Old Balls and fading signatures?

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Bearfan4

Hello all!

I was wondering if any of you would have any feedback/infoto the following question...i was curious based on the amount of vintage autographed baseballs I have seen, very few have bold signatures and tend to come lighter and lighter with age. Does this mean that eventually, all vintage balls signed in period fountain pen ink will eventually fade and become invisible to the naked eye?? Is todays ink able to hold and survive the tests of time? Any info/feedback is greatly appreciated.

It's also a function of the leather and the ink used. I have a ball from 1973 where all signatures on one panel have disappeared, but all on the other are as fresh as the day they were signed. The ones that disappeared, had done so for the most part, within ten years. I always figured it was some chemical in the leather that was different on one of the panels - it was not a high quality ball.

I have another ball from 1972 that I got signed by the Giants with one pen, then a month later got the Phillies to sign it with a different pen. All of the Giants sigs are dark but feathery now, while the Phillies are fresh as the day I got them.