Emilio Budan - L'Amatore d'Autografi - 1900

The text by Count Emilio Budan is regarded as one of the earliest and most authoritative holistic attempts in Italy to lay out a guide for the autograph collector, addressing not only the historical and cultural aspects but also the criteria for authentication and cataloging. The 361 fac-similes indicated were an indispensable tool at the time (and remain so today for their historical allure) for comparing signatures and detecting potential forgeries.