I appreciate the vote of confidence, Shelly. But I would not venture to offer an opinion on this.
The nature of fabric itself lends to slow, plodding signatures even in authentic examples. Secondly, how difficult would it be to lay a white jersey down on a light table and trace a signature?
It is close enough that it could be real in my opinion. But I don't know how anyone could say so with a high degree of certainty given the factors I mentioned previously.
Is there anyone in the hobby that ever sat next to Mantle and watched him sign a bunch of jerseys? If that person exists, he or she may have some insight in the nuances of Mantle's signature on fabric.
As a buyer, this may be a case where you have to trust the source. Unimpeachable, rock solid provenance would be helpful.
