Just a Theoretical Question

[JollyElm]

(Let me preface this by saying I'm not looking for opinions on an actual item, I only believe this to be an interesting question...)

If someone uses a typewriter and types out their name, would that be considered a legitimate autograph?? I mean, the person used their own hands/fingers to put their name down on paper.

[redalpha7]

Darren

Zero percent is my view

T

[Steve D]

No.

How would you prove the person typed their own name, as opposed to someone else typing the name.

Also, taking it a bit further, what about autopens. What if someone used an autopen to "write" their own signature.

I say no to both. To be considered an authentic signature or autograph, the person must actually hand-write their own name on the item.

Causing a machine or other artificial device to write the signature, does not count.

Steve

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

(Let me preface this by saying I'm not looking for opinions on an actual item, I only believe this to be an interesting question...)

If someone uses a typewriter and types out their name, would that be considered a legitimate autograph?? I mean, the person used their own hands/fingers to put their name down on paper.

I would say it depends on the auction house/seller selling it. There are some out there that would argue it is real, rare, and worth large amounts of cash.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Steve D

No.
How would you prove the person typed their own name, as opposed to someone else typing the name.

I am speaking literally. The person DID type their name. There is no question of 'authenticity.'

Of course I concede that the obvious answer to my original question is no, but since it is a person putting their name to paper, it certainly makes the scenario interesting. Say, for instance, Reggie Jackson is at a signing, you hand him a picture to sign and he loads it into a typewriter and taps out his name on it...is that an autograph??

[David Atkatz]

Hell... I don't even like carbon copy signatures. And you can certainly argue that they are "real" autographs.

[Bigdaddy]

Suppose you sign a document electronically - with a stylus or your finger.

What happens to the real autograph you just signed???

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Suppose you sign a document electronically - with a stylus or your finger.

What happens to the real autograph you just signed???

Now that is really interesting. Consider an iPad Pro, running some Notes app, and an Apple Pencil. You sign your name with the pencil on the screen. One could argue, I suppose, that the signature that appears as you sign your name is a real autograph. But now you save the document. And duplicate it. There are now two identical files. But only the original is the real autograph. The files differ only in their time stamps--the earlier file is the original. But given one of those electronic files, one cannot ever tell whether it is the original, or the two-hundredth copy.
I'll stick to collecting fountain pen autographic material.

[drcy]

It would be their own typewriting. Though experts can identify which typewriter was used to type a document.

[mcgwirecom]

MLB and a company called Egraphs did something similar a few years ago. They offered a personalized "signed" photo with a sound clip included of certain players that participated. You could get the player to say a short clip that was supposed to be added to the 'signed" picture frame. I understood going in that the signature would just be a facsimile, but it would be personalized and the sound clip of the player would also be added. Since I was collecting all of Jim Thome's HR tickets I wanted to get him to say/write something about it. So this is what I got back. the only problem I had with it was that the sound clip was not included ON the frame, but emailed to you in a file! They led us to believe that it would be on the item in some way. So I bought a cheap record-able sound chip (like they have in those birthday cards that play music) and recorded the sound clip and added it to the frame myself. It didn't record very loud but it is on the frame now. I wrote to the company explaining how I thought I was misled about the sound bite and to their credit they did refund my money.