Feature September 2013

Fake George Baxter Signatures

As with many other collectable items, Baxter Prints have been forged. Fakes have been in existence since the early part of the last century when the prices of Baxter Prints were at their highest.

One method used to persuade collectors to pay more for what was considered a less valuable Baxter Print published by one of his Licensees was to add a fake George Baxter signature to the print.

Le Blond's print of The Royal Family at Buckingham Palace was a common target for this action. Here the fake George Baxter signature has been added diagonally to the bottom right corner.

Close inspection reveals if the signature has been affixed with a rubber stamp, or sometimes a copper plate, but it is always clear to see that these fake signatures have been added to the surface of the print.

The crude signature added to the surface of this copy of Le Blond's The Royal Family at Buckingham Palace is easy to spot.