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I've recently won off of eBay a page from an autograph collectors album, circa early 1930's, with 12 signatures on it, most notably that of of Amelia Earhart. The other names are Grace Abbott, Lewis Edward Lawes, Bruce Fairchild Barton, Bess Streeter Aldrich, Edgar Albert Guest, Zane Grey, John Robert Grey, Martin Elmer Johnson, and Charles Wakefield Cadman. What they are known for is written beneath each by the original owner. I am not at all familiar with these other names, or as to what their value may be, so if you wish to chime in on those, feel free! My only interest is that of Amelia Earhart and obviously it's authenticity. I have compared it to many other known examples, and to me it looks good. That and the fact that it is with other signatures from the period (which I have also checked out) would lead me to believe that it is indeed authentic.
My other question concerns its condition. Is the fact that it is a cut signature glued to an album page with these other signatures detract from its value at all? My intention, if real, would be to keep the page intact, and just mat out the other names and pair it with a nice photo. Any ballpark as to what its value may be?
Any comments would be greatly appreciated, as this is the most expensive and most historically significant autograph I have purchased to date.
Thanks very much!
Hi,
She looks good. From recent auction results, perhaps between $425 to $550 or so. That is a rather tight cut but nice signature. Fuller cuts, signed FDC's and other interesting tidbits etc hitting $650-$700.
Eric
Edgar Guest is good but then who would forge him? I would not touch the album page at all were it mine. The signature no doubt could be removed but might be expensive to have it professionally done. If one insists on just having her have it matted intact that should not be too difficult I don't think.
I agree with Scott. To some, a glued down cut might be less than desirable. Depends of what it is glued to and what with. Animal hide glue can sometimes be problematic, I have seen all sorts of other things used to fix paper to album pages from this period - some very bizarre. However, this appears to have done just fine thees last decades and is likely stable.
Were it me, I would leave well enough alone. As a collector, I would definitely prefer the page intact.
Eric
Thank you gentlemen! I agree it's a 'tight cut', but the signature looks so vibrant compared to a lot of the faded examples I've seen out there. That is what made me think it could possibly be a forgery because it looks almost too good (albeit very small!). Should I still get this professionally appraised by either PSA or JSA? And yes Eric, I got it for around that amount, but was surprised to see on eBay that even the smallest cut signature was going for around $1500, so I thought I'd jump on this one. And Scott, I agree, I'll probably just leave it as is and use a mat. User "hitmanten" has a very nice example on here:http://live.autographmagazine.com/photo/s-l1600-2
Hi again,
You are welcome. Those values I gave were what it is worth max in my opinion - I was not estimating what you paid. Her signature often appears this neat - nice handwriting. I'd not bother submitting it @75, were it me. If you were reselling that is another situation. See RR auction results for other sigs, their appearance and values brought. I think $1500 for a plain cut too much; eBay often does not reflect reality.
Eric
Thanks Eric for alerting me to the RR Auctions site. As luck would have it, the exact Waterman's album from which this page was taken was listed in past auctions on that site! The first time was in Sept 2015 when it went for $5000, and again in Aug 2016 when it went for $1141.70. Evidently the original winner removed the autographs he/she desired (notably Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb!) and then resold it. And then I ended up with the separated page from the next owner. I'm curious though, besides the names removed from the first listing to the next on the RR site, the first listing mentioned that it was "Pre-certified PSA/DNA", but the second listing did not. You would think that even if some pages were removed that the certification would still hold for the rest of the album?
Hello Greg,
Well, lots of stuff on eBay is from such auctions. Several David Bowie autographs that are up now for $1200 or whatever, were $340 in April and before that even less. It pays to shop around. It is a very nice Earhart. Framing with a 30's aeronautical motif sounds exciting. Silver leaf, perhaps an unbleached linen mat...
Eric
Both Coolidge's look good but I do not see FDR?
Not a problem just thought I was missing something. Curtis, Smith and Baker look fine. I do not have FDR in my collection am by no means an expert . One thing this is a pre-presidential autograph so was 1932. The "i" is certainly something a bit odd might have been a pen skip. I am reasonably certain it would not be a pre-print. If I were you I would try to search to see if there are other early 1930s to compare too. This may be a secretarial version while governor. So like you I am a bit on the fence with this one and will have to wait until someone better with FDR than I am. I see John Nance Garner below him I remember when he died.
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