Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on August 21, 2011 at 10:04pm

The front is worse than the back in a lot of ways but we've seen these runty R's and huge Y loops before. Anyone thinking of purchasing Elvis should be weary of the stuff purportedly signed in Germany because it's almost always trash, as most Elvis auto's offered for sale are.

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Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on August 21, 2011 at 10:26pm

I meant runty S's and wary. I'm going to bed. Those will still be enormous, exaggerated Y *partial* loops in the morning.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on August 22, 2011 at 8:18am

If they were signed with the authorization of a celeb, they're secretarial. Otherwise they're forgeries.

You need to read Part 1 of our Elvis signature study by Roger to find out about the German/Dutch forgeries.

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Permalink Reply by Vestland on August 22, 2011 at 8:27am

do you have a link to that study?

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on August 22, 2011 at 8:30am

Right now it's only in print. Part 1 is the April/May 2007 issue of Autograph Collector and Part 2, the later years, is in August/September. I'll make them available online at some point.

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Permalink Reply by Vestland on August 22, 2011 at 8:34am

oh..ok.. thanks. That would be great!

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Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on August 22, 2011 at 8:44am

I would say forgery. He wouldn't sign something twice if the first signature came out okay. Perhaps an expert will attribute the problems with the front signature to a pen that won't write. There's never been a Y in any Elvis Presley authentic signatures I've seen that has been of that size. Most people specifically attribute that style to the forgeries that have been coming out of Germany for years. The perils of being a worldwide celebrity I suppose.

I can't think of any authentic "Best to you" inscriptions when "Best wishes" was a standard for Elvis and most celebrities. The "Best" is wrong and the second autograph itself has the telltale signs of forgery. Still, the secretarials signed on his behalf (and there aren't too many compared to other celebrities who enjoyed lifelong fame) aren't this good. The Memphis Mafia would sign some stuff but not much. There were a few other signers throughout the years too. Elvis would always sign if you asked him but his interaction with the public was limited in the 60's and then in his last years. Some of the best material is his 50's autographs and the lively inscriptions which were put on a leash later on.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by roger epperson on August 22, 2011 at 10:06am

I quickly went through my exemplars and found these 4 authentic Elvis signatures with very large loops under the "Y". 

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Permalink Reply by Vestland on August 22, 2011 at 10:27am

What do you think of this one:

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Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on August 22, 2011 at 11:11am

So do you believe that the item which started this thread is authentic? I'd say only one of those has a loop that can begin to rival the one on the front of the postcard. It's a number of pieces of evidence and not just the Y. I'd like to know what you think of the original piece though. I consider the Y to be a gauge of these items when so many pieces supposedly signed in Germany come with them and other signs that can mean forgery.

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Permalink Reply by roger epperson on August 22, 2011 at 11:32am

This one I do believe is authentic.  It has some the Hans Bakker characteristics but too many things are different.  This could have been his template, I'm not sure.  Hans never made the sharp first hump after the "L" in Elvis.  This one clearly has it.  Hans never mad this large of a "s" in Presley, they were almost non existant.  I know a little more of the history of this item and I know it was sold before the book "Private Elvis" came out which was when all of the forgeries began to slowly appear.  I agree with the other person about the "B" in best looking odd but the rest of it is right on in my opinion and Elvis was very irregular in his writing.

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Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on August 22, 2011 at 12:12pm

Good information, Roger. I'm already wary of anything signed twice, then add on being from Germany, perhaps I am too cautious as a collector. I can't be sure. The inscription, "Best to you," still looks so neat to me along with the crosses of the T's. I believe I've seen this same item before as well. More recently, on eBay, toward the beginning of the year. I don't remember if it sold or the price but I remember not liking it still. I defer to a real expert even if it is an item I wouldn't be comfortable buying.

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