Booth signature for sale

[Wesley Harris]

http://historical.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleN...=266698350

Up to $2,600 so far. Wish we knew what document it was from.

[J. Beckert]

It looks more like his father's signature.

[BettyO]

I agree, Joe....something about the signature just doesn't look right....

[L Verge]

I third it. Not sure that the second initial is a "B," but it doesn't look right. Wish we could read what is written to the right of the signature and circled.

[Dave Taylor]

It looks like some sort of legal note. The text above says: "[?] my hand and". After the signature "J. W. Booth" it says "seal" with a circle around it.

Click here to see it big

[Jim Garrett]

Boy, that's a steal for a JWB clipped signature........however it is a lot for a Junius Brutus Booth. I would say it is almost identical to my JBB clipped signature. IMO, it is definitely Junius.

[LincolnMan]

I agree Jim- the signature is not JWB but JBB.

[Jim Garrett]

I didn't pay $3200 for mine, but I didn't get a Case & Geuchel CDV with it.

[KateH.]

Thank you for enlarging the picture, Dave. The one on the actual website is very hard to read. You would think an auction site would want good pictures of the item that is currently a few thousand dollars.

[NJREB1863]

I'm no expert but to me it looks good. The "J" is identical compared to authenticated JWB signatures and the "oo" and "h" appear spot on as well. Heritage Auctions is very reputable with experts on staff, not to say "experts" haven't been fooled in the past. I think it's a righteous piece. I'm sure it will sell for quite a bit more than the current bid.

[Jim Garrett]

Looks like the bidding has stalled at $2600. Only three bids.

[J. Beckert]

That's dirt cheap for a Booth signature. Something's amiss there.

[NJREB1863]

3 bidders and 22 people tracking the lot. It's going to go up. Alot I'd guess. If it doesn't, it would be a steal. Makes me wonder BUT I've been told recently by a prominent dealer, the autograph market is very soft right now. But even still, an authentic clipped JWB signature should bring more than its current bid I would think. I still think its going up quite a bit. My guess is in the $6-8k range.

[SSlater]

If I was about to pay for any signature, I would want some assurance of its validity. Since I have never bid on anything, does any one know if anyone is responsibility to assure the authenticity - or is it buyer beware? Would anyone like to buy a signature of one of the apostles? Which one?

[Jim Garrett]

It is JBBooth. Even if it were JWBooth, it is still highly suspect. Eugene Field II, the master forger from the 1920s and 30s was best known for forging thousands of A Lincoln signatures, but he also did a lot of JW Booths. There are very very few JWBooths that are the real deal. The majority of JW Booths are from the talented pen of Eugene Field II.