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Johnny Carson postcard to my mom, an early Tonight Show fan. signed, dated (1963) -- is the signature authentic?

I found this postcard in my father's possessions after he died. I am wondering if the signature is authentic or secretarial and how much it might be worth? I read that Johnny Carson started the Tonight Show in October 1962, and this was sent only 8 months later (but I am not sure that is a concern with autographs).

Not autograph related but interesting: 04 cents postage! And neither party used a zip code. (Wikipedia says: "non-mandatory five-digit ZIP Codes were introduced nationwide on July 1, 1963")

I joined this forum to ask about this; I'm not a regular autograph collector. But I did a lot of reading here before joining--and you all have great expertise. Since I joined I'm still fascinated--it reminds me of Pawn Stars when they'd bring in an autograph expert. It makes me wonder why I didn't get interested in autographs...

Let me know what you think.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 1, 2018 at 6:39pm

"...I'm not a regular autograph collector..."

"...I am wondering if the signature is authentic or secretarial and how much it might be worth? I read that Johnny Carson started the Tonight Show in October 1962, and this was sent only 8 months later (but I am not sure that is a concern with autographs).

Not autograph related but interesting: 04 cents postage! And neither party used a zip code. (Wikipedia says: "non-mandatory five-digit ZIP Codes were introduced nationwide on July 1, 1963")...

"...I'm not a regular autograph collector..."

Really? I think you are off to a great start above! WELCOME :)

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Permalink Reply by Cardi Coterie on August 1, 2018 at 6:48pm

Hey, thanks! I do collect things so I know what it's like to be proud of your collection.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 1, 2018 at 6:52pm

PS - From the generic content and the appearance one might guess it is not live ink (Autopen, stamp, preprint etc). Maybe Joe W has seen these before.

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Permalink Reply by Larry Shockley on August 1, 2018 at 7:14pm

Dude... 63??? So rare to have ANYTHING from Carson from his years in New York... VERY cool

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 3, 2018 at 2:24am

Yes, something like this might well have some value to hardcore Carson collectors, just as those 1950's secretarial Gleason RP postcards have some value as collectibles. It is simply what the studio sent out at the time if you wrote in. I believe the PC I found was under $15. BTW, it is 1967, not 1963 as mentioned - "...a few months apart..." or whatever. But the similarities show well.

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Permalink Reply by goodcat on August 2, 2018 at 10:00am

Beautiful piece in excellent condition... congrats

Based on a quick PSA study look... It does indeed appear to be authentic

Have a look at the the word "write", which has the look of overlapping pen.

The "J" in Johnny has a lift in the loop. Why would a stamp or autopen have a natural looking lift to it?

These 2 characteristics make me think it's real signed and does match his signature.

Look up Johnny Carson PSA signature study and see what I mean.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 2, 2018 at 1:15pm

Hey Shawn,

How are you? Yes, "...the look of overlapping pen..." - that is what I see - the appearance. I also see a "bubble" and some other things in the "taking" and "write" which indicate a contrivance. With this item, a postcard, the generic message made out to no one despite the length of the content (also generic), and the apparent lack of any crossover or other signs of life, I'll have to stick with likely contrivance until more is shown.

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Permalink Reply by goodcat on August 2, 2018 at 1:51pm

I'm good buddy

I definitely see your point and have trust in your eyes

What I find odd is the ink itself. What kind of pen would it be from 1963? It almost looks like a sharpie.

It has the appearance of both hand signed and a stamp/preprint . I just can't explain the overlap on the word "write"

An in person exam would probably reveal more.

Either way, it is a very cool and unique piece

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 2, 2018 at 1:56pm

Without an in hand exam - I must fall back to preprint, especially with the postcard I just posted. Good to hear you are well :) I wonder if that appearance you described is deliberate - not w/o precedent. But there are things in those 2 words I mentioned that really give one pause - those little "bubbles" and missing spots. Even the "corrections" or "overlap" don't seem to make sense.

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Permalink Reply by Cardi Coterie on August 3, 2018 at 1:05am

Eric, thanks! I looked at the write-over on the word write through magnifying glasses and here's what I found: I need better magnifying glasses, lol. At first I thought I saw a blue tinge to it, but now, not. (I am actually getting a 10x magnifier--I have 2.5-- I haven't decided which type to get yet.)

I saw some weird things in my mom's postcard compared to one online addressed to a person in Louisiana.

I agree that it looks like some kind of mass preprinting job.

It does seem to me from viewing this Louisiana postcard and the other one (California) posted in this thread by you, Eric (thanks for the sleuthing!). I guess I need to know more about autopen than I learned from the Wikipedia article! All they mentioned about its use was signatures. Can anyone refer me to an article or another thread here or give me info on how it was used in this era by celebrities? For example, did it write full paragraphs like this? All I remember is mimeograph and carbons.

Perhaps knowing more about autopen or 1963 preprinting would give me answers to questions like these:

This Louisiana postcard, sent within 8 months of my mom's, has the exact same wording as Mom's and yet there are differences. There differences in penmanship that can more easily described as "spelling." The very first word, "it" is spelled (on Mom's) "capital J small t" and on Louisiana it is "small L capital T". The word "T A K I N G" is spelled (perhaps to an English-as-a-second-language person) "t a h i i q". On Louisiana it's spelled "t a k i i i q". (My question would be do they periodically change the whole pre-printing?

Thanks again for all the help from everyone. This was the only celebrity (that I know of) that my mom wrote to. It was obviously one of her prized possessions. I'm glad she didn't know about the autopen/preprinting.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 3, 2018 at 2:25am

RE glasses, lower power is usually best for most circumstances, higher power is good for looking at ink deposits or things that claim to be, among other things. A good scanner, if the item is in hand, is invaluable.