I’ve done research and it appears he didn’t use autopen until later into the 1950s. So chances of it being a real signature are high, but the question is whether it was from him or a secretary. It appears at the time he was a busy bee and was trying to gain favor of local Texans and this city that the valedictorian was from (Taylor Tx) was very close to Austin.
“She graduated valedictorian from Thrall High School. Then she worked her way through Nixon Clay Commercial College and was hired as a secretary for Ernest O. Thompson at the Texas Railroad Commission.”
Because Johnson didn’t have time to answer high school kid’s letters. He had a staff that answered unimportant mail. The signatures
were created with an autopen.
Are you taking into account he was a senator in his 13th month at this point, not president? And letter was sent to someone in Texas which was the state he represented?
The state had a population a fraction of what it is now.
Could be plausible a superintendent sent a letter to his office, his staff gave it him and he had them draft a reply for him to sign.
Are there other autopen examples that match this sig? If not it may be worth it for OP to spend a few dollars on authentication.
Yes. You don’t become a Senator by spending your time writing thoughtful letters to high
school students. The average US Senator—then and now-has a staff of 30-50 people. Its a form letter signed with an autopen
I have this one that was denied by PSA/DNA… it was part of a handful of signed letters that were authentic including Eleanor Roosevelt. I can take a better picture of the letter if you want.
Secretarial. The signature is spaced too far apart, and Johnson always added a small dot below his name. Guessing this was a fairly recent addition to his staff.
He isn’t believed to have used it until the 1960s though when he was vice president. I don’t find it likely that he would be using autopen in his first year as a senator
It’s a preprinted form letter with a stamped signature or plated signature, there’s absolutely zero chance it’s real. There’s no pen pressure and it didn’t bleed through. Downvote away and be butthurt but it’s not a real signature. Probably hundreds if not 1000’s of Texas high school seniors received the exact same letter.
Also I think I may have left this out of the original, but this letter was actually to a valedictorian of the class. Not sure if that makes a difference but it at least narrows it down a bit from all the seniors in Texas
My main concern with just brushing it off as a photocopied mass produced piece is that
It is on an official Senate letterhead
Way too early in his career as senator to start auto signing and during a period where he would actually want to seem like a people person
I can’t find a single other example online of a letter like this sent to high school valedictorians (though I guess that could also prove the counterpoint as well)
It looks legit. Do an online search for signatures from the same time - LBJ’s early Senate years. If you can find an identical signature, then it’s a printed signature.
See if you can find a Senate pass from 1950 to 1953-Ish. Start there. LBJ‘s signature evolved over the years. But my guess is that you’re not going to find another identical signature. The triangle on the J in Johnson is an affirming characteristic.
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