Over
the years, we have attempted to save many of you from purchasing "fake"
Betty Hutton autographs. We just don't want to see anyone taken
advantage of. Today will be lesson 300, (and something), from us,
Betty's Estate experts, who knew her well and know the difference
between an original and a fake.
Naturally, you are always welcome to send us an image of an autograph that you have in your possession or are considering purchasing for us to validate. PLEASE remember, just because someone is offering a Certificate of Authenticity along with the autograph does not necessarily guarantee that you are getting an original Betty Hutton signature! If it doesn't look like it was written by someone famous, and with the authority of a star, it most likely wasn't.
Naturally, you are always welcome to send us an image of an autograph that you have in your possession or are considering purchasing for us to validate. PLEASE remember, just because someone is offering a Certificate of Authenticity along with the autograph does not necessarily guarantee that you are getting an original Betty Hutton signature! If it doesn't look like it was written by someone famous, and with the authority of a star, it most likely wasn't.
The
autograph above is currently for sale on eBay for $24.99, comes with a
Certificate of Guarantee, and is a horrible fake! It appears to have
been written by a school child. Ask yourself, if I was a famous actor,
would my signature look this bad? Betty did have a big bold "B" in her
signature, but it was NEVER connected to the rest of the letters in such
a poor manner! All the letters above are slanting at various angles;
not believable, not professional, not real...
Many times the seller has no idea that the autograph in their possession is not real, but they also don't do the necessary homework to find out the difference. Hey, we aren't trying to get anyone in trouble here, we just get rather annoyed by sellers trying to get you hooked by putting so much emphasis on a Certificate of Authenticity; as if that makes the signature real! In Betty's case, there actually happens to be more fakes out there than there are originals! For a very long period of time, Betty refused to sign autographs, and this caused a flood of fakes to fill the void. In many instances, Betty actually asked people close to her to sign photos that arrived in the mail so that she wouldn't have to!
Consequently, today, we see only about one real Betty signature in about 4 to 6; really bad odds for the amateur collector who is shelling out big bucks and trusting the seller, who happens to be no authority on Betty Hutton! Thankfully, in her later years, Betty was very cooperative in signing her autograph for fans, and the majority of the real autographs floating around today are thankfully from that period. We made sure of that...
Many times the seller has no idea that the autograph in their possession is not real, but they also don't do the necessary homework to find out the difference. Hey, we aren't trying to get anyone in trouble here, we just get rather annoyed by sellers trying to get you hooked by putting so much emphasis on a Certificate of Authenticity; as if that makes the signature real! In Betty's case, there actually happens to be more fakes out there than there are originals! For a very long period of time, Betty refused to sign autographs, and this caused a flood of fakes to fill the void. In many instances, Betty actually asked people close to her to sign photos that arrived in the mail so that she wouldn't have to!
Consequently, today, we see only about one real Betty signature in about 4 to 6; really bad odds for the amateur collector who is shelling out big bucks and trusting the seller, who happens to be no authority on Betty Hutton! Thankfully, in her later years, Betty was very cooperative in signing her autograph for fans, and the majority of the real autographs floating around today are thankfully from that period. We made sure of that...
Above
autographed photo available now on eBay for $39.99 with a Certificate
of Authenticity, and the same horrible fake signature as the first
autograph! My 9 year old son could forge a signature better... Dear
teacher, my kid Billy is really, really, really sick today and tomorrow
too. Thanks, My Dad
Interestingly
enough, the same photo is also available on eBay now by a different
seller for $20.00, that is half the price of the first photo, and behold
- it has an original signature attached! The listing says, "Vintage
Betty Hutton, Signed In Person". This eBayer knows their stuff! Look at
the bold strokes, the slant, the authority with which it was written...
this is an authentic Betty signature at it's very best! One final
example below, just so you get the idea... ok, is it Fake or Real?
It's
the genuine article, congratulations! Available now on eBay, for
$29.99, and also a really great historical item to be attached with
Betty Hutton and her memory... End of Lesson
