Looking for Recommendations on Autograph Authentication Resources

[steve B]

Learning about the authors and a few other things also helps.

One author I like signed a LOT. Some fans joke that the rarest of his books are unsigned first editions. (Terry Pratchett) Of course, with a rather rabid following, finding ones that people are letting go of is not as easy.


Then there are the odd things. Like I bought a couple boxes of books to resell and maybe keep a couple. (Nothing great, but pre-Amazon and the whole box was $5 for maybe 30 books. ) I thought I'd found a good one when I saw a Barbara Bush book that was signed.
Of course it was autopenned, and in enough quantity that the "Signed edition" had its own ISBN.

[Jobu]

Thank you for all of the responses, much appreciated.

I am always a bit scared of autographs, so I serve as a good skeptic/wet blanket for him as I get nervous about most signatures.

Do you guys know of a book on this subject? The diligence, working with trusted people, researching other examples, etc is all great advice, but I am wondering if there is a respected book along the lines of "Teach yourself how to authenticate autographs." Obviously one wouldn't come out of reading such a book as an expert, but if there were sections on ink flow, ink types, shakiness, letter shapes and slant, etc it might be useful to get a better sense of what to look for.

[Fred]

Why not try to find a Christy Mathewson "Won in the Ninth" signed edition. It would even be authenticated by JSA. Sorry, just another jab at the hobby and auto authentication.

Seriously, I wouldn't trust many authenticators. Even the really reputable services are going to miss a few. Anymore, certs, LOAs, etc are useless unless there is some traceable provenance.

[Duluth Eskimo]

For starters:

Baseball Hall of Fame Autographs: A Reference Guide
Book by Ron Keurajian

Check prior auction databases for signed contracts and other legal documents. You will develop an eye for it.

Fred obviously does not collect or have time for those who do collect autographs. Anything not signed in front of you is obviously some sort of a gamble. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

[Wrightfan85]

Originally Posted by Duluth Eskimo

For starters:

Baseball Hall of Fame Autographs: A Reference Guide
Book by Ron Keurajian

Can't recommend this enough. I just bought the new 2nd edition of Ron's book and it blows his amazing 1st edition out of the water. Great resource if you're neurotic about autographs like I am.