| There are a lot of people who are in the market for | | | | authentic documents. |
| vintage collectibles. In this article I am going to discuss | | | | During the Civil War, (Confederate States) President |
| vintage president autographs. I have put together a list | | | | Jefferson Davis had his wife sign many of his dictated |
| which includes seven different ways that autographs | | | | letters. She did such a good job that she started |
| can and have been duplicated. | | | | putting a period after the signature she wrote so that |
| 1. Handwritten Documents | | | | he could tell which ones she signed. |
| It was common in the eighteenth-century for | | | | Watch out for other deceiving practices where a page |
| presidents to have secretarial copies made of all their | | | | with a President's quote and signature is cut out from |
| important papers to be kept on file. The secretaries | | | | a book and doctored up into something else entirely. |
| would copy the documents in their own handwriting, | | | | Some of these fraudulent creations have included |
| sign the president's name, and below that signature, | | | | these presidents: George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, John |
| sign their own. This accounts for the "G. Washington" | | | | F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt. |
| signatures on authentic period manuscripts. These | | | | 5. Preprinting |
| were carefully marked as file copies. | | | | Many sellers on eBay use a method called "preprinting". |
| 2. Land Agent Signatures | | | | The item they are selling may be only a photocopy of |
| During Lincoln's presidency, "Lincoln-signed" land grants | | | | an actual autographed photo which has been printed |
| were being signed regularly by land agents. Land | | | | on glossy photo paper. If someone is offering a |
| agents were given the authority to sign for the | | | | "preprinted" autographed photo, this information should |
| president and then noted with their own signature | | | | be made clear to the buyer. However, to be safe, |
| beneath (e.g., A. Lincoln by John Smith). This was a | | | | make sure you read all of the fine print before buying |
| routine procedure until President Andrew Jackson | | | | anything. |
| decided to do away with this time-consuming task. | | | | 6. Hand-Stamp |
| 3. Proxy-Signers | | | | Some presidents, such as Andrew Johnson, Warren |
| A Proxy-signer is someone who has been authorized | | | | Harding, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano |
| to act for the signer. Dating back to George | | | | Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, at some previous |
| Washington, most of the secretaries that have been | | | | time, used a rubber or steel hand-stamp to sign their |
| used by US Presidents to handle their correspondence | | | | documents. |
| have acted as proxy-signers, instead of trying to | | | | 7. Autopen |
| duplicate the presidents signature. | | | | The autopen is a mechanical pen that makes perfect |
| 4. Forged Autographs | | | | facsimile (duplicate) signatures using a signature |
| There are many dishonest people out there who will | | | | template known as a matrix. Harry Truman is believed |
| forge autographs in such a way that it is almost | | | | to have been the first United States President to use |
| impossible for the amateur collector to discern. They | | | | the autopen. From about the Eisenhower era of the |
| will go to great lengths to make their signatures seem | | | | 1950s until today, almost all American presidents have |
| authentic. For example, they will use blank pages in old | | | | had the autopen to reproduce presidential signatures. |
| books to write the signatures on to make it appear to | | | | Just remember that some unscrupulous autograph |
| be from that era. These forgers are just looking to | | | | sellers may be able to obtain or produce one of these |
| make money from unsuspecting collectors. If in doubt, | | | | autopen templates to mass-produce autographs for |
| consult with a professional collector who should be | | | | re-sale. |
| able to tell the difference between forged and | | | | |