posted 01-12-2006 02:36 PM               

I went to www.chuckyeager.com, and bought a signed, personalized photo of his historic X-1 flight. Here it is:

One thing I noticed, the signature line seemed darker than the first 2 lines. I cropped them out, and then in Paintshop I changed the contrast. I was able to better differentiate the brush strokes this way. Here it is:

Could playing around with the contrast etc be a good way of distinguishing real autographs???

A couple of questions:

1 - if you buy an autograph from an official site (Yeager, Charlie Duke, Ed Mitchell etc), or from an address on the cS address list (eg Alan Bean), are they guaranteed authentic? I assume so, otherwise they'd be committing fraud by charging for them.

2 - Any chance the Yeager I got could have a pre-printed/autopen signature? I assume if he was doing that, he'd use a prettier template than the one I got.

3 - I'm guessing he signs a stack of photos, and when the orders come in, either he or someone else prints the personalization.

4 - Interesting how the 2 printed lines on my photo have distinct ending dots of ink. Isn't that a sign of an autopen (obviously the personalization isn't autopenned).

I'll stop rambling. Thanks for any followup.

Chris

posted 01-12-2006 03:03 PM               

I think your assumption n° 3 is right: Yeager mass signs a stack of photos, and some secretary adds the inscription.

Both writings show the signs of natural ink flow. This "dot" is different from an autopen dot where the pen suddenly hits or leaves the surface by a mechanical arm.

posted 01-12-2006 03:56 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by eurospace:
Yeager mass signs a stack of photos, and some secretary adds the inscription.

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A possible alternative, as Chris suggested - he sits and signs all the photos in one go, and then as the orders come in he adds the personalizations - perhaps even using a different pen.

posted 01-12-2006 04:21 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by FFrench:
A possible alternative, as Chris suggested - he sits and signs all the photos in one go, and then as the orders come in he adds the personalizations - perhaps even using a different pen.

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I believe this to be the case...at least in the signed photo I received. I had gotten his in-person signature at an airshow a couple years ago and his "good luck" from that signing matched the "good luck" I got from the item I purchased from his website. And the ink from the signature matched the ink from the personalization in that case.

Granted, it may vary from case to case. If Gen. Yeager is out traveling, then a secretary might add the personalization. If Yeager is in, he might add it.

Regardless, the signature you have is authentic. And I think the personalization may be from Yeager's hand too...just obviously written at a different time with a different pen.

The "dots" in the writing are by no means are exclusive to autopens. Take a Sharpie and write slowly on a smooth glossy surface (preferably with a light background). You'll see dots in your letters too. Watching Gen. Yeager sign photos, I notice he goes slowly and methodically.