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Good Books

What are some good books to read about collecting and signature analysis. I'm not looking for books about people and stories about players. What I am looking for is educational, reference guides, and books that talk about signatures and known exemplars. Signing habits and alike.

Are there any out there or anything along these lines that anyone would recommend.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on January 4, 2014 at 5:50pm

I am not sure that these are what you have in mind Tyler. I have read three books on the subject of autograph collecting. They are History Comes to Life by Kenneth W. Rendell, Collecting Autographs and Manuscripts by Charles Hamilton and Collecting Historical Documents: A Guide to Owning History by Todd M. Axelrod. None of them deal with analyzing a Sharpie on an 8x10 photo.

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Permalink Reply by Tyler Johnson on January 4, 2014 at 7:13pm

I guess thats a whole other discussion.. Haha. Here are some good books. Oh yeah now lets make sure they are showing legit exemplars hahaa.

I picked up a book called "Baseball Hall Of Fame Autographs: A Reference Guide, By Ron Keurajian"

I liked what was in the book but I longed for so MUCH MORE.... I mean I expected more about the signature itself and what to look for and what not to look for. Once you got to the signature studies it was mostly cookie cutter from there. I would like to have an encyclopedia of some sorts and how to look and study a signature... What I was let down most about the book was that none of the exemplars used were taken from a signed baseball. I look at a baseball (round surface) signature differently than a flat.. I mean it has to be two different styles of signing ones name, or am I wrong on this?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on January 4, 2014 at 7:23pm

William, have you ever been to Gotta Have It! on East 57th Street in Manhattan? They have a Shoeless Joe Jackson autographed baseball that has been authenticated by JSA. I would be interested to know your opinion about it.

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Permalink Reply by DP on January 4, 2014 at 7:06pm

These are good books. I would also recommend them.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on January 4, 2014 at 7:55pm

I enjoyed reading those books very much. One of the things that I found to be the most interesting about the people who deal in the business of historical letters, autographs, historical documents and manuscripts is their reliance on forensic evidence. They made it very clear that relying on the appearance of an autograph alone is not enough. They were particularly critical of authenticating 8x10 photos signed with a Sharpie.

When I discovered this website in July, 2012, I realized that some people place more emphasis on studying the appearance of an autograph than they place on forensic evidence. Third-party authenticators like PSA and JSA seem to be moving in the right direction by utilizing current technology that allows them to analyze not only the appearance of an autograph but also such things as pressure points. I do not believe that was the case when those books were written.