Autograph

An autograph is the manuscript of a work (or any text or signature) written in the author's own hand. The autograph has special value as a primary source: it reflects the authorial will and the creative process and makes it possible to trace the stages of work on the text (drafts, corrections, variants). In textology one distinguishes the draft autograph (with numerous corrections), the fair-copy autograph (clean, final), and the authorized copy (a transcript checked and corrected by the author). Autographs are the basis for establishing the canonical text of a work and for studying its creative history. The study of authorial manuscripts is the province of genetic criticism. The autographs of outstanding Ukrainian writers — Taras Shevchenko (the manuscript 'boot-top' booklets, albums), Ivan Franko, Lesia Ukrainka — are preserved in archives and manuscript collections (notably at the Shevchenko Institute of Literature) and are a national cultural treasure. The collecting of autographs is called philography.