Help on a Walter Johnson Autograph

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Steve D

I did a bit of detective work, and found that the addressee of the envelope, Clyde D. Gorman, was an auditor with the US Dept of the Treasury in the 1940 census, when he was 53 years old. Back in 1917, he was working for the US Dept of Agriculture in Washington DC.

So, he was in DC when Walter Johnson was active. He may have gotten the postmark himself, in the thought that it was the first day the stamp was available in Washington DC (where Walter Johnson pitched), and then sometime later got it signed by Walter. He may have requested Walter annotate his team affiliation to tie his career to Washington DC, and give further legitimacy to the postmark.

Steve

That may be. some of the cachet makers sold blank envelopes, some didn't.
It's also possible the maker of the cover had it sent to Mr Gorman, which was typical.
It's also possible the maker was Mr Gorman, many of the cachet makers of the era had day jobs.
I'm hardly an expert on who made what cachet, but there is a first day cover society that could probably answer that easily.