Enid's Signature?

[pete9012S]

You're not tempted to 'bump this one up a bit' then Rob!

[Lucky Star]

Surely this sort of ting is illegal? Trades Descriptions Act or something?

[Rob Houghton]

It ends in just over an hour and has now reached £12.50 - with six bids! How can people be so gullible? I despair!

[Courtenay]

A fool and his money, etc... Maybe someone thinks they're about to get a bargain and no-one's stopped to think why the price hasn't gone nearly as high as one might expect for a genuine signature? (And is the seller also completely duped, or are they just seeing how far they can have people on and get away with it??)

[Fiona1986]

Maybe it's someone who thinks they can dupe someone else out of even more!

[Julie2owlsdene]

Why really worry about it, as long as you're not the person who is going to be conned, is the way I see it. Anyone who wants to buy a book of this kind is quite capable of doing their homework first. And let's face it, there are a lot of crooks out there doing this kind of thing regarding anything and not only books.

[Rob Houghton]

well I reported it as fraudulent, but I don't suppose eBay would do anything, as it was near to end of bidding. For me, its an extension of having being bullied, I think - I dislike people being tricked and taken for fools. Yes, people could do research - but let's not forget that many people haven't seen the real signature, and haven't had the excellent information we have had from Tony regards what is genuine. I guess I just dislike people being duped, and I do care about this sort of thing happening to innocent buyers - its just the way I am.

As a seller of books on eBay, I always try extremely hard to describe the books accurately so that people know exactly what they are getting, and I dislike seeing sellers who have less scruples!

[Boatbuilder]

Surely it is the job of a handwriting analyst to determine what is, or is not, a fraudulent signature. We all know that it's almost impossible to sign your name identically twice - even to the untrained eye. (I know I can't sign mine) However, a handwriting expert/analyst would be able to tell from certain features that the untrained eye can't if a signature is likely to be fraudulent, such as the pressure used in writing or in the case of having used a fountain or dipped pen, the angle the nib would have been held at, plus undoubtedly other features.

However, having said that, I notice that whilst the item in question was mentioned by Rob as being in its 'last hour' of bidding only yesterday, it has now disappeared completely from e-bay which is rather unusual as items usually stay there for a long time (even years) after the bidding is closed. Clicking the original link (copied below) now directs to a page with an entirely different book on it.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SIGNED-BY-EN ... SwvQRbTdvi

[pete9012S]

You can still click to see the original listing:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SIGNED-BY-EN ... 7675.l2557" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Daisy]

Very different indeed! (referring to the link Boatbuilder gives.)

[Courtenay]

So someone paid £35.55 (+ £3.00 postage) for that...

I agree it's wisest to get a handwriting expert to verify something like this, which is something I'd most certainly do if I were selling an item with an autograph that was supposedly Enid Blyton's (or any other famous person's). But this one is really quite patently different from the many genuine EB signatures we have seen — Tony for one could be considered an expert and I know he's often posted on this thread and others to advise on whether a purported Blyton signature is real or not.

[Rob Houghton]

One almost-certain way to tell this signature is a fake (in my experience anyway) is that as far as I know, Enid never just signed her name 'Enid Blyton' she usually wrote something else. In my signed copy of 'Five Go To Smuggler's Top' she wrote 'Love from Enid Blyton' - which was her usual phrase, especially when she wasn't writing a personal dedication to a named child.

Enid also usually signed her name on a plain page, or in a large space on a page - NOT under her printed name, as in this example.

Thirdly - its nothing like her signature!

Tony verified my signed book before I bought it, so I felt quite safe paying the £75 I paid for it - but that was at least a full book with a dust wrapper - not just a title page!! How did this seller get away with earning £35 from a fake?!

Just to compare, here's a photo of my signed book -

[pete9012S]

Great book Rob - I hope one day to own a signed Enid Blyton book.

[Boatbuilder]

Thanks for that other link, Pete.

Interesting that the ebay listing states "SIGNED BY ENID BLYTON . TITLE PAGE ONLY. 1ST ED .THE TREASURE HUNTERS. 1940".

I just looked up the Bibliography of Enid Blyton books and Wikipedia (if it is correct) states that the book was published in 1940 under the pseudonym of Mary Pollock. If the title page being sold with the signature was the 1st edition as stated, then wouldn't that have also had the author's name printed as Mary Pollock, not Enid Blyton?

[Courtenay]

Wikipedia's wrong there — The Treasure Hunters was always published as an Enid Blyton book. You can see the first edition cover and other details here in Tony's online Cave of Books (best Blyton resource on the internet, or probably anywhere for that matter! ).

There were only six books that Enid originally published under the name Mary Pollock and you can see them all here.