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Bowie Early 1970's Full Signature

What do the Bowie folks make of this early 70's Bowie signature?

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Permalink Reply by Mikex on September 30, 2023 at 2:08pm

Don't like that at all. Looks drawn.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on September 30, 2023 at 2:15pm

Well, let's see what other think of it. Robby or whoever has an opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Robby93 on October 2, 2023 at 5:21pm

Hi Eric. I am by no means an expert on 73' Bowie's, although I do have 3 or 4 of them slabbed and graded. Here are 2 different ones, both graded Gem Mint 10, so I would presume that they underwent a serious examination. I got these many years back. The ballpoint pen was supposedly signed at one of the final Ziggy shows in London and the marker was supposedly signed to Ayo (Masayoshi Sukita) Bowie's photographer for many of the 70's images, also hosting Bowie in Tokyo. The same guy who has a couple of Bowie books signed by himself and Bowie.

A few points I'd like to make regarding a lot of the observations made by many of the critics out there, without casting any aspersions.

1. All of the images in this thread are done with marker. For those who don't know, the fiber tipped marker was invented in Japan in 1962. It is NOT uncommon to see marker signed items from the 60's or 70's from people who have traveled. All of these items I believe are accredited to being signed in Japan and at least one is an original/perhaps facsimile included with an album....

2. All the talk of "fresh ink", please take a good look at the 2 slabbed items I have posted. Plenty of items withstand the test of time if properly stored. Sticking with Bowie, does anyone think that his signature on contracts looks old? Nope, because it's a legal document. But the ballpoint pen sig looks as good as the day he signed. Of course, the marker would present much better.

3. It's obvious, at least to me, that many of these autographs were signed in a controlled setting and that he was not on the move while signing. Especially these beautiful full sigs.

4. Last but not least, I know that there has been a lot of concern about all the Bowie's popping up, and it should be scrutinized. But not all lead to malicious intent. I have many Bowie's that I have collected through the years that I have hoarded, waiting to sell as I got older to supplement my retirement income. He's somebody I've collected along with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, whom I'm sure I have over 150 signed items. Some things I have a real problem letting go of....lol. Until some type of final determination is made, I still believe in Andy (or whatever his name is). The site to me is meticulously tailored and is so expansive that it looks like it took years of research and intensity to put together. I have never seen an authenticator be transparent with their exemplars before. It looks like a full time job putting this site up and maintaining it.

I rambled on a lot more than I intended. I just happen to find this discussion as I came online. If I knew it existed, I would have commented earlier......

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 2, 2023 at 5:37pm

I am well aware of the site - you will see my name there on the very bottom of the first page and contributions of mine on other pages. An example is shown below. Apparently, Andy Peters does not exist. Tony Ford does from the work posted in the other threads - you saw the photo. Additional info has been added in the last post.

Click for full image.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 2, 2023 at 5:50pm

The full size version which I thought I lost. Click for image:

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 2, 2023 at 5:58pm

Robby, did you read through this thread? Did I link it before?

LINK

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Permalink Reply by Yony Mark on October 3, 2023 at 12:09pm

I understand that the 'Rapture' one is the legit, and the 'Rupture' one is fake, right? Because it looks like that 100%

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 3, 2023 at 12:26pm

Yes, "Rapture" is authentic. "Rupture" is actually very far from looking authentic. It is an obvious forgery. The current forgeries are way more convincing, but not totally, as they share certain characteristics, and sources, in many cases.

From the original thread:

"...Well, I can see how the LP on the right can appear something closer at a quick glance. Overall it has many problems. It is too bouncy and curvy, lacking the spidery straighter letters Bowie generally produced in his handwriting. The "h" in "with" - angles vs humps. Baselines, formations, all those tight curves at the start of that "B" and the creation of the "owie" are far off enough to stand out as is the "83", which suggests something other than Bowie's left hand. The "s" in "best" and "wishes". Look at just the ink application in the strokes. On the left there is variation is pressure and width, on the right...

...The genuine example on the left was signed for a producer. There are a couple of other covers signed for this person dated 1983. These are not very similar. The first 15% of the "B" in "Bowie" reveals a serious problem. There are many observable differences in the inscription and "autograph" on the right. One thing is the placement - it suggests a missing inscription. And once you see where this presentation came from, on the same album, you have a lot to look at. It is a reasonable attempt, but fails in a large number of ways....

...They are far from "identical" other then in basic presentation. Look at the genuine on the left. Look at the fast, deliberate nature of the up-and-down creation, vertically, of the word "with". Then look at the LP on the right..."

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Permalink Reply by Robby93 on October 2, 2023 at 6:00pm

That's a great catch! Not a bad forgery, although some things do pop when being scrutinized.

Back to commenting on the original thread. I was just stating my observations on the post. I myself would not particularly want any of those in my collection.....