Opinions on this Mathewson

[woods1999]

Here is a Christy Mathewson signature on the back of a 1904 dinner menu for the 25th anniversary of The Union. Was auctioned off in the Grey Flannel June 2002 auction.




I did a Google search on 1904 Union Frontenac NY and came up with a book.google.com link to "Hayden's Annual Cyclopedia of Insurance in the United States 1904-1905" which mentions an annual meeting held at Frontenac NY, Sept 22, 1904 for the Union Insurance Company.

The same book also lists officers of the Union Insurance Company, and its different divisions. Some of whose signatures I was able to identify on the menu; such as J.F. Downing, J.W. Going, A.J. Harding, and Fred S. James.

More searching turned up several links mentioning Mathewson selling insurance in the off season during the 1900s. Including:
-A newsletter from his fraternity Phi Gamma Delta in which he is mention as a baseball player and insurance agent.
-Another link to a book that states in 1908 he joined the James Perry Agency of the Prudential Insurance Company.
-A third link to August "Garry" Herrmann's biography which has a passage in it that states Mathewson was an insurance broker in New York and in the winter of 1905-1906 Mathewson sold Herrmann a policy.
-A final link from Baseball; an Informal History states that "Within a few years of joining the Giants he was in the insurance business with an office at 20 Vesey Street in Manhattan"
So it's very likely that Mathewson would have been invited to this dinner.

Finally, the Giants were in town that day, they had a doubleheader with the Reds. Mathewson did not pitch that day and didn't pitch until the 24th.

So after researching the following can be said; (1) the dinner for sure happened, (2) signatures of some officers of the company can be found on the menu, and (3) Mathewson was know to have sold insurance in the years around the time of the dinner. Everything points to the high likelihood that Mathewson did attend this dinner and that the autograph is genuine.

I would like to hear what others think, am I way off here? I know it does not match up with the "classic" style of his signature, but there are just too many things adding up.

[Case12]

Photo missing..

[woods1999]

Originally Posted by Case12

Photo missing..

I see both of them.

[GrayGhost]

I don’t see photos

[TUM301]

Originally Posted by GrayGhost

I don’t see photos

+ 1, no photos for me

[woods1999]

OK try that , I think I had the settings on the album as private.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by woods1999

OK try that , I think I had the settings on the album as private.

Be aware that our internal community photo album and a lot of pictures and avatars on the site are not working at the moment. It is being worked on.

As for the pic, I see it now on my pc....

.

[packs]

Not something I would buy. Just my opinion but it looks like the same person wrote several names. Guess it's possible people had more uniformed handwriting then too.

[111gecko]

Originally Posted by packs

Not something I would buy. Just my opinion but it looks like the same person wrote several names. Guess it's possible people had more uniformed handwriting then too.

Agreed..Looks like the flow is similar in both the "Ma"

[Huysmans]

From the photos and information provided, I think this example could definitely be genuine...

[111gecko]

Here is a slabbed CM that looks pretty darned close to the OP.

[theshleps]

I like it. My only hesitation is it is at the top of the page. Often when a forger adds a significant signature it is at the very top or bottom

[etsmith]

Many events and meetings have an honorary speaker and with his ties to the insurance industry he probably seemed like a great choice. The handwriting back then was more standard than it is now, since no one seems to teach it anymore.

[woods1999]

Originally Posted by theshleps

I like it. My only hesitation is it is at the top of the page. Often when a forger adds a significant signature it is at the very top or bottom

I had the same reservation, but in order to have room at the top to forge the signature, the people at the bottom would have had to jam all their signatures down there ( a few overlap) without using the room at the top. Unless of course all signatures are forged, which seems unlikely.

[Bpm0014]

I had the same reservation, but in order to have room at the top to forge the signature, the people at the bottom would have had to jam all their signatures down there ( a few overlap) without using the room at the top. Unless of course all signatures are forged, which seems unlikely.


GREAT GREAT observation!

[Duluth Eskimo]

It’s difficult to assess from a small image and not in hand, but I think it has a good shot at being good too. Hard to say that because most signatures of his are forged and there’s some really good ones out there. One thing I don’t like is that there is little wear and it looks like it’s supposed to be the back cover of an item.