Someone selling this Tolkien sig on a facebook group

On the face of it, to me it looks ok as a closure and signature. It is really too bad that whatever letter it came from is now lost as that would add significant value to be whole rather than cut.

A letter of authenticity doesn't add anything (in my mind) unless I know the person who wrote it and trust them - and then it is the opinion that matters, not the piece of paper. It doesn't protect the buyer or the seller in the transaction, but it might give someone some peace of mind.

I've seen this facebook listing as well, and don't think anything poorly of it, but I am not really interested in cut signatures personally.

PS - welcome to the site! Glad to have you.

I feel like a cut signature like that is pretty meaningless. I guess it could be tidied up and used as a bookplate, but otherwise I'm not sure the point of it.

Like Urulókë says, a COA really means nothing unless you have reason to trust the certifying authority. Unless they saw this cut from the original letter, I don't really know how anyone can be truly certain about the validity of it.

Thanks ! So glad to be here

I am no expert and others here certainly have the skills to suggest better than I so take this entirely as my opinion that could be miles off.
But, something looks off about this sig to me, not the sig per se but the setting. The placement with the folds suggests there was plenty of room on the page, yet there is no line under his name. Tolkien almost always struck a line under his name unless space did not permit. So why, if it was there, would the person who cut this off a letter cut off the line under his name? And the sig just looks precisely random if you get me. It looks like it was written slow and precise.

Again, I could be, and am probably wrong but I personally would need more than a COA to spend on this.

Signature of the Man himself...awesome.

The that someone ruined it by cutting it out of whatever letter it originally came from...heartbreaking.

Mr. Underhill wrote:

Signature of the Man himself...awesome.

The that someone ruined it by cutting it out of whatever letter it originally came from...heartbreaking.

There were a good few letters ruined to create bookplates in years past. I'd like to think no one would be so reckless these days.