Signature comparison with similar features; searching for great-grandfather

[Gadget]

I still write in either styles even at my age- sometimes sloping and sometimes upright 

[trees241]

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

The "casual" signature (first image), from 1912, is from a personal postcard he wrote to my great-grandmother, at about the age of 26, and so, the formal document would place him at about age 33.

I would say that, despite the fact that the second signature has a definite slant which is missing in the first, the actual way of writing the letters is extremely similar.

Vogelfanger is a pretty unusual name! 

Thanks Karen! I agree, despite the slant, it may be that way due to the formality of the document from 1919. The relative "rarity" of the name may help in this case!

Welcome from me too 

I agree with Karen. Apart from the slant the letters are more or less identically formed.

Gadget 

Thank you for your input Gadget! Much appreciated. A third observation about the signature I'd like to list here is that it seems he "stops" at V-o-g, and then "restarts" the signature on the "e". It looks like this happens on both signatures, does it seem that way?

Not if you are a fan of The Magic Flute!

Perhaps it's the equivalent of Fowler (rather than bird catcher).

Richard

I had to look up The Magic Flute! We knew the meaning of the name, but somehow did not know about The Magic Flute.  We like our classical composers, just needed to add this Opera to the list it looks like!  

I agree, they look very similar indeed and you've pulled out all the unusual matching similarities.

Just the slant of the writing differs.

Sounds a fascinating story - keep us updated with your researches!

And welcome from me too.   

Thanks Igor! One other similarity I noted above, namely that it appears he stops with Vog, and then starts up again with the "e", on both signatures. Could there be something there? Will keep you updated on the research!

The second signature has been written speedily and confidently.  The first is more ponderous, hence the lack of slope.  But, at what age did the signatures occur?

The first image, from 1912 (about age 26), was a speedily written postcard note for my great-grandmother, and the 1919 document was a more formal document, placing him at about age 33. Since it was a document for citizenship, I am sure folks would be more careful in their signature.

A warm welcome from me too....I would agree with what has been said and think they were written by the same hand.
Carol

Thanks Carol! It is very exciting that this could be a major lead and confirmation from the research!

What is the document that the first signature appears on?

You’ve done well to find both documents “trees241” - and welcome to rootschat. 

Thanks Ruskie for the welcome! First document is a "casual note" on a postcard.

Again, thanks all for your replies and for the warm welcome! This may be the lead I have been looking for, and is exciting.

[IgorStrav]

I'm sure you will have looked under variations of Vogelfanger - despite that 1919 Naturalisation signature?

My (Belgian/Dutch) relatives were called (Van) Steenhoven, but some of the family changed their name to be called HOVEN. 

Two enlisted in WWI under that shortened name, presumably to reduce the potential German overtones, but another brother had called himself Hoven from 1900 onwards.

The brother who survived WWI had his death registered under the two names in the 1950's, but two other sibling remained as Steenhoven.

Unfortunately there are many possibilities for a Vogelfanger alternative!

Good luck with your research and don't hesitate to apply to the eternally inquisitive and resourceful RC population for help and suggestions.   

[trees241]

Hi Igor, I have not looked at variations of the last name, although he did go by Vogel at times (instead of Vogelfanger) and in fact Vogel is the name which continued on throughout the family. If the Vogelfanger from 1919 signature is the same Vogelfanger, this particular one requested a change in 1920 to a different surname entirely, based on a newspaper clipping I found online. That is where my research will continue once I have closed up some additional leads pre-1920 name change.

Out of interest for additional signature comparison, I have posted here an additional signature from the Naturalization records, this time his V is more closely matching his signature from the 1912 primary document we have on hand. Thoughts? By the way, I thought the style of his lowercase E was "unique", but a witness on his naturalization record had a signature with a similar "backwards 3" lowercase E. Does that negatively impact the likelihood this could be the same Vogelfanger from the primary document (1912)? It would still be unusual I think for there to be two individuals with the same signature style, same birth region, correct age, etc.

Again, thanks for your thoughts and replies!

[Ruskie]

This looks like the same hand to me. 

There are many similarities even down to the tail of the g being longer than the tail of the f - in each of the three examples.