it...then that isn't necessarily a bad thing, either. They were in your attic and you are the owner as buyer of the house. So, you're curious and we're curious.
I'm not big into autographs and such. So, these things have no real value to me. Kinda cool, but not something I want to hang on the wall. I'm guessing who ever owned these things originally also didn't cherish them all that much, or they wouldn't have left them behind when the house was sold. Could be that the radio station didn't want them and gave them away to anyone that wanted them. Maybe that person thought the boards had some monetary value, but turns out nobody was interested in paying anything for them. Ended up stashed in the garage and now you have them. One man's trash is another man's treasure. Or maybe it's just trash. I'm guessing Lander doesn't care anything about these boards.
If I’m reaching out to the guy, I’m offering it back. My “horses aren’t up”, I just find calling to talk to him about something that he likely lost an odd choice, without having any intentions to give it back. It’s a bunch of personalized autographs. Seems like it’s just rubbing it in his face to contact him, on the chance that it means something to him and he wants it back. If you found an old owner’s wedding ring in your house with an engraved inscription on it, would you consider giving it back? would you reach out to them, and tell them you found it and you’d like to know the story of their proposal before you sell it to the pawn shop for $200?
Have you looked at the online property records to see who previously owned the house? I can go back 20 years on one country web site for my house.
Yes. He is not listed as a former owner. Not sure why you think I'm trying to rub it in his face. Your example isn't even close to the same situation other than being found in a house. The autographs are mostly made out to 93Q Morning Zoo. Some are to John. Some are just the names themselves. I find wanting to understand the story behind them as nothing sinister. If I do ever get a hold of him and he really wants them back, I'd probably help to make that happen. It would probably end, though, when you consider the cost of having to package them and ship them. Last I could find, he was in the Boston area. I have no sinister motives.
Here is the story. These celebs showed up at the radio station to interview and were asked if they would sign the boards leaving a comment if they wish to. I seriously doubt there is any more to it than that. Now, ship me the damn boards.
There are specific and recognized cleaning and conserving methods for different types of materials. If they have decent value (which I assume they do), investing in getting them properly cleaned/conserved and displayed can up the value quite a bit. You'll just have to find an expert in the material.
I don't buy it. The fact that it has a specific story tied to a local radio station. The randomness is part of the charm. Try calling some of the auction houses to see if they'd take a look. Maybe Heritage? I disagree with his assessment: the more people you appeal to, the more something is worth. This could appeal to music fans, Rock station fans (yes they exist), celebrity fans, movie/tv star fans, etc. If you can prove the provenance (this hung on hall X at station Y from year a to b) people will like it.
No. It's exactly the same. In your mind it isn't. You've proved my point. You aren't the arbiter of what lost possession should have sentimental value to people and how much it should have.
Why do you think they were lost? It's likely the owner was sick of lugging around boards with autographs of at most moderate value. They are interesting, but definitely not anything worth storing away for decades hoping for a windfall.
