posted 12-06-2006 03:36 PM               

A few others (like Ed White, Donn Eisele, or your first Frank Borman) need higher res scans to tell for sure. And the Collins might be real...I don't recall an autopen pattern where he ends his signature that way, but a higher res scan is needed to rule out a secretarial signature. The Buzz Aldrin also doesn't appear to match the autopen patterns I've seen (so perhaps that one is real too), but I could be mistaken.

The Alan Shepard doesn't match the autopen styles I know of, but he commonly used secretaries to sign for him. Your scan is too low res to tell for sure.

I seem to recall Elliot See had an autopen style that said "Best regards" above his signature, but I might be mistaken. I can't find that pattern right now. And it's possible that one is real too.

For what it's worth, it's quite common to have an ex-NASA worker (or the family member of an ex-NASA worker) to come forward with what they believe is a collection genuine signatures that turn out to be autopens...or a mixture of genuine signatures and autopens. We've seen it happen a few times here on collectSPACE. Nobody is questioning the sincerity of the NASA worker, as most genuinely believe they have real signatures. A worker will often recall getting signatures from the astronauts...which could be true for some signatures. Perhaps the astronauts passed out autopen signed pics to workers they met...so he might have recieved it directly from an astronaut even if the signature wasn't genuine. Or, more likely, secretaries distributed autopen signatures to workers who asked for autographs. Considering the thousands of people who worked for NASA or their contractors, the astronauts weren't able to provide genuine signatures to everyone who asked.

Many of the genuine signatures to NASA workers I've seen in the past were inscribed to that worker, such as "To Bill, thanks for your help with the EVA suit, Best wishes, Edward White." That isn't always the case, but it is somewhat common.

Note that different pens and inks don't necessarily mean the signature is genuine. Autopen machines could accomodate different pen styles...I believe it was simply the matter of the machine user installing whatever pen they preferred. And I suspect the pens got changed quite regularly as they would dry out.

Also, some astronauts had several different autopen patterns, so two seemingly different signatures doesn't automatically indicate authenticity. Also, the placement of the signature on the photo can vary widely with autopens. It simply depends on where the autopen worker put the photo under the pen. To some degree, however, autopen placement can actually be somewhat different than common genuine signing styles. For example, the genuine Deke Slayton signed lithos I've seen tend to be signed "level" ...horizontally from left to right. I don't recall seeing many genuine Slayton autographs at a slant, but I see it in many of the autopens.

A great resource for autopen signatures is Chris Spain's site: http://www.edgeofdarkness.com/astroautopens/

Do a close comparison of your photos with the styles here and you should see some matches. Also, look for characteristics of autopens that Chris describes on his site: shakey lines, abrupt pen stops, even line thickness, etc.

Having autopens isn't necessarily bad. They still have value...most are worth about $5-10 each. Some autopens of early deceased astronauts like CC Williams, Chaffee, White, Grissom, etc. will likely fetch more. Even the Armstrong autopen should be worth $10-20 for that style, perhaps more.

I know it's disappointing to learn that some of the signatures are not what you thought they were. But look on the bright side...some of them do indeed appear to be real! Some people ended up with nothing but a stack of autopens from their years at NASA.

Best of luck with selling your collection and welcome to collectSPACE!

Mark

[Edited by mjanovec (December 06, 2006).]

posted 12-14-2006 11:43 AM               

After looking over the signatures again, I think the following are likely the real deal:

Alan Bean (still a little hard to tell, but it's not autopen)
Frank Borman (first example)
Scott Carpenter
Donn Eisele
John Glenn
Edward White

The Buzz Aldrin may be real too. The Michael Collins is an autopen. At first it threw me in the low res pic due to the signature tail. But I now think that was the pen making contact with the paper when the litho was removed from the autopen machine.

My guess is the Shepard isn't an autopen, but is a secretarial signature.

I think this is good news for the seller. The White and Eisele signatures are each highly collectable. The White alone could easily bring in $500-$1000.

Edit: On further review and after discussions with another collector off-list, it appears the Cernan, Scott, and Schweickart signatures might also be keepers. They looked like autopens at first glance, but now appear not to match the known patterns. McDivitt and See may also be good. There is a thought that a "Best Regards" autopen for See exists, but two consistent examples haven't been fully documented.

It's looking like your collection is better with each glance.

[Edited by mjanovec (December 14, 2006).]