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People On The Move: Ken Schwartz
04/30/2009
AVID AUTOGRAPH COLLECTOR
Although he grew up in Long Island, Ken Schwartz was hooked on life at the Jersey Shore after attending Monmouth College in the late 1960’s. He now lives in Rumson with his lovely wife Jolie and his son Max (10) and daughter Shayna (11); his eldest daughter Jamie (from a previous marriage) lives nearby. It’s difficult to find a place to sit or to find an empty spot on the walls of Ken’s office at the World Jeep-Subaru dealership in Tinton Falls; it is filled with framed historical documents, sports and musical memorabilia, rare photos, and paintings. Ken started collecting celebrities’ autographs after attending a baseball exhibit/show about 30 years ago at the Asbury Park Convention Center, where he first began to marvel over the possibilities. “I was like…wow, you can own stuff that famous people actually wrote on and used, letters they wrote, bats they hit with, and you can actually own it. I didn’t know until then that you could do that. I fell in love with it right then and there.” His first purchase was a ball signed by Babe Ruth.
But it wasn’t just sports memorabilia that held his interest. Ken started studying history – reading U.S. history books and researching past historical events. At one point he even owned the inkwell that Woodrow Wilson used when he signed the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War I. Of course, all of his finds must be authenticated and researched to determine their validity. “With the inkwell, I had letters from the daughter of President Wilson’s attaché, and I had newspaper articles that showed that Wilson gave it to his attaché who was a general, and that when he died, this general’s estate went to his daughter and I had a photograph from a newspaper showing the inkwell in front of President Wilson as he was signing the treaty. When I sold it 2 years ago I had to have all this backup information, because without the backup it’s just a story.”
There are stories behind every single piece in his collection: an original legal brief written and signed by then-lawyer Abraham Lincoln (circa 1838) before he became one of our most revered presidents; a John Hancock signed and beautifully handwritten receipt of payments, in pounds, to several soldiers for their services at war; and a more current, but equally impressive, collection of framed tickets from Woodstock, along with two signed receipts from Jimmy Hendrix for two of his band members, in the amount of $500 each – their compensation for playing with him there. There is also a vintage signed photo of Hendrix himself.
One of Ken’s favorite collectables is an entire collection of papers belonging to singer Billie Holiday. A fan of Billie Holiday for most of his life, Ken had the unique opportunity to purchase all of her papers from one of her last remaining relatives. “I have the largest collection of Billie Holiday in the world. I have her real, stamped death certificate…her contract for Lady Sings the Blues…I actually have that. It’s amazing!” Not only does he have the receipts from the funeral home used for her service (Louis Armstrong, among many others, sent flowers), but he even has her little black book. It is truly incredible to see some of the names handwritten in it, along with phone numbers: Count Basie and Quincy Jones are just two notable names. Ken even has a note written to Holiday’s mother, stating that she hoped she hadn’t forgotten her. His collection is a veritable history of Billie Holiday’s life.
Treasuring his own family as well, although he admits he is somewhat remiss at keeping them as thoroughly documented, he owns a sepia photograph of his teenaged parents on their wedding day. Ken considers his life to be blessed and wants to help those in the community who are facing tough times, so he and a group of close friends started Fidelis Charitable Foundation last year, raising $50,000 at a golf outing; their goal is to provide short-term financial help to those with addiction issues, specifically alcohol and drugs. “To appreciate the light, you have to have experienced the darkness,” says Ken. “I am a very fortunate man!”
STATS
FAVORITE RESTAURANT
McDonagh’s Pub, Keyport
FAVORITE MUSICIAN
Billie Holiday
FAVORITE MOVIE
Casablanca
PET PEEVE
arrogant people
THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
Moses, Jesus, and Abraham Lincoln
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