Hi Ian,Ian Sayer wrote:I agree with Hucks Alex. Signed photos and documents from this period can be worth a lot of money depending on various factors so it is an area which is attractive to forgers. People who have been collecting for a long time are not infallible but I think in this field some of the 'old hands' would be more competent than 'experts' from the major auction houses. Sometimes people rely on certificates of authentication which , in my opinion, are usually worthless. Other people rely on buying from auction houses of long standing but it is often the case that the auction 'expert' has very little experience of the signatures they are certifying. If you buy on E Bay or similar the old adage of 'buyer beware' must always prevail. I think it is possible to find the odd 'bargain' on Ebay but you would have to be very very lucky. It is , as far as I can see, a forger's paradise. Everybody has to start somewhere but you should be extra careful as you build up experience. It is a very engaging hobby but you have to learn from your mistakes. I have! Third Reich magazines and newspapers could be an interesting area. You are unlikely to find many forgeries , if any, for two reasons. From a forger's point of view it is not worth it and secondly any forger would probably have to use paper stock produced after the war which is quite easy to determine with ultra violet torches. Hope that helps and good luck Alex.
Thank you so much for your great advice! Lucky for me that I have such a narrow interest that there's probably no reasons for me to buy another signed photo.
Apart from the signature issues they are nice photos that I've never seen before, though expensive. I thought I could trust a guy in his eighties with huge lot of photos, letters and documents but it turns out that I was wrong...
Btw, just curious, does anyone forge personal letters?
Regards,
Alex