Florida agriculture commissioner has collection of every presidential autograph

TAMPA - "These are the founders of the country," said Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. "It reminds you of the significance of the things we do."

Looking down at everyone who walks into his office is not just the face of every president, but the work of their own hand.

"Most of them were very legible signatures," he said. "You could go and study each one of these presidents in their era and see that what they brought to the table for the United States of America."

Sure, there are recent ones like Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George Bush.

But he even has the first ones are there from George Washington, to John Adams, to Thomas Jefferson to James Madison.

"It reminds us that we are here working for the people," Simpson said. "What you notice about all of them that I notice, and I believe that they're all this way, is you can actually read them."

The collection

Simpson has the three-inch original signatures organized in three frames, each 5' by 4', with 5" by 7" photos or paintings of each president.

He has spent the last decade collecting them from private sellers.

"I got the one with Abraham Lincoln of the Department of Civil War, and then my wife said, what are you doing with all these signatures all over the house?"

He can't know for sure, but he believes he's one of a handful of collectors who have every presidential signature.

Online auction sites list Abraham Lincoln signatures for more than $10,000.

A George Washington signature is often listed for more than $30,000.

Given the volume of documents presidents sign over the course of their lives, and the number of letters they write to private citizens, it's not possible to trace where most of Simpson's signatures come from.

Presidential historian weighs in

Presidential historian Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky says it's all a lesson in how history is preserved.

"The letters and the documents that remain really depend on how popular the president was, how aware of history, his family was, how much effort they went into preserving these documents," said Chervinsky. "And so I do think it is important that we try and preserve the historical record."

She points out that signatures are a window into the president's education level, their personality.

Are they quiet? Are they hectic? Are they bold?

They're also a window into what they're signing.

For instance, the most important presidential signature of all time, the Emancipation Proclamation, was signed slowly and carefully. 

"Just like as we choose carefully what we dress when we go to a job interview or presidents choose carefully what they wear when they go to a state function. A signature is another form of public presentation."

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Honoring the nation

Simpson also says it's critical to note how he displays them.

No matter how well or poorly regarded by historians each one is, how long they served for, or whether he agrees with their politics, they all get the same treatment.

"It's museum quality," he said.

Everyday when he comes to work, he has a reminder that America's story is long, and bigger than one party.

"The pride that we all have as Americans," said Simpson. "Each one of these gentlemen that are on this wall bring a significant value to that."

From Washington to Trump, and everyone in between, they all have their place in American History, as they do on his wall.

What's next:

Like America, it's a changing collection.

"What I think of as a grandpa is that my grandchildren, 50 years from now, will have all of them, all the way, hopefully, up to their point in time."

On his wall, it's not just what's in a name, it's what's in a signature.     

He has two for Grover Cleveland, and is in the process of acquiring a Donald Trump signature to mark his second term.

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