JFK Autograph - Legit Or Sprayed On

I am having trouble determining whether the free frank autograph on this cover is truly signed or sprayed on ... it is in very black ink.

Date is June 4, 1954

Any thoughts?

Neither.
These are press-printed in bulk, so might at-best be called facsimile signatures.
Although many into the late 1800s were truly signed (and some rubber-stamped, and some signed by clerks, so be wary), those from the late 1800s onward are not true autographs - they just look like it.

Certainly collectible, but only of modest value. Finding a few free franks for a general grouping is easy. Finding a specific person/office combination can be challenging as these were on mail typically discarded as junk mail and before the person got to their highest office. Plus the franking rules changed some over the decades.


Here is a thread I started in 2016 with both signed and printed free franks:
https://goscf.com/t/51608

Thank you, John Becker.

Thankyou for showing this cover centerstage98, I had never heard of US Free franks, the UK Parliament had them till just before the Penny black but the system was so widely abused that it was stopped.I had a Irish free frank cover in my collection and straight away thought I need one of those. Looking through one of my stamp hoards for something else what was the first thing I saw? A US free frank envelope.
Stamp community triumphs again!