Rare signed color portrait of Justice Scalia

Antonin Gregory Scalia, 1936–2016.  Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court, 1986–2016.  Rare 8” x 10” color portrait photograph of Justice Scalia, signed Antonin Scalia.

This is a beautiful print of Scalia’s 2005 official portrait.  It shows him sitting in his black robe, with his bifocals in his hands.  Scalia has boldly signed across his robe in silver paint pen.  He has no inscribed the photo.

A textualist and an originalist—dedicated to adhering to the text of the Constitution and statutes and to the original intent of the people who adopted them—Scalia was an intellectual giant of the originalist movement, one of the most influential and yet polarizing Justices of the 20th Century.  He decried what others called the “living Constitution,” which he insisted was a concept of relatively recent origin that simply reflected what a majority of the Supreme Court thought at any given time that the Constitution should mean.  He favored instead what he called the “enduring Constitution.”  He conceded that the meaning of words can change over time, but his concept of originalism meant applying the constitutional text as the people intended it to mean when they adopted it.  For example, he argued, if the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment had been sufficient to ensure women the right to vote, early 20th Century Americans would not have thought it necessary to enact the 19th Amendment.  With his typical humor, Scalia cogently explained his view of originalism at the 2015 Stein Lecture at the University of Minnesota Law School.  Click here to watch that lecture and Scalia’s answers to questions afterward.

Scalia’s individual signed photographs are rare.  We have sold only one other, which we acquired years ago from a former Supreme Court staff member. Our search of auction sale records found only five.  Scalia is more often found in signed group photos of the Supreme Court.

This is an outstanding piece.  There are two small surface dings near the left edge of the photo, but they do not detract from the overall image.  Were it not for those, we would say that this photo is in extra fine condition.  As it is, under the strict grading standards of The Manuscript Society, it is very fine. 

Given the rarity of Scalia’s signed individual portraits—and the scarcity of his autograph material overall—collectors of Supreme Court autographs should not let this photo pass.  Scalia was notorious for his use of the Autopen to sign autographs, and we have seen even full Court photographs bearing Scalia Autopen signatures.  So obtaining a genuinely signed Scalia portrait photograph is a highlight for any serious Supreme Court collector. 

Unframed.