Dan Bonnette

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After 35 years as a Partner/CPA in large national CPA firms, I decided it was time to retire. After retirement, however, I quickly realized I needed to do something to keep myself busy...either that or commit myself to an insane asylum! I have been collecting autographs since I was 8 years old. As I thought about it, I realized there was no better way than to turn my lifelong passion into a business. Shortly thereafter, Splendid Splinter Autographs was born. It has been a lot of work trying to catalog 50 years of collecting, building a website, setting up an eBay store and buying up lots of new inventory...but it has been worth every second of it! It's nice to wake up every day and LOVE what you are doing! My collection is wide ranging and includes US Presidents, astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, sports legends, music legends and Hollywood stars. A little tidbit about the business name. Splendid Splinter was the nickname for Ted Williams, Hall of Fame player for the Boston Red Sox. When I was 8 years old, I had the chance to meet Mr. Williams at the Boston Hunting and Fishing Expo. A renowned fisherman and ALSO a member of the Fishing Hall of Fame (yes, there is one), he was giving a fly fishing demo at the Expo. When he was done, I saw him back stage, behind the curtain and, at 8 years old, I just walked right back there to see him. Ted could not have been nicer. After that, I was hooked! The photo above is my first autograph obtained that day! Still have it! Our inventory is based on a lifetime of passions. I built it as a collector, which I think makes us a little unique. A lot of thought has gone into so many items in our store. Hope you will pay us a visit and take a look.