Autograph collecting is signature passion for Chandler woman

An autographed poster of the cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” hangs on the wall of Lynette Ortiz’s Chandler home.

It’s six autographs shy of being complete. And a yellow sticky note marked “8/07” reminds her of the next time she’ll meet one of the actors.

“I’m going to a convention this summer, and Jonathan Frakes is going to be there,” the 51-year-old says as she points to the actor who played Commander William Riker on the show. “Most of my pictures have taken quite a while to get signed, but the more autographs on a picture, the better.”

The cast poster is one of hundreds of autographed pictures that fill nearly every inch of wall space in the spare room and hallways of Ortiz’s home. She has more than 1,200 autographs in her collection — 900 alone from “Star Trek” actors.

“I used to think I had such a boring life, until I started collecting,” she says.

Ortiz doesn’t collect for money or profit; her collection was spurred from her passion for the show. In the past decade, autograph collecting has been transformed from an hobby into a business by the Internet and autograph dealers. Despite that, East Valley collectors like Ortiz are keeping the passion that created the autograph industry alive and flourishing.

THE BUSINESS OF SCRIBBLE

For centuries autograph collecting had been an innocent hobby, says Bob Ewing, owner of Hooper’s Sports Cards in Scottsdale, but about 30 to 40 years ago dealers began buying and selling autographs as investments. Then came the Internet. “The Internet affected this whole business,” Ewing says. “It made it a much less profitable business. Because you simply have to sell stuff close to what it’s priced on the Internet for.”

Autograph dealers began going online or going out of business.

But the proliferation of fraudulent autographs on the Web turned many people off to collecting altogether.

At the same time, many celebrities and sports stars started charging for their autographs.

“They have these sports expos that come around once in a while. They gather about 10 to 20 athletes and former athletes that will sit down and have a day of signing for dealers and fans,” says John Sierra, owner of Grayhawk Memorabilia in Scottsdale. “They charge a fee to go there, then there’s a signing fee. That’s the way it works.”

But conventions and expos give fans more than a way to acquire an autograph. They also give them an opportunity to meet their favorite celebrity and tie meaning to their memento.

PASSIONATE COLLECTOR

Most of Ortiz’s collection is built from travels to “Star Trek” conventions, where actors typically charge between $45 and $185 for their signatures.

She started her autograph collection in 1994, when she attended her first convention.

“I had so much fun,” she says. “It was so different to get to hang out with a bunch of crazy people. And it allowed me to get away from reality for a couple of days.”

Soon she expanded past “Star Trek” and started collecting autographs from professional female golfers, because of her love of playing and watching golf.

For Ortiz, each autograph holds meaning to her and she can easily relate each one to a specific experience in her life.

“I got this one at a convention in Las Vegas in 2001. I flew back on Sept. 10. Just missed it by a day,” she says, showing off a framed autographed picture of William Shatner. “I’m not selling any of mine. They’re too important to me.”