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Authenticity is Everything
Early Blues and Jazz Signatures for March RR Auction 2014
So i know the March 2014 auction at RR hasnt even started yet. But has anyone looked at the previews???????????? ABSOLUTELY INSANE!!!!! For a blues collector like me, the items in this auction are dag on near the Holy Grail. Some are just almost impossibly rare. It boggles the mind really.
I know where most of these came from b/c he told me himself, it was Mr. Bebop (Larry). He seems to have signed publicity shots from every rare blues/jazz guy on the planet. I wish he was more open to communicate as far as the "hey how you doing" kind of thing, b/c i would love to ask him questions and maybe borrow some photos for my exemplar file (borrowed scans i mean). I would also like to know how he got his hands on these. Is he a major collector selling his collection or just how does he get these? These are questions i would love to have answered. The authenticity isnt in question at all. Its just how does one get all these. If its a personal collection, thats one thing, but even that took such an immense amount of time and effort, and MONEY!!! But what would be even more shocking is if he simply buys/sells blues/jazz items like that. I mean how does he get these rare autos to come out of the wood work. But he is running a business so i doubt that info will come out. I have tried to ask some of those questions, but he is definetly all business in my experience. And thats just fine. He is an A plus plus dealer, and i recommend him to anyone.
But guys, check out some of his items. Pretty much every black and white jazz/blues publicity photo came from him. Can you believe it, a signed picture of LEADBELLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He told me he had this a while back, and he figured it would go for around 7 to 8 Grand at auction. Do i think it will get that?? No, not in my opinion. I imagine it will go for between 2 and 3 grand to be honest, but who knows. That is as rare as you get!!!
But it doesnt in there. He then has picture perfect photos signed by Mississippi John Hurt, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Skip James, Hound dog taylor, Bukka White, Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Reed, etc. I have most of those but good grief, not on high end items like that. It really is unheard of. And the 2 Mississippi guitarists are hard as heck to find on a slip of paper, let alone a photo. I am just speechless and drooling, and JEALOUS!!!!
Then i come to this little scrap of paper and who has signed it?????????????? CHARLIE FREAKIN CHRISTIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now i dont know if that came from Bebop, but i have never ever seen a sig from Charlie before. And believe me, i have looked. Its basically as rare as finding a Robert Johnson autograph. Its crazy!!!
These items could fetch some serious serious money guys. Any blues collector has to be wetting his pants. Tons of blues and Jazz guys, Wes Montgomery, Howlin Wolf, i mean the list keeps going. So what do you guys who collect blues think of this? What do you think some of these will go for?
My guesses on some prominent items:
Leadbelly.......2 to 3 grand
Miss John Hurt......5 to 600
Miss fred mcd.......5 to 6000
Son House.........700 plus
Charlie Christian.....several thousand at least
Skip james.......7 to 800
Hound Dog.....4 to 500.
This is just insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Too bad the bidding will go crazy and i wont have a shot in Hades to get them at good prices. Here are just a few:
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on
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Sorry guys, on Fred Mcdowell price estimate, i meant 5 to 600, not 6000. But with all these rare guys, my head is spinning, so who really knows!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Richard Booth on
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Fantastic items indeed!
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Permalink Reply by Nate on
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Sorry, I should have added: I have very little idea of value, but some lucky so-and-so picked up what looks like it could be a genuine Lead Belly for £365 in 2010: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/18411/lot/6275/ Not a signed photo but I like the addition of "Lead Belly" under the signature.
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Well Carl, it turns out you were quite right, the bidding did indeed go crazy. Blew me out of the water on most pieces (though I'm gutted not to have put a bid on the Charlie Christian - going for only about $1.5k! I really thought that would do better).
But some of those final prices almost defy belief, I was surprised at the prices for the Son House, Skip James and Little Walter pieces, but $2k for a signed John Lee Hooker Photo and $4.5k for a signed Willie Dixon Photo, what on earth is going on!!?!? I must be missing something.
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Permalink Reply by michelle on
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yep; - it went beserk!! I too was blown out of the water on most of them!!! . I think common sense goes out the window as there is also hugh commission fees. One of the Louis Armstrong ones also went berserk on the day. I wonder who got the Christian one in the end ; - it would be good if it was someone from this forum.
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Hi Michelle.
Is it the multi signed Newport festival programme you are talking about with regards to the Louis Armstrong piece? If it is I did bid quite high on that one because I think they made an error with the listing - if you look at the picture carefully I believe (though I could be wrong) that it's also signed by Miles Davis and John Coltrane (the 'Coltrane' part of that signature looks a little strange but there is still a good chance it is his). If this is the case (and I can only assume other people thought so as well given the final price) then maybe it wasn't such a silly end bid.
However I am still stupified by many of the other pieces (why oh! why would a Willie Dixon sell for nearly the same price as Lead Belly?!?), also $4k for the Little Walter when only this time last year an almost identical signed photo sold for $630! I think I've woken up on a different planet!
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well that must explain it; - both the Louis Armstrong ones did really well
yep I don't understand some of the prices either. I thought the Christian one would go much higher as well, but even looking closely at some of the other pieces ;I cannot for the life of me work out why the Little Walter one would go that high. It makes me wish I had gone a bit higher with some of the quality ones I missed out on; - but c'est la vie.
were you pleased with anything you did manage to secure? kind regards
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I did manage to get a couple of items, one a signed album and one a signed book. I probably paid a little over the odds for both of them (especially when you add those horrid auction fees on!), but I don't believe I paid a silly price. How about you?
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Those auction fees are not small by any stretch of the imagination!!!!! Nor is their p & p . What you write about not paying silly prices is so true. That's the most important thing I have learnt from past mistakes because then you just get into interest with the credit card & you don't enjoy your purchase because of the worry so I pulled out of a few where the price was just going stupid altho obviously I'm still thinking oh if only....... One of the more ethical auctioneers gave me that piece of advice about not bidding silly money because that's how auction houses earn their commission & I've never forgotten it
In the end I got a scrapbook at a reasonable price which looked as if you'd have a lot of enjoyment going through & something from the 70s ..
I hope you enjoy your purchases,
kind regards
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Yeahp, i saw the ending prices and was shocked just like you guys. I can understand the price for Son House and Skip, just b/c Skip is so rare on anything, and Son pictures are extremely rare. But the Son price still surprised me.
But the one that blew my socks off was the Willie Dixon. There must be something there i am missing. Was this like an ultra mega rare pose of Dixon?? Is this the only photograph he ever signed??? I mean, if there is nothing special to this photo, then pardon my bluntness, someone made a complete fool of themselves.
How much is a Willie Dixon autograph worth, basically about 20 bucks. I have several, and never paid above 20 bucks for one. You can buy them all day long on ebay for 20 to 30 bucks. Signed LPs all into that range as well. So i dont understand it. There has to be something insanely special about that photo, b/c if there is not, then someone just had zero common sense and too much money. I mean the autograph isnt even worth a fraction of that by any stretch, so the price had to be in the photo. But i have a hard time believing that even a rare photo could bring so much for a Dixon graph. Somebody gut burned in the worst kind of way in my opinion.
I think Larry easily cleared 100K off of this auction. Most items sold. But alot went for way over market value. The Leadbelly fell about where i thought it would, maybe a little higher. I was thinking 3-4 grand, and it did a little better than that. I know Larry was hoping to get around 7 grand out of it though. The Christian piece went for a bargain in my opinion. That autograph is about 10 times rarer than a leadbelly in my opinion. So someone got an absolute steal. I bid on it, but wasnt willing to go over 1000, simply b/c i didnt have the money.
But i think most of the price in alot of these had to do with 2 things. 1, Larry saved the items for RR's biggest music auction of the year (in my opinion at least) so they would get the most attention. And 2, the seller was Larry. He is known far and wide and his items always get a premium.
I just cant get over that Dixon though. That is just insane. his autograph on most items is literally worth 20 bucks or under. In fact, i will sell you a signed handbill right now from Dixon for 20 bucks plus shipping. Anyone interested?
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It is weird though; - I certainly agree with you. I think people panic buy as they get outbid & common sense goes out the window ; - although some of them must have very deep pockets. I think the first point you made re Larry is very pertinent. I've looked at the Dixon one again as well & also can't work it out. regards
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