Quote:
Originally Posted by barrysloate
I've never collected autographs, and never had much of an interest in them. But I do read most of the autograph threads on this board. I imagine people will continue collecting autographs, and would guess that those collectors will enjoy what they are doing. That said, I've never seen a more depressing hobby or state of affairs than what transpires on Net54.
The amount of infighting among collectors and dealers is a little hard to believe. It seems like you guys really don't like each other. And the number of collectors who get ripped off buying bad stuff is truly alarming. This end of the hobby has a simply dreadful image. It looks like the place all the scammers and con men go to make a living.
If you want to see a healthy future, something has to be done. If it reaches the point where nobody can agree on whether or not a Babe Ruth signature is good or bad, then I would say the future does not look all that bright. The number of new collectors entering will grow smaller.
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As someone who does not really collect autographs, I tend to agree with what Barry has stated. I have strayed from the memorabilia threads recently and have already voiced my opinion on the amount of infighting, personal attacks and typical lack of real evidence (a few exceptions) that have characterized most of the latest Ruth-related threads. This contrasts with the much more civil and educational content of many of the threads (mostly vintage photos) that I previously participated in.
Whereas I, and I assume many of you, would love to have an authentic Ruth autograph in my/your collection, that will simply never be the case for me because I would never be certain it was authentic. I take Jim's warning concerning the abilities of the master forgers very seriously.
It seems to me that the only way to avoid the subjectiveness and human error associated with the determination of authenticity both for collectors and TPG companies (here I'm primarily talking about ball players that are deceased and played in the early decades of the 1900's) is some type of "scientific" analysis.
For example, with all of the tools now available it would seem to me that testing for the relative age (degradation) of the item signed (paper, photo, ball) and comparison with similar properties of the writing medium (ink) should be able to unequivocally determine if the auto was put down much later than the item signed. I would assume that forensic departments in the FBI/CIA may already have and applied this type of technology - so it may already be available.
Whatever that technology is/ will be, the main point is that some reliable method of quantitatively testing (non-invasive) the appropriate parameters seems to me the only way that one can avoid the totally subjective nature and shortcomings inherent in all authentication paradigms.