KING ZOG’S AUTOGRAPH

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 June 1936, Page 12

KING ZOG’S AUTOGRAPH

HUNT FOR SIGNATURES. Some interesting experiences of an autograph-hunter are given in the “Windsor Magazine” by Michael Rait. chevitch, who claims to hold in two precious volumes the signatures of 13 kings, 10 presidents, most living Prime Ministers in the world, and 30,000 other famous people. “Never,” he says, "was 'the simple humanity of a king more vividly shown than in my meeting with King Zog, of Albania, who happens to be interested in autographs. King Zog examined my collection with expert attention and turned again and again to the signature of President von Hindenburg.

“ ‘But what a signature,’ said the king, indicating the bold, thick strokes, the dead straight alignment, and th© picturesque flourish, ‘Did the President use a special pen?’ “ ‘He used it quill pen, your majesty,’ 1 answered, pleased to find a monarch who shared my admiration for th© most remarkable example of caligraphy in my album, otherwise ha could not get those thick flourishes.’ “ ‘Then,’ declared King Zog, ‘I must sign with a quill pen.’ He summoned a servant, who said there was not such a thing in the palace.

“King Zog was at firdt amused; then he became impatient. “ ‘I must have a quill pen,’ he insisted, waving aside the fountain pen ( proffered. “ ‘Leave your album with me,’, he said. ‘I want to show _ them to my family.’ Naturally 1 agreed, and for the first time in 20 years my. autograph albums were out' of my possession for two days. The real reason for the King’s request was, as I suspected, that ho had made up his mind to sign with a quill pen or not at all. and a court official told me later that a special quill pen was sent by aeroplane from Rome to King Zog’s palace. “Afer all this trouble, the quill pen scarcely suited the King, and the scrawled ‘Zog’ ?n my album offers little of the Hindenburg interest to students of caligraphy. The 80-year-od field-marshal signed as he would <u-' rect a battle, with a positively martial twirl of the pen, held firmly in his short, thick fingers.”