^Back up an autograph? That seems pointless. The whole value of an autograph is its individuality -- it's proof that you were actually there, that you met the celebrity and interacted with them in some way. If you can just make a copy of an autograph, then it could just as easily be something you downloaded off the web.
I have collected a few limited edition signed & numbered books from writers I've never met, so it's more complicated than just proof you actually met the signer.
For example, I have a copy of
The Making of Star Trek that I picked up from a used bookstore in the early '80's because they only wanted like $2 for it, and upon flipping through it, discovered Gene Roddenberry's signature on the page of lyrics to the
Star Trek theme.
The only time I was in the same room as Roddenberry was at a con in LA in the summer of '77, and that was before I collected autographs (although I do have a copy of
The Price of the Phoenix that I bought at the same con to have Marshak & Culbreath sign, before I knew any better) (it had just come out, and that was the first time I ever saw a copy, so I had to buy it.)
Anyway, even though I didn't obtain the autograph myself, I still treasure that Roddenberry autograph. I also imagine that it might, someday, have some value to another collector.
However, I'm not sure exactly how a I would regard a file with the author's autograph. In that case, I suppose it would only have value if I had obtained it myself -- it would "remind" me that I'd actually met her or him.
Yeah, I think that would work. I'd like to see someone develop an application that would allow me to hand my tablet/iPad/Kindle/Nook/whatever to a favorite author and have him/her "sign" an etext. I think that would be cool.
This reminds me of the time Alan Dean Foster signed 2 brown paper grocery bags full of paperbacks for me. I had only brought a few to a signing (leaving the rest in the car) but when I mentioned that I had them nearby, he told me he'd sign them all if I wanted. Of course I wanted! It's likely I have one of the only signed copies of the novelization to the Eastwood film
Pale Rider. Foster is a class act.
Like I said, I've never understood why people want autographs in the first place so perhaps people who do collect them would find absolutely no value in having an electronic version for just the reasons you listed. And to be fair, even though I don't collect them, I could definitely see the logic in wanting to keep something like an autograph unique and thus more valuable.
