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The Great American Blues Players Signature Study: Please Add Your Examples

Hello everyone,

I have been wanting to start a thread on this for a long time, and i figure now is as good of a time as any. I collect primary guitar players, and have been selling alot of them off recently, but one thing i continue to collect are the great old blues guitar players. Their is something about the Delta Blues traveling lifestyle that holds alot of wonder for me. These guys laid the foundation of modern music and they inspired many, if not most, of the musicians working today. Most think of Robert Johnson when they think of the great Blues players, but their are so so many others that deserve mention and tons of respect.

As anyone who has ever studied early blues signatures knows, they are incredibly difficult to authenticate or even find at times. You have guys like Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, BB King just to name a few whose signature examples can readily be found. But aside from a few key players, autographs from these guys are very hard to find. And when you find one, often you really have to trust your source or do some serious research. And even then you often cant find examples.

So i thought this would be a good thread that may help future collectors out with examples we think are authentic. Please post examples of blues signatures that you like and want to share. Guys like Buddy Guy and BB King probably dont need to be posted in mass b/c their signatures are so abundant, but dont hesitate if you would like to post some.

I hope this can turn into a good database, and really the only one of its kind on the net. I have many examples from many different sources and if someone doesnt want their picture posted just leave a comment and i will delete it.

I am going to start this off with Albert King. You can find Albert King signatures from time to time, and of the 3 King's, he is the next most available after BB. Alberts signatures are typically sloppy, shaky, and can take on a few forms. Albert often write "Love You" before his signature, and his typical signature takes the form of A. King. I have also seen variations including "A.B. King". King often would not write out King fully and the formation would flow from the K almost into the g. I have seen my fair share of forgeries with Albert, but his signature can be authenticated in most instances in my opinion. Here are some examples with sources:

This is one album i used to own and recently sold on RR Auction. It came from "Mr. Bebop", of Larrys Books and Autographs. He specializes in blues signatures and this was a great example of king.

These next images came from RR Auction

The Ace of Spades album is a nice example, and the rarer A.B. King signature. The middle cut display is more atypical. This one in my eyes can go either way but is probably good. The A looks typical but the King is a little more unusual. But he did do this from time to time in his shorter signature versions. The bottom example is a typical King signature.

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Permalink Reply by Nate on May 1, 2015 at 12:29am

Another Lead Belly: A signed book, signed by Lead Belly and John Lomax. Looks pretty good to me but I cannot say for sure. It was an, increasingly elusive, eBay bargain going for approx. $1,000. Sadly I missed it :-(

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Permalink Reply by Tacoma Blues on January 30, 2017 at 12:06am

Here is one more Lead Belly from University Archives, now in a private collection. I would update the dollar value on Ledbetter's autographs from what I have seen. I am not sure of the dollar value on the above cut or the signed book on this site, but the Mr. Bebop picture went for north of $6,000. Full letters similar to those shown below have been sold for the low five figures ($10-12K plus).

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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on August 14, 2013 at 1:57am

Hi guys, back again for some more tonight.

I thought first we could look at the immortal T-Bone Walker. Aaron Thibeaux Walker was one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever known. Everyone knows his name, even those who have never heard a blues record. He basically influenced everyone who ever touched an electric guitar, even if they dont know it. T Bone revolutionized, and in some ways invented a new sound that combined jump and electric guitar blues. Walker had a distinctive style and amazing vocals. He also could play a large number of instruments besides the guitar.

Whats really neat when you look back on the older blues guys, is that most of them early in their career simply went where the wind took them, and made their living as they went on playing music outside of stores and on sidewalks. These guys got to know each other well, even those who were from different parts of the country typically crossed path at some point. So its no surprise when you hear that T Bone often played with Blind Lemon Jefferson, and other blues giants. Most of the guys also had nicknames, even if they arent commonly known, of course T Bone's is. He got that nickname b/c of his middle name. His mother called him Tebow for short, and that morphed into T Bone, and it stuck.

Walker influenced countless countless musicians, inspiring the likes of B.B. King and Chuck Berry to pick up the guitar. Jimi Hendrix was also a big fan of Walkers. So when you see that footage of Jimi playing the guitar with his teeth.......well.........he got that from T Bone, who would often use that as a trick during his shows. Walker lived into the mid 70s, and was a good signer in his career.

Walker autographs are rare, no doubt about it. But they can be found with some patience and hard looking. I typically see between 2 and 3 come up a year at various sites. Their are quite a few on the market, but collectors dont want to give them up. I would put his rareness at about the same as Albert King. Their are also alot of fakes b/c of Walkers popularity and desirability so you have to watch out. B/c Walker was a good signer and their are ample examples out their, they surprisingly arent all that expensive for such a big name. Typically his signatures start at around 125 for a cut, to as much as 400 for a signed pic, although most signed pics tend to go for between 250 and 300. A signed LP could be even more valuable.

If your looking for one, id say to watch the major auctions like RR, and watch ebay USA and UK daily. One will eventually come up and at ebay, you can often get a great deal as long as you know your stuff.

Here are some examples of Walkers signature for comparison.

Here is my dual signed UK blues festival program by Walker and Big Joe Williams.

Here is one from google, although the pic is blurry

Here is one from RR

Here is one from the site eli.com. Now typically i dont pay much attention to autographs for sale on that site, but this signature does look authentic to me.

Here is a T bone from RR

And here is another from RR

Now here is a unique example from RR. Personally i am on the fence on this item, but feel its probably genuine. Their are some odd features of this T Bone compared to most. For instance the T in Tbone, it isnt his typical flamboyant style. But Walker did use this more standard type of a T earlier in his career. The Walker portion, with the K being so high also is unusual, but it could just be rushed or he could have gotten bumped. The date is also a little different. T Bone did often date autographs, but the numbers on this item dont compare that well with some i have seen. But i must admit that RR probably has many more exemplars of Walker than i have, and ive only seen a half dozen or so that had numbers on them. So i think its probably good.

:Here is one that sold on an online auction site, supposedly signed by Walker. I have never seen anything close to this from Walker, and this in my opinion is a forgery, and not a good one. I could always be wrong, but i wouldnt touch it. Watch out with forgeries with Walker guys, forgers know he is desirable and they target him.

This is another item from google image. This just doesnt match the characteristics i am used to seeing. The T is odd, and doesnt really even look like his early T's. But the Walker portion is what worries me the most. It is also very shaky, and Walker signatures are typically elegant with not much shake to them.

This one was pulled from online too. I really wish that whoever took this pic would have gotten the whole signature in, b/c if authentic its a great example. I just cant tell. It looks good to me, but i really need to see the full signature to tell. But this has a date and also an inscription and may be valuable to at least consider as legit.

In conclusion, Walker signatures are out their, just be patient. A few things to note. Walker changed his signature dramatically as his career grew. On one hand you have his more plain jane style of autograph with standard Ts and standard lettering, and you also have his elegant styles with almost perfect cursive. But one characteristic i focus in on with Walker that is very consistent, even between signature styles for the most part, is the N in Bone. He formed it the same way in almost all occasions, and if im not sure, i often focus on that.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on January 8, 2014 at 11:28pm

Here are a few new T- Bones from RR Auction:

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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on January 15, 2014 at 11:50pm

Hi Guys,

Here is a new example to add to the ranks of authentic T Bone signatures, at least in my opinion. This item is on ebay right now and is very realistic as far as current price. It contains the signatures of T Bone Walker, Brownie McGhee, Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, Helen Humes, Jump Jackson, Shakey Jake, and Sonny Terry. Well kind, lol. Terry put his "stamp" on the item that he used to sign autographs with.

I believe these to be authentic and nice examples.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on January 21, 2014 at 3:18pm

Hello guys,

Here is another beautiful T Bone example, this one coming from a fellow AML members collection. A beautiful signature

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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on August 14, 2013 at 2:05am

Hi guys, i forgot an Albert King i had as an example. This came from a private collectors site and i believe it to be authentic.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on January 8, 2014 at 11:30pm

Also here is another update on Albert King. This isnt the most distinct example, but still solid i feel. The Albert King sig is along the guitars fretboard. This also contains the signature of Little Milton who is covered in this thread

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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on August 16, 2013 at 5:00pm

Hello everyone, back again.

Today i thought we could study some other blues giants, whose autographs are incredibly rare and desirable.

The first, is a signature i have been looking for, for numerous years, Mr. Eddie James House Jr. Or better known as Son House. House was one of the most musically powerful and influential of all the delta blues performers. He had a unique style combining very emotional vocals and amazing slide guitar work. Son would often use broken bottle necks to play, something that has been expanded upon today as more of a trick, than a useful instrument. House started out as a preacher, and used his music to help influence his flock.

Son had an amazing and storied life, drifting from place to place and playing where the wind took him. It was at one of these stops that House got into a gun fight and killed a man and served a short term in prison. House influenced the blues titans perhaps more than any others. House was a major influence on the immortal Robert Johnson, and inspired the likes of Muddy Waters, Jack White, and Rory Gallagher to pick up the guitar. Johnson also played with Charley Patton among many many other blues legends. House was also the one who supposedly started the tale that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to get his guitar skills. Was House just telling a tall tale, or did Johnson tell him this?? We may never know as both are dead.

As far as autographs, examples of Son are rare enough, trying to find one for sale is near impossible. House was a very friendly guy and did sign until his death in the late eighties. So they are around, but very rarely hit the market. His signature is far rarer than say Albert King, and even rarer than Freddie King. I have even only seen a handful of examples in my years of collecting. House is also a fairly hard autograph to even judge authenticity on b/c their are so few examples floating around in the public. Ironically, the best place to find one would probably be on an online auction, as thats the only place i have seen them. I have yet to see one come from a major auction house, but thats not to say they dont come up, or that one hasnt been sold and i just didnt catch it. Price wise, i would say your going to pay at least 250 for a cut, and up to 500 dollars for something like a signed LP if you could find one. On ebay you could potentially do much better, but id still expect to pay 2 to 3 hundred. People want this mans signature!

Here are some examples that i have found. I cant guarantee authenticity, but i would say that some have better odds than others.

This one is really hard to see, and this is the best image available as it came from an online source. Its possible someone could blow it up and see it better. From a distance i see some positive traits, but i couldnt tell unless i saw a detailed close picture. But hey, its an example on a guy where their are few and far between.

This came from google, and my gut is that it is authentic, but again, its so hard to say

Here is another House autograph that i feel is authentic from google

Now this is a very interesting item. Its so hard to say but my personal opinion is that we have a good and bad autograph here. This item was asked about, possibly on this forum sometime ago, and i think the result given by authenticators was that it was bad. However, i dont believe thats accurate. The item is signed by Bukka White and Son House. The Bukka autograph looks good to me and compares well with authentic examples. The House example, however, does not look like the examples i feel are authentic. But their are so few examples that i have seen, its hard to say. Maybe in House's late career his writing deteriorated, but i tend to doubt it. This House signature doesnt look much anything like others i have seen. House signed in cursive in all the examples i have seen and had fairly good writing. Yet this is labored block letters. I tend to think that the item was originally signed by Bukka and then someone other than House signed the album. Either a forger to make it more appealing, or someone behind the scenes such as a situation where an item is taken onto a bus, and another person signed for the celeb.

Well thats all ive got, thats how few i have found of Son. I will continue to look for me one, but they are just so rare.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on August 16, 2013 at 8:22pm

that a good point to consider William, and a plausible explanation. The thing that is so strange about this piece is that the Booker "Bukka" White autograph seems to be authentic. So i dont know what happened here. It really is a shame though that a potential good Bukka signature was hurt by a questionable autograph.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on January 21, 2014 at 8:40pm

Well guys, i am stoked to finally be able to say i have a Son House in my collection thanks to a new friend. This is a cut signature but is a very typical House signature. Very shakey and labored, but thats how he signed. The source on the autograph is also excellent. Pricey signature, but House signatures are very pricey. Anyway i am going to matt it up and hang it on the wall.