Billy Nash auto

[rholmes]

Does anyone have or know of an auto example for Billy Nash (Boston NL 1884-95; Phila NL 1896-98)? I can't locate one anywhere. He would likely have signed with some variation of his full name, William M. Nash.

[prewarsports]

I had one probably a decade or two ago that came from a family member. I will have to see if I can find the scan, it was like four computers ago It was a full name signature if I remember correctly.

[rholmes]

Thanks, Rhys. If you have any luck finding it, please post!

[rholmes]

So, no luck finding anything signed by Billy Nash.

Here's the reason I was looking. This is an 1871 book on Pitman shorthand that appears to have been owned by the Nash family, in which a fifteen-year old Billy, in 1880, practiced signing his name. There are variations of William M. Nash, twelve times in total, including one instance using his middle name, Mitchell. There is also a short paragraph handwritten in Pitman shorthand signed with the initials "E.J.N". Billy's mother died in 1878, and in 1880 Billy's father was remarried to a woman named Emma Jordan Harris, whose initials would then become E.J.N.

In 1880 Billy Nash was only a couple of years away from playing baseball at the highest levels in Richmond, and was signed by the Boston Beaneaters in 1885 at age 20.

Here are a couple of pages of the book:

[milkit1]

very cool! That W is very distinctive. Hopefully another example pops up