13-11-2021, 08:27 PM (This post was last modified: 13-11-2021, 08:47 PM by Howard Wright.)
Hi All
I’m not sure Jon. There is not a lot of provenance. If someone could show me Lord Austin’s signature on an authoritative document and it was comparable I’d buy it for the Archive!
Cheers
Howard
Hi Jon
Brief research yields the following and I don’t think the signatures are the same.
most peoples signature changes in shape over the years, mine has. but if you sign your name with your first name initial. you dont then change to just signing your sir name.
especially with someone like lord austin, as his signature would have to be recognised as the same on all documents for a business.
plus it looks like its been done by an 8 year old.
David Howe has forwarded this image of a letter dated 1938:
The form of the letter 'S' is completely different, so I would be extremely sceptical of the ebay item's provenance. Note also that, as Lord Austin, the convention is just to use the surname, but that Sir Herbert added a small 'H' beneath the signature.
13-11-2021, 09:55 PM (This post was last modified: 13-11-2021, 09:57 PM by Colin Morgan.)
Might Lord Austin just sign 'Austin'? I seem to remember the Fawlty Towers episode - 'I'm Lord Melbury, so I just sign Melbury' - as per the letter just added...
However, I don't think that first cut out signature as offered looks very convincing... seems feeble compared with the other ones?
13-11-2021, 09:55 PM (This post was last modified: 13-11-2021, 09:59 PM by JonE.)
He was H Austin till 1936.
He would have signed himself 'Austin' after that as he was created a Baron in 1936.
Well, the 1938 one doesn't look much like the Motor Co. published one either! Intriguing. Would be good to see more letters like David's one... that signature looks terribly feminine and the subject suggests that could also be the hand of a secretary.
The late Ray Walker who ran the Austin Seven garage in Cambridge for many years was not good at keeping up with his paperwork. I can remember him expressing his annoyance about Mary, his wife, signing various documents including cheques which he had not got around to dealing with. Their writing was very similar in fact, so as far as I know the signature was never questioned.