Autograph studies, can anyone do them without ever having the exemplars in front of them?

I have seen many autograph studies including the ones I have done myself. Most of the ones I give kudos to are ones from authenticators that I know have actually held the autographs in front of them and drawn a conclusion. There was one done recently from some unknown that did a study on Jimi Hendrix that has only had a couple of Hendrix autographs that he owned. Most of the ones that he used in the study were from ones that were on the internet or catalogs yet he never viewed them in person. A small address book with many signed pages that I authenticated for Heritage Auctions that sold @ Christies awhile ago is one that comes to mind with little thought. How could someone like Grant Van Der Sleet or better known as "The Vanderhoven" make such a lengthy study of autographs he never saw in person? How could he make such claims that he is the end all of Hendrix autographs yet he has rarely seen these rare morsels in front of him. How could he make such claims having never examined the ink, the smell, the texture of the paper? Is he really some God that can make such statements through a computer screen or a catalog? I know I have been called out and sued for supposedly doing the same thing. Is he held to a higher level then a known handwriting expert? Other goofs like Steve Koschall have tried to do the same. Any thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by roger epperson on November 26, 2011 at 7:39pm

"According to the Zepster's latest line of reasoning, he himself, should never be able to describe that part of the male anatomy used for reproduction, having never possessed, or held one of his own."

Really Grant Van Der Street is that how you defend your actions. What are you trying to say with this comment? Are you saying I'm gay? If I was; do you have a problem with that? Was that some kind of anti Semitic slur against homosexuals? Please explain your accusations o'grand one.

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Permalink Reply by roger epperson on November 26, 2011 at 8:05pm

tick tock....the clock is ticking for your answer on the anti semitic slur Grant Van Der Sleet aka as The vanderhoven. I find it very confusing that a person that claims to be such an expert even though he never has viewed in person many of the autographs that he claims to be real would hide under a fake name name on two sites and use www.hidemyass.com to hide his IP address. Grant Van Der sleet it didn't take much effort finding out how you hide yourself. Funny; I have never hid anything about myself; not my name, address or phone number; that's because I have nothing to hide. Grant Van Der Sleet from NoCal, please answer the question that has been put in front of you and the world.

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Permalink Reply by 029r4yc06b4rr on November 26, 2011 at 8:19pm

Dont sweat him Roger, hes just a worthless coward. their a dime a dozen. Plus its pretty common knowledge that people who resort to small genital jokes, or lack of genital jokes, are the ones who are deficient in those areas themselves. What a looser!

Chris

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Permalink Reply by roger epperson on November 26, 2011 at 8:34pm

Chris,

I think you are missing the point. It's not about small genitals "thats not even what I thought he was talking about with his comments" it's about how he calls out pro's like me about authenticity when he has not even seen the autographs he writes about in person like I have and then swings on my coat tail when that autographs are I say are authentic when I have seen them in person and have said so.

Travis, why is the only thing you have to say is "thank you Roger" when I have just called out your buddy on a very anti semitic statement by Grant Van Der Streek aka The vanderhoven.

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Permalink Reply by roger epperson on November 26, 2011 at 8:38pm

If not Grant then why was my sexuality brought up? You are treading on very sacred grounds.

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Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on November 26, 2011 at 9:19pm

I'd say the ability to have the item in person is a definite advantage. I've returned something once that I bought online because I got it and saw just how slowly it was written.

I'd say you're "picked" on partially because you're a big target and partially because you react with threads like this. I've been to that site a few times and I see just how much they beat up on PSA and JSA and people over here generally. I beat up on PSA and JSA some here when I think they've made dumb mistakes, but at the end of the day, they aren't authenticating Elvis Presley signed items in a pen that didn't exist when he was alive and Lon Chaney Jr. signed items in that very same pen on a large scale like GA/GAI does with their rubber stamp. I'd rather get the businesses that don't try out of business as opposed to flawed businesses that do try. There's value in doing authentication that's mostly right and saves the smart but uneducated buyers some money. The only value in just rubber stamping goes to the forgers. I think it's easy to tell which business is which.

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Permalink Reply by roger epperson on November 26, 2011 at 9:27pm

Listen up, you just aren't as smart as an authenticator. You never will be. "Grant Van Der Streek"

strong words from a person that hides his IP address behind www.hidemyass.com

answer the questions I have asked

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Permalink Reply by mike aring on November 27, 2011 at 12:47am

ok roger.. where is he attacking you at? because it's not here... i'm trying to find these gay and anti semetic slurs you are talking about.

what's a van der sleet?

and sadly, brick's right. you are a target because you opinion is valued by the autograph community at large. and while you've probably turned away some of these other people who have sent in fake stuff that you didn't approve of, it's probably from the Koschal family of friends and now you are a target for them... and on the internet, the squeaky wheel gets the grease... or the one who yells the loudest, gets the attention. don't let that crap bother you (and it's for certain from these posts that it does.) karma is a bitch, and there's no way that you aren't square with krishna (sp?) when it comes to doing the right thing.

and i can't believe www.hidemyass.com is REAL!!!!

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on November 27, 2011 at 6:44am

Mike, it is probably on ANL, which pretends to be an educational site like this, but spends most of its time tearing people and the authenticators apart.

Roger, I agree with what these gentlemen are saying. you are a target because you are a top authenticator, but because you react to their childish cowardly attacks, it keeps them coming. I know its difficult but if you take a step back and try to ignore them, a lot if this might go away. For example, the subject of this discussion is authentication, but it is already changed direction.

To answer your question, to be a true authenticator, I believe you definitely need in person exemplars, and depending on the person in question, and if there are several different styles, then you need exemplars to verify all styles.

For amateurs like me, exemplars taken from places like your site, Tracks, Frank Caiazzo, etc serve the purpose, which would be ruling out the really bad ones when I am looking to source a particular signature (for example, I used your site prior to buying a stones album). But I would not use these types of exemplars for anything other than this.

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Permalink Reply by roger epperson on November 27, 2011 at 8:35am

Of course its real and thats how he hides his IP address. I don't make up stuff like that. These kind of people know all of the tricks to try to deceive the legitimate people in the industry.

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Permalink Reply by mike aring on November 27, 2011 at 8:46am

i wasn't saying it like i was questioning you... i said it like "i can't believe it!" like it's stupid. silly, the name says it all, but at the same time, it's not really professional.