Handwriting Opinion; W&D Card 1886
 

To Net54’s Autograph Aficionados,

I am hoping to get some opinions on a sample of handwriting that’s been penned to a Wright and Ditson Sporting Goods card from 1886.

As my collecting interests have to do with 19th C. sporting goods and the related printed materials of period manufacturers, this piece was a fit on several levels. It’s on an official W&D post card, it’s from the 1880s, and it has baseball related content…i.e. baseball uniform belts.

I don’t have very much invested into it and am quite happy with what it is at face value. That said, I had become curious about the handwriting itself, more specifically, whose hand(s) the notations were made in.

After examining it for a couple days and securing a valuable and trusted initial opinion (thanks, Bruce), I simply want to get some additional eyes on it. At this point in time, it seems clear that the post card reflects the handwriting of two different people…

All the content on the front of the card and the address on the backside looks to have been done by one writer. In this instance, a Temple Craige who was George Wrights brother-in-law, the Secretary of W&D Sporting Goods, and…interestingly…part of the foursome who played the first game of golf in Boston in 1890 (with George Wright). His signature…at least his last name (Craige)…can be seen on the card underneath the ‘Yours Truly, Wright and Ditson’ line. Again, my thanks to bgar3 for this info.

But, there is another notation on the card…

On that backside where the address is written is a line that reads, ‘ Wright & Ditson…Feb.,1886 ‘. This notation was written vertically and is clearly in a different hand than that of the rest of the card. What I am interested in is whether or not the writer could have been George Wright.

As this is not a signature per se, I have been trying to compare the style, the construction, and slant of the writing to that of known samples from George Wright’s. In doing so, I found a number of examples that very closely match the way both the letters and the numbers were written here on this card. These examples span a period from the 1870s-1930s, so trying to ascertain something definitive…esp. because its not an actual signature…has been challenging.

Looking at various examples over time, its evident that Wright's execution of his last name...particularly the letters 'W' and 't'... were not always uniform or consistent. The balance of the name...'_righ_' looks like a match for many of the examples out there. Likewise, the way in which he would write an '8' and the 'D' in Ditson is very similar to other examples. In the next post, I added some of the examples I found for comparison.

As you may be able to tell, I am by no means an autograph expert, so I hope to get some feedback from the board membership. I thank you all in advance for your thoughts and input.

Best,
Jonathan
www.dugouttreasures.com

Here are some of the comps out there...

Some more...

Side by sides with a sample taken directly from an 1887 W&D catalog...

Looks right to me with flow, angles, and size. Nice piece.

Double pist

Jonathon,
Agree that there are 2 handwritings and the body is most likely Craige’s. More importantly, I also think it is likely the side writing is by George Wright.
I am no expert or authenticator but I collect George Wright and have seen numerous examples of his handwriting.
I probably should have bid more, but I am very glad you have it.

I have never seen a Wright where he did not carry the final stroke to make the cross of his t and it usually slants down. Even in the one you posted where it seems like he did, he strokes up and then crosses his t. It is perhaps his most definite telltale characteristic. Yours has a hard stop and then a completely new starting point to cross his t.

I am no expert but the D in Ditson dose not match either of the Capital D's in the samples. The other D in Ditson and the capital D in Doctor from his letter match up and seem quite different from the D in your sample.

A take on this from a stamp collecting/postal history perspective.

The card appears to be what you think it is. I wouldn't have made the name connection, figuring it was a random purchasing agent for W+D. But it all looks "right" If not for the baseball content, it's not an expensive card.

To me, that extra inscription is docketing. Many companies saved all their correspondence (Fortunately, especially for some companies) And many documents were designed to fit in a particular file box, which stored things on end. The recipients filed them typically by sender, and since return addresses weren't universal at the time and on business letters could be on the back flap..
They wrote the name of the sender, date received, and sometimes other info on the end of the card or envelope. The copy of the return letter, and any other documents were kept in the same drawer, all similarly marked.

If I had to state who wrote that, I'd say it was a clerk at the Hamilton Web Company.
They were a fairly large place, now a luxury condo.
https://www.independentri.com/indepe...374a1490f.html

https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/RI-01-NK36

For it to be Wright, I'd want to see some way the card went back to W+D and that Wright did his own docketing and filing. But returning a card requesting a quote would be very unusual for the 1880's.
(It would be a letter written something like
recieved your postal of Feby third requesting a price on BB web. Our prices are as follows,

That followed usually by samples sent under separate cover - unless it was light enough stuff to put in the same envelope like a couple inches of yarn, but belt webbing was pretty heavy stuff. And sometimes some flowery language about the quality and durability of their goods. And an expressed hope to satisfy their order soonest.

It looks to be signed "Craige" below the printed byline.