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Hi everybody,

what do you think of these Marion Davies? I know she's tricky and rare in authentic form. I had a look on isitreal, but didn't find it very helpful in this case to differentiate between authentic and secretary.

This first one is on sale at History for Sale:

This second one is for sale from someone who is obviously no pro for he has some well known secretarials, but within his mixed portfolio this one might nevertheless be good:

(Sorry, I can't get a sharper version)

Any helpful thoughts?

Thanks a lot for taking a look!

Tags: Davies, Marion, authentic, legit, real

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I don’t believe either to be authentic, imo. I have a real one that I can post when I get home. I think it was a close friend/family member that did most of her signings for her.

As with album pages, I often hope the sigs were obtained in person. But you never know, of course. But would a fan send the whole album to a mail address (without knowing whether it ever comes back), where it was signed by her secretary?

KaiMi  -  Yes, album pages are a great way to get in-person autographs from the Golden Age of Hollywood.  They are often much more verifiable than signed photos.

Just keep in mind though....it only takes old unused album pages from a book & a fountain pen or a pencil to try to make "vintage autographs".

KaiMi - IMHO, "no" to both. 

HFS has a lot of secretarial Davies material.  However, they do have a rougher condition signature in pencil that looks good (see below).  Also, attached is a caricature of Davies inscribed and signed to the Brown Derby.  These two look consistent in their style and can probably serve as exemplars by which to judge others.

Thanks a lot, Etienne!

I've seen the secs at HFS as well - that's why I'm concerned about the one I posted. If the one you posted is the only real one they have I shall better wait for a nicer piece to come around ...

This is mine.

I'd add the image of Nick's to an exemplar file as well!

Thanks, Etienne. The provenance on the piece is from an estate sale of the Mitchell family who somebody in the family worked for Arthur Lake for many years. Davies is Dagwood’s “mother-in-law”. 

Nice. . And a great association!

Yeah....I think that's a good call to keep looking.  I've come to realize that if I find myself with hesitation and doubts about a potential piece, it probably isn't going to get better once I've owned it awhile.  

I know we can never be 100% certain in vintage material.  However, with patience, we can probably come pretty darn close with study and the valued opinions of fellow collectors.

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