STAN LAUREL AUTOGRAPH STUDY

Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born on June 16, 1890 and died on February 23, 1965 at the age of 74. Genuine Laurel and Hardy autographs have always been desirable, and authentic material has proven itself to be a good investment. Fortunately there is a lot to choose from. Stan Laurel signed his name more times than can be counted—on photographs, checks, contracts, letters and album pages. But even with the seemingly inexhaustible supply of authentic autographs on the market, examples continue to pop up that are not genuine. We hope this study sheds some light on the topic.

Though he has undoubtedly signed tens of thousands of items, demand continues to outweigh supply and Stan's autograph regularly sells for between $125-$250 on an album page or signed check. Album pages that include his partner Oliver Hardy's signature sell for twice that, averaging between $200-$400. A standard typed letter signed (TLS) with average content usually sells for between $125-$225, while letters carrying unique content—especially those mentioning his association with Mr. Hardy—can sell for many times that amount. An autographed letter signed (ALS) is a letter completely handwritten by the subject. These usually sell for more than a typed letter and again depend on content for price.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH STAN SIGN HIS AUTOGRAPH

Probably the most popular Stan Laurel signed item is the classic 1930s Bud "Stax" Graves portrait of Stan and his partner (pictured at the top of this article). These photos can fetch in excess of $1000 and occasionally double that amount depending on size and personalization. Photos signed by Stan alone usually sell for between $250-$800 depending on vintage. The earlier the photo, the more valuable, with snapshot photos signed later in life much more plentiful, and therefore much more affordable to the collector.

Items without personalizations are currently more in demand and usually command a higher price tag, although unpersonalized items are by far the most often forged Laurel and Hardy autograph examples. We are sensitive to and disappointed by the growing number of fraudulent autographs represented by unscrupulous dealers and Internet sellers as authentic. Therefore, much care was taken to exclude questionable material from this report. The good news is that perhaps more so than any other celebrity, Stan Laurel's autograph has been remarkably consistent over time.

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Over the years, Stan Laurel has signed many contracts and legal agreements, and while his contracts are not common on the autograph market they do show up from time to time. Personal checks are more plentiful. The signed signatures below were taken from legal documents dating from 1926 to 1960. The similarities between the signatures in this 36-year period are obvious, with only one noticeable difference: sometime in the early 1930s, Stan changed the way he wrote the capital "L" of his last name, dropping the bottom loop entirely and making the top loop more "stylized." It's also worth noting that in later life (seen in this contract signature from 1960), Stan began writing his signature wider—with the letters more spread out than in earlier examples.

PERSONAL CHECK 1926		PERSONAL CHECK 1926
PERSONAL CHECK 1938		CONTRACT 1943
CONTRACT 1950		CONTRACT 1960

IN-PERSON SIGNATURES

Consistent with Stan's signature over the years is his use of the "paraph" under his name and the fact that he always adds a period, or "full stop," after his signature. Another characteristic of Stan's autograph is that he almost always signs in fountain pen—favoring blue, but often signing in black. There might be a few out there, but we have never seen an authentic example of Stan's autograph in ball-point pen. There are some authentic pencil autographs in existence—solely on album pages—but to our knowledge he never signed in ball-point pen. The following are examples from vintage autograph albums. Take a few minutes and look over the signatures for common similarities.

ALBUM PAGE 1931		ALBUM PAGE 1940
ALBUM PAGE 1942		ALBUM PAGE 1942
ALBUM PAGE 1947		ALBUM PAGE 1952

SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS

There are authentically signed Laurel and Hardy photographs in existence without personalizations, but these are the rarest of the rare. Stan believed that it was just as important to personally sign photos for fans making requests as it was to personalize each to the individual. Therefore, most signed photos from every era will commonly feature a handwritten inscription on the photo. These were universally penned by Stan and usually run the gamut from personal inscriptions for close friends to a simple "Hello!" with Stan adding the name of the recipient to the salutation.

PHOTOGRAPH 1924		PHOTOGRAPH 1934
PHOTOGRAPH 1936		PHOTOGRAPH 1942
PHOTOGRAPH 1943		PHOTOGRAPH 1961

SIGNED LETTERS

Owning an autograph represents a chance to connect to a personality that you admire. Often, these are people who are long gone, and holding something in your hand that was once held in theirs offers the ultimate opportunity to feel a closeness with that individual. If a signature, which is just name, can bring so much joy to a collector, what about being able to read the actual thoughts and feelings of the person you love? Therein lies the power of the signed letter! Stan's letters are a joy to read, and an even greater treasure to own. If you are the lucky recipient of one of Stan's letters or a collector with one in your collection, please e-mail us at info@lettersfromstan.com and add a copy of your letter to the Archive.

LETTER 1928		LETTER 1934
LETTER 1957		POSTCARD 1960
POSTCARD 1961		LETTER 1963

SECRETARIES AND FORGERIES

Forgeries are common, especially on the internet. Stan never utilized secretaries to sign his name, but it should be noted that in the early days, major Hollywood studios did systematically send out non-genuine signatures to answer the large volume of fan mail that came in requesting autographs of its stars, including Hal Roach Studios.

The easiest fake studio photo to detect is the "pre-print." these photos include "autographs" that are not signed on the actual photos, but mechanically reproduced in the printing process. Another common method of mechanically "signing" photos is through the use of the rubber stamp. Starting in the silent era, rubber stamps were the most common method for studios to respond to fan requests for autographs of its growing number of stars. Both Stan and Ollie had rubber stamps, with Stan's actual stamper pictured to the right.

Some rubber stamp signatures are quite clean and difficult to detect, unless you know what to look for. If you inspect rubber stamp signatures carefully you can usually notice that the ink fills the valley where the lines cross. Ink "fill-ins" are a major clue to stamped signatures. Pay special attention to the ink intensity. Stamped signatures usually have a uniform tone, but they may become evenly lighter or darker from one end to the other. This is due to the way the stamp is pressed onto the paper. Sometimes a "ghost image" can also be detected. The "ghost" is a second stamp, usually very lightly pressed on to the paper. It is caused by a shake or shift of the stamp while the impression is being made.

Due to the increasing value of Stan Laurel's autograph, forgeries are common. Some of these forgeries are so well done they can fool even the most experienced experts. However, as even very obvious and poor forgeries on eBay occasionally sell for hundreds of dollars, it is concluded that a greater knowledge of Stan's autograph is needed in the general collecting population.