Jockey Autograph - Fred Archer - Value?
 

This is a little outside my realm, but I bought an old British autograph book a while back that includes a range of autographs from the 1880's through the early 1930's. The book was falling to pieces but was one that was bound by the collector from various articles signed over the years, many pasted in and some letters cut to conform to the size of the book.

The book itself included mostly old stage actors and some lesser local politicians and musicians but was pretty neat to go through. Inside the book was a little autograph clipping of Fred Archer with a thin tissue-like sheet adhered above it. I would have had no idea who it was if not for the name being written on the tissue above it. Now, I imagine this is quite rare as I can't find another exemplar - but I'm not sure how big the market is for jockey autographs. It seems this guy was one of the best of his time and passed away very young in 1886.

Any idea what this might be worth?

Thanks again

The first question is if it's an autograph of his.

He apprenticed at Heath House stables, Newmarket and lived there until 1884
http://www.heathhousestables.com/heritage-and-history/


The piece looks a bit more like an address from a letter to him than an autograph. And return addresses weren't as common at the time.

Of course, being British, and that he was pretty well tied to the stables, that may be an inscription. I don't know what would have been typical then in Britain.

True, no idea where the guy got it from. The owner of this book probably passed in the 1930’s and the book was bound as “autograph book” and falling apart. This was one of hundreds of autographs in this book and none were very valuable, although the entire book was intact.

Basically, if it is not Archer’s signature it would have been a surprise to the original owner 100 years ago as he had it bound in his personal book. I honestly couldn’t find an exemplar to compare it to. Plus, I have no idea if this is a $50 autograph or something more valuable as I’m not sure there are many people out there looking for a jockey’s autograph.