Three years ago when I first started with the change in my Mother's life in NC, I was going through her papers and I came across a program from 1945. It was in a folder that had Save, Frank Sinatra's autograph.
I came across it again going through stuff in my basement. I tried to research it. My mother worked at the Whitehouse during the Roosevelt administration. She attended this function in the Statler Hotel in Washington in January 1945. It was a program to honor Roosevelt and Truman put on by The 1000 Club of the USA. The main speaker was Orson Welles. The toastmaster was George Jessel and the singer/entertainer was the young and new Frank Sinatra. His name was written next to his printed name in the program. Unfortunately I never got the opportunity to question my mother about this.
I couldn't find any information about the 1000 Club. But another significant point, was that Roosevelt passed away in April, just 3 months later. Well, I thought I had a gold mine.
I contacted some autograph places out west and here in St. Louis. I got different quote amounts from $400 to $150. Then I was told I would have to authenticate the signature which would cost around $200. I finally heard from one last autograph expert who told me it was not Frank Sinatra's signature. He had compared it to known signatures and this did not resemble these at all. I looked on EBay and saw for myself that this indeed did not look like any Frank Sinatra signature. It looks like someone just wrote his name.
I thought that since my mother had been at the function, that it was a genuine signature.
It was sort of interesting and fun to imagine it being the real thing but I guess not. (:
