Anyone have any opinions on this signature? It doesn't look right to me...
I had the same first impression. Not an expert by any stretch, but looks sketchy to me.
My best answer is this:
Is this typical of Tolkien's signature? No.
Could this nonetheless be Tolkien's signature? Yes. On a given day, in a given circumstance, and with a given writing instrument, people can execute signatures atypically.
Could this be a forgery? Sure. Even a perfectly typical signature could be a forgery, and this isn't typical.
Would I bet $32K that this is Tolkien's signature? No. Without strong provenance, there's plenty of reason to doubt its authenticity.
Carl
Is this typical of Tolkien's signature? No.
Could this nonetheless be Tolkien's signature? Yes. On a given day, in a given circumstance, and with a given writing instrument, people can execute signatures atypically.
Could this be a forgery? Sure. Even a perfectly typical signature could be a forgery, and this isn't typical.
Would I bet $32K that this is Tolkien's signature? No. Without strong provenance, there's plenty of reason to doubt its authenticity.
Carl