More Purchases From 4/17

Here are some other items that my sister and I picked up on Saturday. Enjoy!

Paul Stanley is "The Starchild" personna in the legendary band KISS. As co-lead singer and guitarist of one the world's biggest rock bands ever, he's also a tough autograph to obtain, as are most of the members of KISS. The best chances of getting Stanley are during one of his solo tours as he actually does sign some during those. Your chances during a KISS tour are not good at all. Knowing how difficult authentic Stanley signatures can be to obtain, we didn't hesitate for a moment when we saw this photo for sale for $10 at a record store. After a 20% discount, the $8 paid for this over-sized picture was a steal!

Rick Wakeman was a keyboardist in Yes, after Tony Kaye's departure. He left the band in 1974, releasing several solo albums but has returned as a member of Yes throughout the years. His most recent tenure was from 2002-2008 and officially, he has once again left the band. When we saw this photograph, autographed in vintage, blue ballpoint pen, we could not pass the oppportunity to pick up this original black and white photograph for $16 ($20 - 20% discount). When Wakeman was with Yes in the late 2000's I went after the band at a hotel they were staying at in Columbus, Ohio. Lead singer Jon Anderson can be difficult and when asked to sign our albums, Anderson looked at us and replied, "Ebay". He also instructed Wakeman to not sign, so alas, I didn't get his autograph.

Another nice pick up was an autographed Christmas card by Ronnie James Dio in blue ballpoint. Dio has an extremely legible signature and generally, but not always, personalizes the autograph to the recipient. Thus, at $8 ($10 regular price) it was a deal picking up this card from the past that features the cover art from the Dio album, "Strange Highways" and promotes the February 8, 1994 release of that album. Thus, we can date this card as being from December 1993. We also picked up from $16 ($20 - 20% discount) a promotional lp single of "Time to Burn" from Dio's "Intermission" album. Released in 1986, this live album is signed by Ronnie James Dio, who has signed his name as "Magic" Ronnie James Dio. Being unpersonalized, this signature appears to be a vintage autograph signed back in 1986 at the time of the album's release. Being a promotional copy of a single from the "Intermission" album, this is the sort of item sent out to radio stations and people in the music industry to generate interest in the album. We also picked up a Ronnie James Dio glossy promotional photo photo, also signed in silver marker. Also signed with the "Magic" nickname, this photo probably also came from around 1986 and possibly was sent out along with the lp single. There is a likely chance that all three of these pieces originated from a contact with ties to the music industry, as that is the typical recipents of these type of items and the promotional greeting card.