Need help with autograph authentication

[tennyson]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a long-time fan of author Harlan Ellison and recently I was looking into buying an autographed manuscript of his off of EBay. As you can guess, I'm a little cautious about dropping money on something that's not authentic. Is anyone here a collector of autographs, or would perhaps know of a reputable way to authenticate one?

Would my local card shop be able to? Should I go to a third-party? The item that I am currently looking at supposedly has its certificate issued by Southwest Autographs. I can't find them on Google, which makes me even more suspicious, but on the flip side I don't want to pass up such a great item.

Thanks for any help or suggestions you can offer!

 

[Mirth]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a long-time fan of author Harlan Ellison and recently I was looking into buying an autographed manuscript of his off of EBay. As you can guess, I'm a little cautious about dropping money on something that's not authentic. Is anyone here a collector of autographs, or would perhaps know of a reputable way to authenticate one?

Would my local card shop be able to? Should I go to a third-party? The item that I am currently looking at supposedly has its certificate issued by Southwest Autographs. I can't find them on Google, which makes me even more suspicious, but on the flip side I don't want to pass up such a great item.

Thanks for any help or suggestions you can offer!

Harlan signed a copy of Deathbird Stories for me when he attended the Sycamore Hill writing group in Raleigh/Chapel Hill during the '80s. I was working at Foundation's Edge in Raleigh at the time and the whole group came in and signed a number of books impromptu, so I know the signature's authentic. IF (and I'm stressing the IF here) I can locate the book in a timely fashion, I'll try to scan the title page for you. Feel free to email me if you wish...

Jay

mirthcard [at] yahoo [dot] com

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

You can "ask seller a question" on EBay right? I'd ask the seller to provide you with contact information for this "Southwest Autographs", and then get validation. If you don't get a detailed response, than you know to move on...