昨夜卖家终于发来回函,拿来供大家分享、参考和讨论。 LETTER OF AUTHENTICITY This book- The Valley of Fear -which has been autographed by Arthur Conan Doyle came from the Estate of Clark Gesner, the composer and lyricist whose defining success was the 1967 smash You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Mr. Gesner (1938-2002) began collecting in 1956 when he obtained the autograph of Clark Gable. From there, he built a collection of more than 10,000 autographs. He obtained the autographs in person, from autograph dealers , or by mail. Mr. Gesner was a well-known collector and shared his collection with Brooklyn Heights area churches, schools, senior citizen groups and other organizations. First and foremost I evaluate the flow of the signature. I also look for the speed of the signature and then I'll start looking for the formation of the letters. I will ascertain pen pressure, hesitations, stops, skips and patching. Has the ink permeated the paper or does it sit on top of the fibers just recently applied? Does the ink used for the signature match the time period. Modern pencil drawings have graphite shine until they oxidize. Modern paper deteriorates and becomes more brittle. Brown mildew spots appear called foxing. Microscopic analysis can tell if the signature was applied recently on old paper on top of the old foxing. The autograph was also evaluated using standard nondestructive techniques of forensic document examination which include a macroscopic evaluation with calipers, protractors, photocopies and their enlargements,along with computer enhancements and computer enlargements.The signature is consistent with other exemplars that I have examined.