autograph restoration question

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Posted By: leon

A friend of mine, who works at the art gallery that framed my Horner Composite, sent a gentleman my way for advice on restoring some autographs. I am not an autograph expert but said I thought darkening the signatures would decrease their value substantially. I told him I thought that touching up a photo or check probably wouldn't be too bad depending on what is done. I also told him I would ask some friends of mine on a chat board that I frequent. So here is the unabridged question. ...I did mention that getting them authenticated would be imperative if he ever wanted to sell them....


"Thanks for your time and introduction to the perils of autograph restoration. Apparently theres more to it than the ordinary Joe would think. I now understand that the process ordinarily used to restore photos doesnt necessarily bring along improvement to the autograph. Actually, it probably works against it. Ill put the Windex and the Sharpie back in the drawer.

What I have is not of any particular value. I have a picture of some little leaguer type kid (circa 1930s) autographed by Honus Wagner. Doesnt rise to the level of a T-206 card but it is nicely matted and framed along with a small print of Honus and sometimes impresses those that are easily impressed. Ditto for a Ty Cobb signed check, also framed and matted with a picture of Ty. Im not a hardcore collector and am not really trying to maximize value as much as I am simply trying to preserve the aesthetic of the autographs. That being said, I dont want to destroy value either, to extent any exists. I cant imagine theres a whole lot there so the aesthetic maybe carries a bit more weight. These are just trinket conversation pieces.

I also have a signed pics by Feller, Spahn, Mantle, Gehrig, Gibson, DiMaggio, Musial, Dean which are all in great shape. The two exceptions above really stand out as having faded (signatures) hence my interest in bringing them back if can be done in some relatively simple low tech fashion.

Any additional insight would be greatly appreciated."