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Dorothy Lamour/Bob Hope

Just wondering what you think of this doubly signed shot of Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope. The Lamour looks good to me, but the Hope seems too exaggerated, even for his larger style? Also did he sign “Thanks for the Memory”, or was this secretarial? Thanks! (Sorry for the photo quality)

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Permalink Reply by Eddy on August 17, 2023 at 8:03am

I agree that the Lamour looks typical. The Hope is very hard to discern given the contrast issue. What I can see looks suspect. I'd like to see the salutation as his often used "My Best" rather than "Thanks For The Memory".

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Permalink Reply by Greg on August 17, 2023 at 10:44am

Thanks Eddy! It’s mostly the second really wide ‘b’ that’s unusual to me, comparing it to others. Did he always sign his stuff, or did he have a secretary as well? I have seen ‘Thanks for the memory’ in addition to ‘My best’, perhaps he used this on older examples?

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Permalink Reply by Eddy on August 17, 2023 at 2:41pm

My understanding is that he relied on secretaries for most through the mail requests.

PSA has some exemplars on their site with "Thanks For The Memory" but they don't look right to me as compared with the more natural signatures they have alongside them:

https://www.psacard.com/autographfacts/entertainment/bob-hope/210

I guess there are real "Thanks For The Memory" ones out there...but I'd be really careful of them. Actually, I'd be careful also with the "My Best" for that matter.

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Permalink Reply by Eddy on August 17, 2023 at 2:44pm

p.s. Maybe some of our "old timers" like Joe W. or David L. will see this thread and have more info..

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Permalink Reply by Greg on August 17, 2023 at 5:46pm

Thanks for the PSA link Eddy! A lot more ‘messier’ examples there where I see some similarities in this one. However the one thing that’s really bothering me with this one, and I’ve never seen in any other example, is how the ‘o’ is put right between the two loops of the ‘H’. Even when he doesn’t have a lot of room (unlike here) he always puts the ‘o’ AFTER the ‘H’ ….it just seems off because of this one thing, yet other parts seem okay?

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Permalink Reply by Eddy on August 17, 2023 at 7:35pm

Good point. I think I would just stay away from it, personally.

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Permalink Reply by Greg on September 30, 2023 at 5:51pm

What are your thoughts on this one? I’m thinking it’s too ‘loopy’ so probably secretarial?

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Permalink Reply by KaiMi on October 4, 2023 at 11:21am

Yes, looks like his usual ttm secretary.

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Permalink Reply by KaiMi on August 24, 2023 at 3:09am

According to in-person-hunter Roy Moseley in his book "My stars" the inscription "Thanks for the memory" was quite common to Hope. I purchased one with that inscription from Markus Brandes and will try to upload it here.

Neither the second "b" nor the "o" in Hope are like in your example and the handwriting looks different as well. So I, too, have doubts as Hope heavily relied on secretaries.