Ruth Autographed Baseball
 

Hello all. Was directed here by a friend. Please forgive any ignorance or naivety. This recently came into my possession - should be with me very soon. These are the only pics I have at the moment. Any thoughts on the auto? The ball? Next steps - who should I have authenticate if legit - JSA? Many thanks for your help and time!

Looks like there's a Gehrig signature on there too.

No comments on authenticity of either.

Looks like I posted in the wrong section. Tried to delete. Apologies folks!

Good eye. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I assumed it was a commissioners signature or something.

Both sigs look slow and deliberate to me.

The Ruth is 100% NOT slow and deliberate. It's a shellacked early 1930's signature. Most likely 1930-33 give or take a year or so.

Can't thank you all enough for your time and thoughts. Truly appreciated!

I like it, too. I’m not a big fan of the “expert” autograph authenticators, but I think JSA is kind of the industry standard for signatures.

I see nothing wrong with either signature.

To the OP - if you’re not a collector and those signatures get the thumbs up from JSA, you might want to consign your ball to an auction house. Those sigs aren’t the strongest, but a Babe and Lou ball should bring decent money, even in lesser condition.

Looks like a Tamazawa baseball from the 1934 tour of Japan.

Could totally be wrong but it looks like one of the replica balls that are always sold on ebay.

So i originally thought that too, because it's so hard to tell now without the ball in hand. But the shellack looks legit and you can see pieces of the leather (where the stitches are) starting to erode.

It does indeed look a lot like those replica balls, but I doubt they would use a Tamazawa Ball to create one of those. Could be wrong, but I'd bet it's an authentic shellacked example.

Really appreciate all the thoughts and advice.

The ball is now in hand. More pics soon. The lighting is terrible at this hour.

A couple in better light.