Ron Keurajian's HOF Autograph book

[Mr. Zipper]

Ok... I like the book and have it, but let me play devils advocate...



It is a good reference and I particularly like the narrative. The section before the signature examples is quite enjoyable and I learned from it.

That said, how can anyone seriously use it to "authenticate?" Many of the players have one or two examples. How can it be an effective authentication tool based on one or two examples? Of course anything but the most grossly malformed obvious fake is going to look close to one or two examples. The most common Killebrew fakes are nearly indistinguishable from the one small example featured in the book.

In a number of sections, common secretarials or fake styles are discussed but not pictured. Not having a Mays wife signed or DiMaggio sister signed, for example, are big misses. The cookie cutter Mantle fakes we see every day, when viewed as a singular example, are going to look "ok." So, common fake styles would have been a welcome addition.

Additionally, the vast majority of sections feature language such as, "he is not the target of skilled forgers." This is misleading and dangerous in my opinion. Just what does he consider a skilled forger? The layperson would walk away from this book thinking only the big ones like Ruth, Cobb, etc. are skillfully forged and every other fake should be obvious.

I understand it's probably impossible to feature a detailed study for each player. Big ones like Ruth and Cobb are handled beautifully. Mr. Keurajian is to be complimented and it is excellent overall.

But, it leaves me scratching my head a bit when people say they use it to buy autographs. As an example, is there anyone in the world that would look at the 3 grainy examples in the Tony Lazzeri section and then go out a buy a Lazzeri in confidence based on the book alone?