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Authenticity is Everything
Who Would You Send this to for Authentication?
I have a handwritten scientific paper of Leonhard Euler (hugely influential mathematician of the 18th century). I have shown it to two Euler experts, both of whom said they have no doubt it's authentic. I'd like to get it authenticated, but there's the problem.
Most of the existing examples of Leonhard Euler's handwriting are letters, and from decades later. This paper, and his signature, are written very neatly and formally in Latin, because this paper was meant to be submitted for publication, and then transcribed by a typesetter, so it is difficult to authenticate it using his letters.
I asked John Reznikoff if he would authenticate it, and he said it is outside his area of expertise. So I tried Stuart Lutz, who appraises manuscripts. Same reply. I sent a scan to Heritage, and their autograph person said she just couldn't be sure it's authentic and not written by a scribe, based on the comparisons available online (that is, letters).
I just recently made a breakthrough: I found a library that has a scan of at least one Euler scientific paper, along with a few other documents. They're from much later, but to my eye they're clearly in the same hand.
So here's my question: Who do I ask to authenticate this manuscript, given that I can point him/her to some possible comps?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on
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If the reason you want authentication is to sell it, you don't need to. The right auction house will handle it.
Swann in NYC sold an Autograph Letter Signed for $10,000 in 2015. They're a highly reputable auction house, and up there with my favorites: https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/(SCIENTISTS)-...
If you have a scientific paper, it's probably worth far more than that. Mind posting it?
RRAuction.com sold a Johann Bernoulli letter in 2017 that was precertified by PSA/DNA, which they would have requested. He was in the generation before Euler but his son was a friend of his: https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/338121405101-johann-b...
Sotheby's and Christie's would be worth contacting too.
Have you checked out the Euler Archive? http://eulerarchive.maa.org/
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I moved this to our Is This Autograph Real? forum.
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Permalink Reply by Will McIntosh on
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Thanks for the helpful info, Steve! I do plan to sell it, but I'm hoping to get it authenticated and list it on eBay first. I have a small autograph business on eBay, and find that if I give it time with the premium items I come across, I can usually get maybe 25% more than what I'd net selling at auction. That being said, I've never tried to sell anything as high-end as this.
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I'd talk to auction houses first. I don't know the market for Euler material, but if an ALS sells for +/- $10,000 or so, I wouldn't be surprised if a multi-page scientific paper is worth six-figures.
Talk to appropriate museums and libraries, talk to numerous auction houses and dealers, and do tons of research. If it's real, written by Euler and what you think it is, eBay isn't where to sell it to get what it's worth.
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Permalink Reply by JK on
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I agree.
The people who might be interested in this are not looking through ebay.
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Thanks, Steve, I really appreciate the advice, and I plan to follow it. It never occurred to me that the difference could potentially be that large. I'll find out before I let it go.
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Thanks, JK!
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Hi Steve, So the end of the Leonhard Euler manuscript story is about to play out. It just went up in RR's latest auction, which closes December 11. I'm definitely going to have sweaty palms that night! Many thanks for your advice.
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