WESTPORT, Conn. (AP) – John Reznikoff reaches into a large bank vault and gently pulls out a little worn sack. Inside is a gold case holding perhaps the closest link to one of America’s darkest hours.

“This is one of my prized possessions: Lincoln’s hair,” Reznikoff says. “This is the lock that cleared the wound on the night of the assassination.”

Reznikoff is listed by Guinness World Records as having the largest collection of hair from historical figures and celebrities. His collection includes hair documented to be from Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Napoleon, Charles Dickens, Alexander Hamilton and John F. Kennedy.

He recently became ensnared in a controversy when he bought some of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s hair from his barber.

The former astronaut has threatened legal action if the hair isn’t returned or a donation of $3,000 isn’t made to a charity of Armstrong’s choice.

Reznikoff said he has no plans to return the hair, but has offered to make a donation.

The Westport collector, who sells some items and holds onto others, has a hankering for much more than famous locks. He also owns the typewriter Ernest Hemingway used to write his last book, the last car Kennedy got out of alive and, most recently, some of Monroe’s bras.

“This is the most famous cleavage in history,” Reznikoff says. “I’m certain a lot of people would be interested.”

The 45-year-old Wilton resident looks for the iconic, ranging from Jimi Hendrix’ guitar to Babe Ruth’s bat. He estimates he has traded $100 million worth of items over the years.

“My job really truly is I’m a treasure hunter,” Reznikoff says. “It’s the thrill of the hunt. After I bought something, it’s quite anticlimactic. I get a little depressed.”

Fueled by celebrity auctions, Reznikoff’s collection reflects a growing interest in items tied to the famous, experts say.

“It’s become sort of a whole collecting area, particularly in the last decade,” said Larry Krug, who runs the Association of Collecting Clubs.

Harry Rinker, author of the book “How to Think Like a Collector,” questions the value of celebrity memorabilia.

“They hype up the most trivial and mundane stuff and try to put a dollar value on it,” Rinker said. “It’s the P.T. Barnum of my business. Who cares about the last car Kennedy stepped out of.”

Reznikoff acknowledged there is often a leap of faith involved in buying historical items, but said he limits his purchases of hair and other items to those that are well documented as authentic.

“One man’s treasure is another’s trash,” Reznikoff says. “The ultimate determination of the value of any collectible is what a collector will pay for it.”

Reznikoff’s eyes widen as he pulls out his treasures: Robert F. Kennedy’s briefcase, a black velvet dress that belonged to Jacqueline Kennedy, and blue jeans worn by beatnik writer Jack Kerouac.

“This is dynamite,” he says, pulling out a notebook used by President Nixon’s aide, John Ehrlichman, during the Watergate hearings.

The son of a holocaust survivor, Reznikoff says he had a natural fascination with history.

It was nurtured early when his mother had him write to President Lyndon B. Johnson when he was 4.

“I asked him if he knew Smokey the Bear,” Reznikoff says. “I got a letter back on White House stationery.”

By 8, Reznikoff was using his allowance to buy stamps at trade shows and sell them for a profit to dealers at the same shows. “I’d arbitrage,” he says.

After dropping out of Fordham College, he started his business, University Archives, and branched into autographs and relics.

His move into hair began when he bought a collection from a museum near Baltimore. Reznikoff acknowledges that collecting hair can be viewed as a bit creepy, but says it’s established practice for museums and moms who save their children’s locks.

With advances in DNA science in recent years, Reznikoff believes his collection could someday unlock some of history’s mysteries.

Experts tested a strand from his collection of Napoleon’s hair for evidence that the French leader had been poisoned.

The results were inconclusive.

They also unsuccessfully tested Kennedy’s hair while investigating a claim that he fathered a child out of wedlock, Reznikoff said.

“I feel I’m the custodian of a unique card catalogue of DNA of the most famous people in the world, which is unduplicatable, save exhumation,” Reznikoff says.

As a collector, Reznikoff not only looks to the past but tries to predict what will have value in the future. He recently bought an e-mail President Clinton sent to astronaut John Glenn after Glenn returned to space.

“I believe every person on this earth has a hero,” Reznikoff says. “My job is to connect them to their hero, whether it be a car, a letter written by them, their top hat or a pen used by them.”

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On the Net:

www.universityarchives.com

AP-ES-06-12-05 1505EDT