Help with Big Train and Big Six
 

Hey Guys..

I would like educated opinions on these Autographs.

The Mathewson is a page from one of his books, maybe "Pitching in a Pinch", and there is a note on the back that it was given to the recipient in February, 1914.

The Johnson is about a 3x4 cut and looks good as far as letter formation, but the thing that looks off to me is how far the W is from the "alter" in the first name.

What are your thoughts on these two? Thanks in advance!

Anyone?

I have no opinion on authenticity but will say that the Mathewson signature has a bleed on it and you tend to see that type of bleeding into the paper when new ink is applied to old paper.

IMO, both are genuine.

The Mathewson signature looks a lot like the signature used in his book Won In The Ninth...

I agree and I believe some of those signatures have authenticity issues.

Thanks, guys.....

I appreciate the comments relative to the Mathewson signature. They are very helpful. All other comments either way are welcome.

Any opinions on the Johnson signature?

Strictly my opinion, but I don't like the look of the paper, strangely enough, has that yellowing and uniformly distressed look of some of the fake Negro League stuff around. Have no clue on the autographs themselves, that's a job for the pros. They look great, but that doesn't mean anything in fact too good, maybe. I agree about the W being so far from the rest of the Walter, don't think I've ever seen that much separation before.

Yes, Hank
That was my concern. The lettering looked good, but the spacing between the W and the rest of the first name doesn't look right. Seems to me that if this was a good forger doing this, would he leave something so obvious as this?

I just checked the only full WaJo autograph I have, a 20th anniversary day letter from 1927 bought in the last REA auction, and the separation is almost as great. Not quite as much space, but very close. (For some reason, that auction is not included yet with their past auctions, so I can't attach a picture.) So who knows? But I would never buy or sell either your WaJo or Matty examples without getting Keating, Stinson, Simon, or one of the other guys I trust to pass on it first.

I'm no expert by far. But I've owned 2 WaJo's. And he made a very weird/distinctive "s" in Johnson. And it's hard to duplicate. And this "s" is spot on. It looks good to me. And again, the Matty I believe is a "harmless" secretarial; the same one used to sign his book: Won In The Ninth.

Hello Rock, not really up on the Christy M. except I`d love to have one but thought I`d post my Johnson note for you to help further comparison. Best of luck. If the "54" can`t help, nobody can.
https://live.staticflickr.com/4356/3...2c3f1548_c.jpg980AAED2-6A3D-4ABF-A23B-162D0D441ABD by Hugh Murphy, on Flickr

Fabulous content!

I concur with Brendan on the Matty.

Once again, thanks guys. You are the best.

I concur that Matty is probably the secretarial that also was signed the Won in the Ninth bookplates. Very disappointing, but I really wanted to know if it was good. Very encouraged about the Walter Johnson and may send it for slabbing.

I’ve got a couple Walter Johnson’s, and a few others I’ve sold, and they are comparable to the example shown here. I’d be comfortable on the WaJo, but not so much on the CM. Mathewson looks identical to the Won In The Ninth versions floating around.