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?

[djson1]

Steve, I totally agree with you here. I do enjoy the book and it's a good investment for most collectors, but you did point out some of the weaknesses like the "not a target of skilled forgers" commentary...which may imply that the signature can still be mass forged by less skilled forgers. Also, I noticed that the general value of all the signatures seems to have a minimum of $100, which I have to disagree with. Also, by stating in the book that most signatures are a minimum of $100 a pop would still make it attractive for forgers to target.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by 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?

Steve, I'm sitting here writing and there you go taking away my thunder....

J/K.

I will agree with Steve's assessment on Keurajian's book.

[joed25]

Originally Posted by thetruthisoutthere

Steve, I'm sitting here writing and there you go taking away my thunder....

J/K.

I will agree with Steve's assessment on Keurajian's book.

+1. I was not impressed at all with the book.

[Maddog]

I Agree with the above.
I was really looking forward to the book and think I got all caught up in the hype.
I remember talking to Jim Stinson about this and he made a very good comment. If one was to prepare a really comprehensive analysis of all the baseball HOF autographs ; on all the various mediums; covering the players signing spans, you will have a 10 volume reference service that would probably be out of most peoples budget.

What Ron put together is a start, and a helpful one at that, but I will still venture to say if I was buying a certain $$$ autograph I will trust a certain 3-4 dealers over my looking at a black & white print of an autograph

[Wymers Auction]

I received the book early in it's release. I like the explanations in the beginning teaching some of the things to look for in all forgeries. I liked it a lot, but I do not have the experience in autos that most of you have.

[gashouse34]

I also have enjoyed my copy. I more so enjoyed learning about the forgeries of certain player signatures and what to look for. I'm personally not planning on using mine to match up his examples of legit autographs with ones I will be purchasing in the future.

[mighty bombjack]

Very good book that I'm happy to own.