Famous classmate? Your yearbook could be an asset

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - If one of your school or university colleagues ended up famous or rich, you could have a hidden asset -- your old yearbook -- especially if your celebrity classmate signed it.

AbeBooks.com, an online seller of used, rare and out-of-print books, has found collectors are paying increasing amounts for their favorite star's yearbook with the annuals from schools and universities always limited editions and out-of-print, so rare.

"A yearbook is something special in that not everyone can get their hands on one, making them a valuable edition for any collection," Scott Laming from AbeBooks told Reuters.

"The highest prices are attributed to celebrities who have made a lasting contribution in their field and whose yearbooks contain the greatest personal connection."

Laming said the Internet had sparked the growth of this market although only a fraction of student yearbooks ever make it to the collectors market. Genealogists and history buffs are the biggest collectors.

"Annuals are also popular because it gives collectors a glimpse into the celebrity's past, from before they were stars," he said.

Laming said the most expensive yearbook sold that he knew of so far was Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner's 1921 yearbook from the University of Mississippi which sold for $4,500.

This book contained one of Faulkner's earliest published poems, "Nocturne," as well as photos and lists of clubs he belonged to.

But a 1942 University High School "Chieftain" yearbook featuring 10th grader Norma Baker who transformed into Hollywood bombshell Marilyn Monroe was currently up for offer at $4,500. This was believed to be the only yearbook with her photo with Baker dropping out of school soon afterwards, aged 16, to marry Jimmy Dougherty.