Friday, June 10, 2016

Or Maybe You Have

The Most Valuable Signature on the Declaration of Independence Belongs To Someone You've Never Heard of 

9 comments:

Deb said...

Before I clicked on the link, I knew it would be Button Gwynett. Firstly, I lived in Georgia for over a decade (including high school) and Gwynett is a regular feature in history classes, field trips, etc. There's also a Gwynett county in Georgia, not to mention a plethora of Gwynett roads, avenues, parks, and shopping centers. Secondly, while in Georgia last week to celebrate my parents' 60th anniversary, we took a day trip to Savannah and took a carriage ride through the historical area--and our guide mentioned the value of the Gwynett signature.

So there!

Art Scott said...

I seem to remember a mystery short story where a Button Gwynett autograph was the MacGuffin. Probably ran in EQMM. That's how I knew it would be B.G. Anybody out there recall the story?

Jeff Meyerson said...

Who hasn't heard of Button Gwinnett these days?

Unknown said...

Art, I don't remember the name of the story or the author, but I must have read it. I knew it was Button Gwynett, too.

Rick Robinson said...

Button, button, who's got the... Sorry, couldn't resist.

Howard said...

Button Gwinett was a minor part of a Lawrence Block novel, "The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons," so I was able to yell out his name before clicking on the link. Much to the consternation of my lovely wife.

Unknown said...

Okay, that might be where I read about Gwinett.

Patrick Murtha said...

I knew this, too. Of course, I'm a history teacher. But Gwinett is so famous for not being famous that he's actually famous.

SteveHL said...

Art, the story is "The Impossible Theft" by John F. Suter. As you thought, it was originally in EQMM IN 1964. It also appears in the MWA 1981 anthology, All But Impossible!, edited by Ed Hoch.