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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on October 20, 2015 at 6:34pm

Not a pre-print? Im not sure with that glare. Chinchillas?

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Permalink Reply by Greg Olivar Brown on October 20, 2015 at 7:56pm

Oh sugar gliders. I will upload a better pic. What's a preprint? Those were on the Kodak paper right?

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Permalink Reply by Mike T on October 20, 2015 at 8:57pm

They are autopen patterns.. Aldrin is pattern 1, Armstrong is pattern 8, and Collins is pattern 3.  It almost looks like someone tried to forge them using autopen patterns.. this is a weird one.. wait for master zarelli.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Olivar Brown on October 20, 2015 at 9:00pm

Look at the N in neil. Pattern 8 doesn't have a gap like this foes. The lines are all different and the signatures are not perfectly parallel like auto pens

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Permalink Reply by Mike T on October 20, 2015 at 9:05pm

Right, which is why I think someone forged it using the autopen templates as reference.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Olivar Brown on October 20, 2015 at 9:31pm

In his original signatures during this time period, there a lot with gaps.

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Permalink Reply by Mike T on October 21, 2015 at 9:48am

I don't think Armstrong ever signed his full name on Apollo 11 photos. His signature during this time period was much more abbreviated.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Olivar Brown on October 20, 2015 at 9:05pm

In Aldrin signature the E has a defined loop not like the auto pen.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 21, 2015 at 9:40am

In my opinion, these are Autopen signatures (or carefully drawn forgeries that imitate the Autopens... a better image without the glare might help determine.)

Bear in mind that Autopen signed signatures are often not EXACTLY identical down to the millimeter each and every time. There can be variance due to how fast the machine armature is moving, how fast the operator is passing items through it, the type of pen used, wear and tear on the template, etc. If a signature is thisclose to an Autopen pattern and the slight variance in line length or spacing can be explained by a bouncy Autopen armature, chances are the questioned signature is an Autopen. "Deformed" Autopen signatures that -- in part -- vary significantly from the "perfectly applied" pattern are common. 

Also the Autopen template images you find online in some cases are old copies of copies and some of the finer detail has been lost.

Other factors to consider:

• The crew almost never signed perfectly horizontal across their chests.
• By the time of Apollo 11, Aldrin rarely signed Edwin E Aldrin Jr on photos (typically only documents). He was signing “Buzz” almost exclusively by Apollo 11.
• Armstrong rarely signed his middle initial on photos, and by Apollo 11 was using the more abbreviated last name, unlike the questioned example.

Lastly, whether they are an exact match or not, these signatures bear Autopen characteristics: identical heavy even pressure on all three and slowness and wavering. The wobbling is especially evident in the paraph below Armstrong.

In my opinion, it all adds up to these are not authentic hand-signed signatures. For reference, I have inserted the image below.

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