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I have a picture of Babe Ruth holding my grandfather (he was three or four at the time) inside  Fenway Park in Boston. The photo is autographed by Ruth and dated April 18th, 1928. Ruth is wearing his Yankees uniform. 

The thing I don't understand is how the picture was taken and then autographed. I asked my mother and she said she believed my grandfather attended a game and had the picture taken and then returned to another game and had it signed. 

This photo has been in my mother's possession for at least forty years so I have no reason to believe it is a fake signature. 

She gave it to me a few years ago to do with it what I want. I am interested in selling it but have no idea how I should go about the process. I apologize if this is a very novice question for this forum but I did not know where else to go for advice. 

How would you recommend I go about selling this? I assume I need to have it authenticated first, but I have read a lot about the issues in authentication  industry. 

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There are a lot of people who seem to know Ruth's signature quite well on this forum.  They might be able to give you some insight if you post a photo of the autograph.

Rich and William, 

Thanks for the responses. I will try to take a good photo of the picture this weekend. The signature is not super sharp so I'm not sure how well it will come out in a photo but I will do my best to get as a clean a shot as possible. 

First let me say this please don't take this wrong but being in one's possession for 40 years don't make it real. It could have been mailed to Ruth and signed by someone else. With that said I cant wait to see yours and hope its real as there is a good chance it is. 

Rock G III, I didn't take what you said the wrong way but I simply said I had no reason to believe it is fake since it has been in my family for a very long time. But I admit, I was not there in 1928 so I have no idea who signed it. Honestly, I am really interested to know if it is real as I would like to sell it. But if it turns out it is not, I could care less. I don't have any attachment to it. 

The story my Mom told me was that my grandfather went to a Red Sox vs Yankees game on April 18th, 1928, (this is the date written on the photo with the inscription to my grandfather) and had the picture taken. His father (my great-grandfather) then returned to another game when the Sox were playing the Yankees and had the photo signed by Ruth with the April 18, 1928 date (as this was my grandfather's birthday date). 

Hopefully I can take a good picture so that those on the board can have a look at it. 

looking forward to seeing pic!

Me too

Sorry for the delay. I am uploading three pictures. A close-up of the signature, a close-up of the signature in which I altered the color to bring out the signature, and a  full-sized photo.

Attachments: No photo uploads here

This Ruth looks like the real deal

Great story, I wouldn't sell it unless you really needed to. 

Mike Kam, at first glance, it does look like a great story, However, my mother inherited this piece from her father who abandoned my grandmother, mother, and her sisters at an early age. So, I really do not have any connection to it. I am a sports fan, but have no real attachment to memorabilia. Maybe this was too much information, but I just didn't want people thinking I was some cold-hearted grandson looking to sell something handed down through his family. 

I don't "need" to sell it for financial reasons but I have no idea how this piece of memorabilia will maintain value over the years (too be honest, I don't even know what it current value is). I wonder if  it would be better selling it and using the funds to accrue another asset. 

Sorry to hear you don't have a closer connection to your grandfather. Under different circumstances, this could be a priceless family heirloom.

I agree. If it were my grandfather on my father's side it would be a different story. However, because it isn't, it is hard to have connection to it other than its monetary value. 

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