What do you make of this signature?

[DuneFishUK]

Got all excited when I saw this listing, but now I'm dubious. It looks wrongbad to my eyes - The F doesn't connect, the K goes the wrong way, the H doesn't do it's cool crossloop thing and the T is back to front.

vs.

(I emailed the seller, who seems genuine enough - told me he gets his books from a trusted source and has no reason to doubt the authenticity of the signature.)

It's not right, is it?

[ULFsurfer]

It doesn't look right to me either, the k, the H, the t, none of those at least. Autographs may evolve for some people but the FH signatures I have seen have mostly looked the same. I could be wrong though.. How old is this signature supposed to be?

[Omphalos]

No, its right. At least for Franz Habet.

Seriously, i can't see how any expert would authenticate that.

[A Thing of Eternity]

Wrong for sure, I'm no writing expert but I've seen a ton of FH signatures, he had a really badly done sig, like the one on the right, looks like a child did it almost. With the first one, do you have a pic that shows the printed "Frank Herbert" above the signature? He always signed right below it, and crossed it out, like in that second pic.

[Ampoliros]

Well one of them was written by someone favoring to the right and one to the left.

So not the same person.

Also check to see if you can see the whole page, if the name isn't struck through, odds are very high it isn't Frank. He always did that.

[SandRider]

forgery.
send it to Byron.
(seriously - that's like, their fucking job, isn't it ?)

[DuneFishUK]

Seller has taken it down (shame really - he was going to give the money to Marie Curie Cancer Care (I like them)).

The name was crossed out - whatever that means in this case. Eye, 1986 Gollancz HB.

Byron cares? No money in second hand books. Buy the PDF from Wordfire Press - HLP gets all the money then (well... whatever left over after the hack-tax).