EK2 document - possible signature von Brandis

[Matthieu]

Dear collectors,

I recently purchased an interesting Baltic Cross group here on WAF, finally time to go through it all.

I came across the attached award document for the EK2 ... could it possibly hold the signature of von Brandis himself ?

If so, is this a rare signature, or are there plenty of documents out there carrying his signature ? Not much here on WAF.

Mathijs

[Brian L.]

There are some similarities, But, it's not typical of von Brandis' signature. My guess is that a subordinate was tasked with signing his name on his behalf.

[Chris Boonzaier]

There are some similarities, But, it's not typical of von Brandis' signature. My guess is that a subordinate was tasked with signing his name on his behalf.

That would be very unusual... basically forging his signature? Why not signe i.A. ?

[Brian L.]

That would be very unusual... basically forging his signature? Why not signe i.A. ?

I'm not suggesting it was forged. I could be wrong. But, I think it was not uncommon for an assistant to sign on behalf of a commander.

If I get a chance, I'll post von Brandis' signature for comparison.

[naxos]

I agree with CB - a subordinate would have signed "i.A" (im Auftrag) and used his own name.

Here is von Brandis signature

[Brian L.]

I agree with CB - a subordinate would have signed "i.A" (im Auftrag) and used his own name.

Here is von Brandis signature

ok. The sample signature that I have is the same as yours with the distinctive breaks between the n and d and i and s.

So, the signature on the document, although there are some similarities is too different in my opinion to be von Brandis' unless he was tired from signing a lot of docs and just got sloppy.

[Chris Boonzaier]

Possible he had 50 or 60 to sign in one go.... my signature varies wildly when I have to sign 5-6 forms at a go...

[Brian L.]

Possible he had 50 or 60 to sign in one go.... my signature varies wildly when I have to sign 5-6 forms at a go...

You might be right. But, I seriously doubt he had 50 or 60 EKII docs to sign. This was certainly common during the war. But, post-war, especially EK docs named to a specific Freikorps such as this are comparatively rare.

[ODW]

ok. The sample signature that I have is the same as yours with the distinctive breaks between the n and d and i and s.

Is yours ink?
With ink you have to make these distinctive breaks or there will be points on the paper.
With a pencil there is no need for these distinctive breaks.

[Brian L.]

Is yours ink?
With ink you have to make these distinctive breaks or there will be points on the paper.
With a pencil there is no need for these distinctive breaks.

Mine is photocopy of an ink signature.

In thinking about it, yours is probably ok. Just von Brandis on a bad day. There's absolutely no reason to think that someone would bother to fake it. It's not like it adds much value like say someone really famous like von Richtofen, Rommel or Göring. It's just nice to have. I have several original Freikorps leader signatures which probably are in the same vein of being nice to have, but not especially valuable.

I'd be interested to see the whole group that you got.

[ODW]

Mine is photocopy of an ink signature.

In thinking about it, yours is probably ok. Just von Brandis on a bad day. There's absolutely no reason to think that someone would bother to fake it. It's not like it adds much value like say someone really famous like von Richtofen, Rommel or Göring. It's just nice to have. I have several original Freikorps leader signatures which probably are in the same vein of being nice to have, but not especially valuable.

I'd be interested to see the whole group that you got.

I got nothing, i´m not OP. ;-)
Just a good observer who has held a pencil and an ink filler in his hands. ;-)

[Chris Boonzaier]

You might be right. But, I seriously doubt he had 50 or 60 EKII docs to sign. This was certainly common during the war. But, post-war, especially EK docs named to a specific Freikorps such as this are comparatively rare.

I am guessing the awards to the FK were done in one lot, I doubt that the high command did them on an individual basis... so 10, 20, 30 , 40... depending on how many were awarded... at regiments during the war they also did them in batches.

[Matthieu]

I'd be interested to see the whole group that you got.

Will try to take snapshots and post here when possible ...

Many thanks for those taking time to react and educate me on this issue.
The signature on my document is indeed in pencil - adding a better snapshot.
I do see quite a large similarity on the signature shown by member Naxos.
Not sure what the abbreviation means ( which I marked in red ).

Mathijs