Adolf Hitler 1925 Autographed photograph...opinions please.

[excalibr]

Let me say first off..I KNOW this is a crappy picture, so you don't have to get onto me about the pic It's the only picture I have. This is a picture from an upcoming auction. I know Hitlers auto is faked alot. I just don't know enough about it to know if his signature changed through time. You may be able to see enough on this signature to know it is clearly a fake. Maybe it is too close to call. I can try to post better pics Thursday when I get to the auction and can take better pics with my phone and upload them. All the autographs I have seen show his first name as a couple letters...this one looks like you can read more of his name. This also appears to be personalized...Again..I know the picture is horrible! There's not much I can do right now. Believe me...If I had better pics I would post them. thanks

[Wagriff]

The signature looks nothing at all like any Hitler signature that I've seen.

[maximus71]

I would tread very carefully, I have been collection sports autographs for 20 years now, and AH is somewhat like the babe ruth/ michael jordan of military autographs, as with the babe and mike about 90% are fake right off the top.....I see the photo is dated early, so its possible he signed his name differently back then, an early auto if you will, but it needs to be examined closely with magnification to make sure foremost that its not autopen or facsimille, you would have to compare all known original examples of his signatures to this one, I think its a real risk especially if you spend alot of money only to find out its bad, but if the price is right you can always take the chance then find/pay an expert to look at it for you.....I have not studied his signatures enough to make a clear call on this one, but without holding it or putting it under magnification I dont think anyone here could be 100% sure if its real or not.

[Aleksander P]

I highly doubt the signatures authenticity, even though it matches the style he used at that period. I wouldn't go for it.

Here's a list:

[excalibr]

I appreciate all the input! I agree with all the opinions as well. Yes, it is dated early and that's what I wanted to know...did his signature change from his early years compared to the end of the war. I will definately take a 10x loop and look at the paper to see if I can tell if it is an authentic pen writing or printed. I have no idea what this will go for at the auction, but if it looks like a good pen signature, I may risk $100 or so...I don't know. IF it turns out to be authentic, it COULD be a great investment (and/or addition to my personal collection of WWII items).

[big ned]

I can't see how anyone can in all honesty and with assurance, say that this is or is not Hitler's signature on the extremely poor photographic evidence provided here. Better photo's are required, it makes me laugh when I think of folks not wishing to comment until better photo's are provided of an item whatever it may be, on this forum, yet are fast enough to come to a conclusion on the crappiest of evidence here of something potentially very interesting.

I'm suprised also that no-one has even thought to mention the 4 lines of handwriting, and what that may entail in it's content, and if it could be compared to known handwriting by the Fuhrer. The date is also rather significant (15?) April 1925, a few days before his 36th birthday on the 20th.He also relinquished his Austrian citizenship a few days before the date on the photo, on the 7th of April and was essentially stateless for nearly 7 years thereafter. That month 'Mein Kampf' was first published, Ernst Rohm, Hitler's most dangerous opponent, resigned from the party after disagreements with the leader, and of course it was also the month that the SS was formed. Interesting and significant times I think.

And for that reason I feel that it would be of benefit of a closer look, before writing it off so casually, although in reality I doubt we'll get to see the kind of good copies of the handwriting and signature required by someone who is qualified enough to say yay or nay, which I believe has not occured here so far. But that is the way it should be done, if it is to be done properly at all.

Absit invidia, Ned.

[big ned]

Hi excalibr,

Not being grumpy, but I think that photo's taken on your phone won't cut the mustard regarding this item. TBH, it really needs a hands on inspection by an expert, for which you would have to pay, and that's only going to happen if you buy the photo first, because I don't think you can really verify something like this positively from an image on a computer screen when you really need to be positive.

The early signature of Hitler is also heavily faked, as looking at the number for sale on iOffer prove. But just for the hell of it, here's a pic of a genuine sample of Hitler's writing and signature from the same year, that was written by him as a dedication in a first edition of 'Mein Kampf'.

Regards, Ned.

[Wagriff]

As I said above, I haven't seen a Hitler sig that looks like this one does. That being, it doesn't mean that I think it's a fake, but I do Not like certain aspects of it-especially so the "H" and the "I" in Hitler. The H almost looks like it was written free-standing and the "I" was penned over when the rest of the name was written. The early signatures don't appear to show such a thing, but, as has been said, this piece really needs to be closely inspected in hand to get a better handle on it. Another possibility that I would raise here is that in 1925, the "autopen" was not yet in existence, and even if it Had been, Hitler was a relatively unknown politician at that point and it's doubtful that he would have even had such a thing in any case. What Is possible,however, and it was done quite frequently, is that of a "secretarial signature". Hitler was, in this time frame, quite a busy man and it is very possible if not likely that someone may have signed For him. Regardless, I very much doubt that any signed photo of Hitler-even if it has a Ghost of a chance of being real-would go for $100. Even on speculation, it is probable to go to the several thousand dollar range.

[big ned]

I very much doubt that any signed photo of Hitler-even if it has a Ghost of a chance of being real-would go for $100. Even on speculation, it is probable to go to the several thousand dollar range.

Quite. The above example of the 1st edition of 'Mein Kampf' was sold by auctioneers Mullock's of Ludlow (renowned for selling Hitler items such as his watercolours etc.) for £21,000 in 2009 to a Russian collector. They had originally thought that it would sell for £30,000+, hence my feeling that this piece being inspected by an expert and an informed opinion being posted on the forum is somewhat unlikely.

Regards, Ned.

[excalibr]

I have contacted the auctioneer to see if I can look at it ahead of time to get better pics or at least have them send me some better pics, but I have not heard back (and probably won't either). I do appreciate all the feedback. I will just have to look at it when I get there and make a judgement call. I don't want to spend a fortune, but I don't know what it will go for. Honestly, where I am located, I don't think it would go for more than $500 tops (unless authenticated). This was not in a militaria auction. It is a 'regular' estate auction. There are a few other WWII items, as well as a few pieces of currency from the 1920s from Germany as well. There are alot of other items from the 1920s and 30s, so whoever owned the estate definately lived in the time period of the photo.