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Real Babe Ruth?

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Permalink Reply by Woody2Shoes on October 30, 2019 at 12:50am

They always miss something, no matter how minute. The best forger in the world is still human. A forger would have to have spent a lifetime writing Babe Ruth and nailed every slightest nuance, even down to the twisting angles of the pen along the entire trajectory of the lines to produce the light and dark shading of the track, the thickening and thinning, the feathering of the track at specific points based on pressure all while simultaneously nailing every letter, every space, the t, the end, the e to R invisible link, the proportions, the angles, the baseline, etc., etc., etc... This is a real Ruth signature. If not, only a machine or stamp, or created as a replica can duplicate the perfection exhibited here, there is simply far too much constant control of each and every element of a Ruth track for human duplication. Neurosurgeons don't have this level of control. The previously "best" Ruth forgeries are in the little league compared to this. It's either a hand signed Ruth or it's been replicated from a real one, of that I'm sure. You'll see.

At the very least, then we'll know if we have anyone on board who knows anything about Ruth, right? lol

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Permalink Reply by ITguy1984 on October 30, 2019 at 4:15am

Woody is all in. I love it

i can’t wait to examine it tomorrow.

its either going to be the biggest let down ever. Or it’s going to my biggest hit that I will ever make in memorabilia collecting

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Permalink Reply by Woody2Shoes on October 30, 2019 at 3:43pm

Don't sell your skills short. You saw something here that others didn't and you took the shot. It was a great call on your part. I don't normally search for Ruths. I've got them, I'm not in the market for one. If I was, and saw this for anything under $2000, I would have grabbed it. That means you can make it happen again because my belief is that you didn't simply get lucky. You made your own luck with a great eye for this. And you fished it out of a sea rife with fraud and forgeries. I'm impressed, and I don't get impressed easily.

Permalink Reply by ITguy1984 on October 30, 2019 at 11:50am

So today, I was able to track down some information regarding this Ruth..

My seller obtained it from a Russo and Steele auction in Monterey CA in August of 2017. He claims he paid $950 for the item. Russo and Steele primarily sell exotic and classic (expensive) cars at auction. Often times through my research I have found that they will auction off around 30 items of prominent memorabilia before they start auctioning off the vehicles. Which included in these auctions are the likes of the Beatles, this Babe Ruth, Lou Gherig, and even Marilyn Monroe's worn bra.. LOL.... This is kind of a warm up act before the cars... So you have car collectors buying and bidding on the items. Kind of the wrong audience.

I was able to find through additional research that these items are bought in advance of the auction at cost or close to retail cost of the memorabilia. And then offered at no reserve at the auto auction in Monterey yearly in August. (I am guessing that because they are making so much on the price of the auto auction, they care less about losing a few hundred on prominent memorabilia) Which is collaborated with what my seller told me that he bought it on auction in Monterey with a 15% buyers fee which is listed on Russo and Steele's website.

I was able to track it down to the store who sold it the Ruth to the auction house. They advised based on photos that the seller has never removed it from their packaging when they sold the item. They said they were able to date the post card based on the reverse side to the 1930's and they dated the ink to the time period. They purchased it from a family member of a decedents collection. This gentleman collected and sent off for sports autographs, they said he also had a signed post card from Lefty Grove in the collection. I have no clue who that is to be honest.

I was surprised to be able to track down that much information on it today.

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Permalink Reply by Woody2Shoes on October 30, 2019 at 1:02pm

Russo and Steele!!

When one supercharger isn't enough! Yikes!

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Permalink Reply by Woody2Shoes on October 30, 2019 at 1:07pm

Then this piece had to have been auctioned with a COA from Kevin Martin (Autograph Collector's Price Guide, Piece of the Past, Inc., Robb Report), for whatever that's worth.

"Every item Russo and Steele sells comes with the signed certificate of authenticity from Piece of the Past Inc and includes a Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity for the item. As a case consultant for the Smithsonian and National Archives and wholesaler to such chains as Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood and Field of Dreams we are pleased to have represented at this auction over 30 items sold before the automobiles begin each day."

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Permalink Reply by Woody2Shoes on October 29, 2019 at 10:53pm

It's not so much fading as areas where Ruth typically pushes the pen harder, areas of greater pressure characteristic to his signature (another reason why this is a Ruth track) and the ink pools, the track widening and feathering from the greater exerted pressure at those points in the lines. More ink = more soak.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on October 29, 2019 at 12:01pm

I agree with James. Have JSA authenticate it, and rest easy. Some people simply want to sell things that they feel little or no attachment to. The price should not be a concern if it is authenticated by JSA.

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Permalink Reply by ITguy1984 on October 29, 2019 at 1:08pm

I will also say is that one thing this has going for it is the post card with the mail processing stamp fading.

Most cut Ruth’s are on blank aged paper ripped from books of the period. Be harder to find a post card that was processed by mail in the period..

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on October 29, 2019 at 1:12pm

From the appearance of it, the materials should not be in question. JSA will be able to examine it with more scrutiny, and rule out any funny business.

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Permalink Reply by James on October 29, 2019 at 6:50pm

That’s one thing I like about TPAs. They have tools at their disposal that can better examine the materials upon which the autograph is written that are much better than the naked eye, and determine if the material itself is original or duplicated. They can see it more easily and quickly if there is writing underneath the top coat of a baseball that has been convincingly painted over. These are things that the average person probably won’t catch.

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Permalink Reply by Woody2Shoes on October 30, 2019 at 1:19pm

"Prior to the collector automobiles crossing the block Russo and Steele provides you with Celebrity Memorabilia auction presented by Kevin Martin’s Piece of the Past. Kevin Martin is one of, if not the most respected autograph and memorabilia dealer in the field of entertainment in the world today. His company provides every item sold at Russo and Steele with the signed certificate of authenticity from Piece of the Past Inc and includes a Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity for the item"