The Manuscript Society itself does not authenticate, appraise, purchase, or sell manuscripts. Instead, we suggest that you contact some of the dealers who advertise on this site and in our quarterly journal, Manuscripts. You can also occasionally find dealers who handle autographs and manuscripts under the heading of "Book Dealers, Used & Rare" in the Yellow Pages of the telephone book.

Many of the dealers who buy and sell manuscripts will do an appraisal for a fee.

This is not the domain of the Manuscript Society. We are an organization of collectors, dealers, librarians, archivists, and others interested in original manuscript material. You should check with your public library for publications such as the Writer's Market.

The Society's membership is on a calendar year basis. For the dues payment, members receive all of the Society's publications for that year. There is a special offer for those who join after July 1; they can pay half the normal dues rate and receive half of the publications.

The Manuscript Society appeals to collectors of autographs of all types and all eras while focusing on the content, care and collecting of original manuscripts. There are other clubs and publications that cater more specifically to those who collect the autographs of current celebrities--movie stars, sports stars, astronauts, etc.

The Manuscript Society does not make recommendations of dealers. However, this site lists dealers who advertise in Manuscripts.

Many dealers routinely purchase copies of the Manuscript Society's mailing list to send out their catalogs to our members. Otherwise, you can write to individual dealers and request a sample catalog. Catalogs are often provided free of charge to regular buyers; for others, there is occasionally a subscription fee.

Dealers and auction houses may authenticate manuscript material, often for a fee. By checking ads for such firms, you can often determine a dealer who specializes in the type of material you need authenticated, and who will have expertise in the field. The Manuscript Society does not authenticate material.

Replevin is a legal mechanism that allows for the recovery and reclamation of designated items of property. Replevin has been used by individuals, private companies, institutions or organizations and even governments to reclaim specific manuscript items from dealers or collectors that are believed to have been misappropriated. While the Manuscript Society vigorously supports the repatriation of stolen or otherwise misappropriated materials to their rightful owners, the Society's Replevin Committee has on occasion spoken on behalf of the interests of collectors and dealers when replevin efforts by third parties have been determined to be inappropriate.

ALS(Autographed letter signed), IPS(Inscribed Photograph Signed) and Recto(The side of a page that is to be read first) are abbreviations and terms used to describe types and aspects of manuscripts and other original documentary material. Among is publications, The Manuscript Society has produced a guide to these abbreviations and terms: The Manuscript Society Criteria for Describing Manuscripts and Documents.