Posted By:
Alan ElefsonHi-
First off, if this is too Off Topic, please feel free to delete post haste.
Second, I love this memorabilia forum! Being an active flea marketer, there are always more memorabilia than cards at any given flea market. The knowledge here is incredible!
Third, I recently found a book at a flea market that I would like some help with. It is an 1899 Spaulding Football Rules guide in very poor condition (covers missing, first three pages torn in half, heavy staining etc.) I purchased several Spaulding guides from this same dealer over the course of the last few months. One of the first books I bought from him had a stamp on the inside first page that read "Property of James A Naismith". The dealer claimed that all of the guides he is selling came from Naismith's personal library. I have since sold the book with the stamp although I am sure I could obtain a scan if needed.
I mention all of the above because when I brought my 1899 book down to a dealer to sell this weekend, I started to show him the damage by flipping through the pages (he was planning on purchasing it for around 100.00 from me) when I discovered page 43. Please see the scan below. It appears to be a foutain pen signature of J Naismith. Obviously, I told him I could not sell him the book until I had researched this autograph, and he said he understood (I also jokingly told him he could have the book if he game me 500.00 right there, not knowing until later that Naismith's autograph is fairly rare). I still cannot believe I almost sold the book without seeing the signature!
Here are my questions:
1. Is this a real James Naimsith signature?
2. I know his son was also named James Naismith. Any ideas where Icould get samples of his son's signature to compare?
3. I compared the few "real" Naismith signatures I could find online. I am not good at this type of thing, but to me several letters match exactly. Could the son and the father have very similar handwriting?
4. Why would Naismith have signed his name in this book on this page? Did he contrbiute to the creation of any Football rules or leagues? I theorized he was taking notes and used his signature as a means for returning back to the passage for further reading.
There is a second page that I have not scanned that also contains J Naismith signature. I will update this post again tommorrow when that second signature is scanned. There are also a few other pages with random writing including a page that shows the University of Kansas football team with a word written near the picture (I cannot decipher the word). However, this was the Unniversity Naismith moved to in 1895 to coach.
To recap, I purchased this cheaply believing it to be an 1899 Spauding Football rules guide three weeks ago. I nearly sold it this weekend for a small but nice profit, so even if the signatures are not real I am not losing anything. I am planning to send it to an authenticator and then an auction house if it is real, but I figured I would brag/ask board members for their opinions. If it is real and I could make a find like this every week, I could quit my day job!
Thanks in advance,
Alan Elefson
