Old autographs signed in sharpie

JMS1223

I know that over time autographs or anything written in black sharpie sometimes will have a yellow halo around the ink. I currently do not have decades old autographs that were signed using a sharpie so I figured I would start a new thread so those who have been collecting for decades can post examples of old autographs you still have that were signed in sharpie. I am curious if they have haloed or faded at all. I want to see how they have held up over the decades.

I noticed U.S. Presidents did not typically sign in sharpie until George W. Bush took office and it seems since him all those that served after him have signed in sharpie (including former Presidents such as Carter and Bush Sr. signed autographs in sharpie after Bush took office). However, I very rarely see Ronald Reagan autographs signed in sharpie. I am thinking this trend is probably due to the popularity of sharpie becoming huge in the early 2000s. I believe sharpie was invented and first used in the 1970s? Or am I wrong and that was just when the fiber tip marker was invented?

EDIT: I found an example of haloing around black sharpie signatures

I know that Sharpie now sells fade resistant sharpie pens but I am not sure if celebrities, Presidents and other people that sign autographs in sharpie typically use those pens now.

bronzemat

I have some signed from the mid-1990s from San Diego Comic Cons & Hollywood Show, so far they have held up.

Top loaders I find turn yellow though. That's why I moved them all to art portfolio albums.

JBK

I have a leather baseball signed in black Sharpie that developed the halo soon after being signed.

I have a couple acid free cards that slowly developed a halo or faded to a dark greenish color, but I am not 100% sure they are Sharpies.

I am inclined to think that the paper (or leather) is the bigger issue. Sometimes it draws the ink or pigments outward.

I have a number of presidential (and other) signatures in Sharpie from the 1990s. I've not noticed any issues with them or later ones.

On a side note, I had mixed feelings when Sharpies came into common usage. The standard Sharpie (labeled "fine point") is too thick to allow fine details in a signature. The "ultra fine points" are better for that. But, in either case, they allow better permanence than the pens that were used earlier. For photos, Flair felt tip pens were the norm. They wrote well but could fade in sun or flourescent light.

JMS1223

Just a few things I found while browsing:

“ Sharpie markers are solvent based. Solvent-based inks should not be used on archival paper since it will soak through and damage the paper over time. There are no guidelines for what products are archival safe, but it is important to note that archival documents can be damaged by solvents.”

And on this site https://shellielewis.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/sharpie-markers/ someone explained how they drew artwork in fine point sharpie markers and it had turned greenish brown overtime even though the drawings were kept out of sunlight and were done on archival artist’s paper.

JBK

That greenish color is what happened with a small sketch by author Ray Bradbury on an acid free card.

I'd be skeptical that it is an issue with acid free materials in particular, though. The vast majority of Sharpie signatures on all materials in my collection are still intact.

I would be more inclined to think that certain batches of Sharpies might have acted differently.

JMS1223

@JBK said:
That greenish color is what happened with a small sketch by author Ray Bradbury on an acid free card.

I'd be skeptical that it is an issue with acid free materials in particular, though. The vast majority of Sharpie signatures on all materials in my collection are still intact.

I would be more inclined to think that certain batches of Sharpies might have acted differently.

I was thinking the same thing about what may have caused it to occur. Most of the items I have seen are unaffected. It seems it’s just a few that this has happened. I don’t believe it’s how the autographs were stored since most known examples were kept out of sunlight and other autographs stored with them are still black. So it could easily be a bad batch or maybe where the sharpie pen was stored prior to use.

I am glad it seems rare because I would be upset if my Sharpie signed autographs started fading or turning different colors overtime, especially when I keep them out of sunlight.

JBK

@JMS1223 said:
I don’t believe it’s how the autographs were stored since most known examples were kept out of sunlight and other autographs stored with them are still black.

That's very true of mine. I have a stack of dozens of signed cards (all the same type of acid-free card) and only two have developed issues after many years. One is the greenish colored ink, and as I recall the main issue with the other is bleed-through on the back that developed over time.

So it could easily be a bad batch or maybe where the sharpie pen was stored prior to use.

I agree.

291fifth

The fine point Sharpie markers were introduced in 1964.