tom fontaine

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

Almost every imaginable legendary recording artist and band of the 20th century are in his collection , from The Beatles, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Doors, The Beach Boys ,Johnny Cash, Elton John, Michael Jackson, KISS, The Monkees, Madonna, to current artists as Taylor Swift, Lady Ga Ga, and John Mayer. His collection also ranges from ABBA to Zappa. Entertainment legends include Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Natalie Wood, Jayne Mansfield, and the movies from Gone With The Wind to Grease and television from Star Trek to Married With Children have been collected by Tom with many rare and previously unseen historic artifacts 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 on music, he also collected movie and television memorabilia as mentioned above..

Over the last 60 + years, even at an early age, Tom emphasized the importance of research, education, sound judgment, and common sense. He has consistently collected the provenance and stories accompanying the assets he acquired, including the history or circumstances surrounding the acquisition, event dates, autograph analysis, and established 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. www.autographworld.com/beatles/sigstudy1.asp

Tom has also been featured on a variety of media channels over the decades, from newspapers and magazines to radio and TV, including appearances on CNN, PBS, and the BBC in London, among others.

Tom is also a co-founder of the Indiana Music History Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, researching, archiving, and displaying Indiana’s rich entertainment history in music, film, and broadcasting. Something he is very proud to be a part of from his home state.

Tom has published four books. His book, “Rare, The Memorabilia Collection of a Lifetime, released in 2017 represents his life’s work, encompassing personal stories, photographs, and events that occurred over the last fifty-plus years, from childhood to adulthood. His second publication, “The Beatles and Their Solo Years”, released a year later was the sneak preview/sampling leading to his 3rd book released in 2025 titled “The Beatles: Looking Back, The Final Trip” with a forward by Chris O’Dell and filmmaker Simon Weitzman and finally his most inspired and special book for Tom “Sharon Tate: Every Picture Tells Her Story” (A celebration of her Life, Family, and Career through his personal stories and his one-of-a-kind collection) also released in 2025. Tom is planning on doing more books in the future.

Tom’s collection featuring the history of The Indiana State Fair is currently on display at the Indianapolis International Airport at The Kind Gallery in Concourse A. It will be their on display until July 2026. His books are on sale at the Ink bookstore.

Tom six decade in with his collection is now ready for others to shepherd and preserve his collections featuring one of the rarest and most important music artifacts from the 20th and 21st centuries, along with many of the world’s most valuable memorabilia assets from Hollywood and beyond which lead him to create his company Rare Mae (Music and Entertainment) Investments LLC.