McCartney Times

Tom Fontaine is one of the world’s most respected collectors and historians of popular culture, and the founder of Rare MAE Investments. His collection spans more than half a century and includes museum-quality artifacts from The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and so many others whose work shaped the twentieth century.

He is the true pioneer collector in music and entertainment artifacts! It all began innocently at the early age of five years old in 1963. A gift was given to Tom knowing and understanding the importance of the history by collecting it all. Those instincts, then and now, has led Tom to amass one of the largest, rarest, and valuable collections in the world spanning five decades.

In case you didn’t see the live show, here’s the replay on YouTube:

Almost every imaginable legendary recording artist and band of the 20th century, from The Beatles, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Elton John, Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen to entertainment legends Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and the movies and television have been collected by Tom with many rare and previously unseen historic gems amongst his portfolio.

In the 1980s Tom started branching out into autographs, performance contracts, personally owned and stage clothing, as well as handwritten lyrics. Although he primarily concentrated in music, he also collected movie and television memorabilia as well.

During the last 55 years Tom has extolled the values of research, education, sound judgment, and common sense, including always collecting the provenance and stories accompanied the assets he acquired, including the history or circumstances surrounding the acquisition, event dates, autograph analysis, establishing their authenticity in each case.

Over the years Tom has become one of the most respected collectors in the industry, advising, authenticating and appraising for fellow collectors, dealers, and auction houses. In 2004, he published a study of The Beatles autographs, featured on worldwide websites.

He is the author of

Rare: The Memorabilia Collection of a Lifetime,

The Beatles Looking Back: The Final Trip, and

Sharon Tate: Every Picture Tells Her Story, and his research on Beatles autographs is considered a foundational reference in the field.

Right now, Tom’s remarkable collection is being showcased at Indianapolis International Airport, celebrating the Indiana State Fairgrounds as a historic entertainment venue and honoring the artists and moments that defined generations.

Most importantly, Tom isn’t just a collector. He’s a storyteller, a steward of cultural memory, and someone who believes these artifacts matter because they carry human history with them. And most of all, he is a FAN.

We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Tom Fontaine to Teaflix Tuesday.