Post #717979 by TikiTacky on Fri, May 23, 2014 12:35 PM

I recently acquired this Don the Beachcomber menu which was purportedly signed by Donn. There's a few curious things about it:

1. It's signed in ballpoint pen, which likely dates it to post-1955 when ballpoint became very popular. Although ballpoint pens were in use post-WWII, so this isn't conclusive.
2. The menu is from the Waikiki location, which dates it to post 1947.
3. The prices in the menu would appear to me to date to to around the early 1950s, but since the menus were never dated very accurately it's hard to tell.
4. The signature and salutation are firm and flowing—there's no pausing, lifting, or hesitance, which are often indications of a forgery.
5. It's signed Don. This threw me at first, but Don apparently tended to use this spelling. It shows up in the signed Christmas card in Waikiki Tiki (which appears to be in Sunny's hand, but spells his name as Don). His later wife, Phoebe, also used this spelling.
6. The only signature that I could find online is the one above. A forger would likely copy the style as well as the spelling. It's the same style, but a different spelling.
7. The items came from an estate sale with other Hawaiian items (none of which were signed).

All things considered, I'm guessing it's genuine, but I'm certainly curious to hear what others think.

[ Edited by: TikiTacky 2014-05-23 12:38 ]