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Help on finding exemplar to correlate Harold "speed" Johnson

Speed%20Johnson.jpgRecently acquired a Who's Who hardcover 1936 with a few signatures, definitely vintage and bone dry ink on cellulose (Foxx, Berg, Combs, Rolfe, Ruffing, Dickey, Gomez, Frisch etc) (there is a discussion thread on this topic "Foxx and Berg"

It also was signed by the author/editor Harold "speed" Johnson

While I have been able to find adequate exemplars for the players, have not had any luck with speed Johnson

If anyone has an additional source of exemplar, would be appreciated. I will list what I have (from the book) No reason to doubt authenticity (IMO) but it is helpful to have high confidence in all the signatures

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Permalink Reply by Jim Reynolds on May 15, 2020 at 5:20am

Are you still looking for a Speed Johnson exemplar?

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Permalink Reply by Bernie on May 15, 2020 at 9:19am

Sure. Mainly to compare to the signature I have on the book

All the players on the book who have signed I have verified. Would like to have 100% verification by having Speed. If you have one, please post

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Permalink Reply by Jim Reynolds on May 15, 2020 at 9:31am

I don't think that it gets much better than this. Hope that this helps!

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Permalink Reply by Bernie on May 15, 2020 at 10:34am

Thanks. 1956. The handwriting seems very different from the one in the book (shown in the jpg at the beginning of this post, but the flow appears consistent. S, y, etc are different, so I am not sure what to think, except perhaps, 23 years difference. Need to think about it. Thoughts on the comparison?

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Permalink Reply by Jim Reynolds on May 15, 2020 at 11:07am

My first thought is that there are always differences between an autograph, and a signature. Yours is an autograph, my example is a signature.

23 years can certainly cause changes in signature style. I feel that the "rol" in Harold is spot on, as is the "hn" in Johnson. The rest of it gives me pause. I think that there are two choices here:

A) The 23 year difference has made Johnson's signature more simple, without the sexiness of an autograph. He's not autographing a keepsake here; he's simply closing a letter. His name needs to be legible, without flair or style. Note in yours his nickname is in quotes (a source of pride), whereas in mine, its in parenthesis (just something he's known by, an identifier).

or

B) The letter I posted was written by someone else on his behalf....and I think that someone else to be a woman...wife, secretary, etc. There's just something about the flow of the handwriting that makes me feel that it was written by a female hand - perhaps due to the aforementioned right shoulder injury.

Sorry to have muddied the water even more.

Jim