Featured Book signed by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor

A very recent purchase and, luckily, I paid nowhere near the seller’s asking price. I am choosing not to reveal how much I did pay, but feel confident that even if all I got was a page with the autographs of the Duke and Duchess, it was still a good deal.
I am not an admirer of this couple but, nonetheless, I find their story very interesting.
The 2002 appraisal letter that came with it states, “There are several handwritten comments on sides of pages throughout the book, most probably from Wallis Simpson.“ The sale listing did not include photos of any of these handwritten comments.
Rather disappointingly, I have found only three one/two-word penciled comments written throughout the book and have included photos here. And, rather than being “most probably from Wallis Simpson“, I believe they are most probably from the original owner of the book, of whose penciled signature I have included two photos here (same signature - which I can't read - from two different lighting angles).
When I purchased the book, my hope was that it may have actually been personally owned by the Duke and Duchess, even though no such claim was made. Now I believe it was more likely an admirer‘s book who, upon meeting the Duke and Duchess at some point in his/her life, had them autograph the front illustration. Opinions on this are appreciated.
Also, considering the book’s condition, if the few notations are not thought to belong to Wallis I’m considering throwing away the book and only keeping the illustration with the Duke and Duchess signatures along with the title page for framing (which are both already detached from the binding). Naturally, I wouldn’t do this if the book had any possibility of having been a personal possession of the Duke and Duchess.
Thanks, I look forward to your comments!

 

VERY cool!!!! Congrats on your purchase!! Hey, whether you liked them or not, they're a part of history, and so is the "signatured" book! I would keep it intact!! Along with the appraisal letter....that's part of it too! THAT'S MY HO!!

 

I think the notes 'quite lovely', 'lovely' & 'bravo' were, as you suspect, written by an owner of the book, not by the duke or duchess.

 

Thanks for weighing in!

 

Thanks!

 

I'm with you and Aquitaine, I think the notes were made by the owner of the book.

My question is - how were you able to personally authenticate the signatures in green before you purchased it? Did you compare siggys online? Did you just trust the appraisal? I find it off that one is expected to read the script signature of the appraiser, without the name typed out below, to know who made those determinations.
Of course, I hope those are the real deal and I would keep the entire book.

 

I did both, compared siggies myself and trusted the appraisal. I know it was a great risk. If I should ever decide to sell, it would be through a company that would authenticate.

EDIT: Also the seller was the Gary VanHaas mentioned in the appraisal letter… but if the appraisal letter is a complete fake, the peoples names could be fake, too.

 

///Thanks, Bluumz, I was just curious. I cannot tell WHO SIGNED the appraisal letter, which seems "off" to my way of thinking. Ordinarily their signature is typed below the line they sign on.

 

Very nice!

 

I'm no fan of those Windsors, but it's a fascinating piece. I'd agree the annotations are the original owner. I'd keep it together, it's the history of it.

somebody H Booth? And have those signatures been overwritten, maybe started as pencil?

 

I would be very cautious here. Can you find any internet mention of International Art Guild of Appraisers in London? Here's another appraisal used by the Hale/VanHass Gallery and done by Appraiser Loft in San Diego. Appraiser Loft appears to have been a home appraisal operation whose owner had pleaded guilt to running a Ponzi scheme. Both appraisals have the stamp of International Fine Arts Guild, an organization which also can't be found on the internet.

https://live.autographmagazine.com/...rtraits-and?commentId=3524372:Comment:1169976

Debora

 

Good point, I've never heard of them.

 

Thanks, @Debora, I know it was a risk but I also knew my payment was covered by the auction and payment safety nets. I was aware of the Michael Jackson alleged issue prior to my purchase. And I, too, hadn't been able to find anything out about the appraiser/appraisal outfit in the letter. There was a bit of info on the Sausalito gallery but not much.
My gut feeling was that the siggies were likely real so I decided to purchase. I'm attempting further research.

 

More views of the signatures with some backlighting. They appear to me as signed with a fountain pen... or is it a felt-tip? They seem to most resemble signatures from later in their lives.

 

Just mentioning, I did realize that with no provenance from the original recipient of the signatures, any COA is only worth the paper it's written on. All in all, it came down to what I believed likely, and how happy I'd be with it as owner, since I didn't have any intention of selling it on.
I welcome dissenting opinions and, if strong enough, they may influence me enough to force a return/refund.
That said, it does seem an odd item to fake signatures on... and plausible that a fan of the couple would ask them to sign such a plate in a favorite book.

 

I think it highly unlikely that either ever signed anything in green ink. It would have been in very poor taste.

Debora

 

Thanks, that's a good point, I'll try to research it further.

 

Green ink was actually a Thing. I'm trying to recall which aristo or author it was who'd use nothing else.

But I do think those siggies are sus.

 

I just found this:

King Edward VIII - Autograph Circa 1941 co-signed by: Duchess Of Windsor (Wallis Simpson) | HistoryForSale Item 257012



And this:



Their signatures seem to vary somewhat significantly over the years... but mine has, too, I suppose.

 

Are we really to believe that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor signed autographs?

Debora