Autograph collectors have a uniform language with an accompanying set of autograph collecting abbreviations that are in common usage.  Type of item, physical condition, and other associated features such as date and provenance, are important factors that professional use to assess the validity and value of an autographed item.

It is helpful for serious collectors of autographed material to be familiar with autograph collecting abbreviations used in the profession.  Auction catalogs and brochures distributed by autograph dealers, often use professionally accepted abbreviations to describe their items.  Additionally, an abbreviation that is used to describe an autographed item can have legal ramifications for a buyer and seller.

Some of the most commonly used abbreviations used to describe an autographed item are listed below.

ABBREVIATIONS

ADS: Autographed document signed.

ALS: Autographed letter signed.

AMuDS: Autographed musical document signed in hand of composer.

ANS: Autographed note signed.

AQS: Autographed quotation signed.

CE: Check endorsed by the drawer.

CS: Check signed by the payee.

DS: Document signed.

APN: Autographed promissory note.

APS: Photograph that is autographed.

IPS: Inscribed photograph signed.

LS: Letter that is signed.

MuDS: Musical document signed either in hand of composer or another person.

n.p.: No place.

n.y.: No year.

p.: Page.

PN: Promissory note.

Pp: Pages

PS: Photograph that is signed generally, but not always, by the hand of the subject in a photograph.

SB: Signed book.

TLS: Typed letter signed.

TQS: Typed quotation signed.

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