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Michael Jackson Signing Styles in Julien's Tompkins and Bush Sale

On December 2, Julien's Auctions is selling The Collection of Tompkins and Bush. The collection contains 465 lots of Michael Jackson memorabilia, 287 of them autographed.

Michael Bush and the late Dennis Tompkins were Michael Jackson's costume designers for 25 years, during Jackson's most successful period. They were the consignors of the signed Thriller jacket that Julien's sold for $1,800,000 in June 2011.

Almost all of the autographs in the Tompkins and Bush sale are a variation I'm not familiar with. I've only been looking at Jackson's autograph for a few years, though, and we have members here who have collected him for decades, so I'd appreciate your input and exemplars.

If you know Michael Jackson's autograph well, please look at a few images below from the auction and let me know what you think. Even better, browse the auction and upload any similar examples you have: http://www.julienslive.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/77/

Julien's is the world's premier auction house for Michael Jackson memorabilia, so they would know his autograph better than most of us. I'm just surprised I haven't seen this style before.

Thanks for your help.

Tags: 2012, Julien's, auction, michael jackson, tompkins and bush

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wendy Christine on January 8, 2013 at 9:04pm

Perfectly stated, Helen.

Veronica, please hang in there and don't give up.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 8, 2013 at 11:46am

Confidentially notices are only for if they are sent to the wrong party. Like the wrong email address. You can do anything you want with the email.

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Permalink Reply by Veronica Shultz on January 8, 2013 at 1:47pm

So I should post what he wrote here then? It's okay?

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 8, 2013 at 1:53pm

Yes, it's completely legal.

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Permalink Reply by MJ-fan-1965 on January 8, 2013 at 12:36pm

That is if it accidentally went to the wrong person.... If any recipient of this communication is not the intended recipient;

Say the email was sent accidentally to me (my email address) but its actually a letter intended for you -- I (who got it accidentally) cannot take the email that is not meant for me and use it for anything. Its your email though so you can share it if you want.

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Permalink Reply by MJ-fan-1965 on January 8, 2013 at 12:37pm

whoops sorry I repeated what steve said lol didn't see the next page :)

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Permalink Reply by Veronica Shultz on January 8, 2013 at 1:57pm

Thank you for your correspondence regarding your recent purchase in the Collection of Tompkins & Bush auction. We are aware that there has been some controversy surrounding the "Collection of Tompkins & Bush" auction conducted on December 2, 2012, and we are sorry that you have experienced any concern or distress as a result of the unfounded allegations being made about the collection or Julien's Auctions.
We take great pride in our integrity, reputation, and goodwill. For each auction we conduct, along with the information provided by the consignors, we engage in a thorough diligence process to attempt to authenticate the provenance of the auction items. Among other things, if the item was worn for a public event, we will review videos, archival footage, photographs, or other pictorial records of the item and compare them to the item itself. If the item involves a signature or handwriting, we engage in similar comparisons with known samples of the person's signature and handwriting. With respect to Michael Jackson, we also have such signatures and handwriting reviewed by someone considered to be the foremost expert on Michael Jackson memorabilia, Laura Woolley from The Collectors Lab. Ms. Woolley has seen and authenticated more Michael Jackson signatures and handwriting than possibly anyone else in the industry. Ms. Woolley has worked with all of the top auction houses when it comes to items of Michael Jackson including Bonham's, Heritage, and she is regularly consulted and engaged by Sotheby's and Christies. Ms. Woolley has confirmed the genuineness of the items sold in the auction.
We can understand why you would find the allegations troubling. But, we would urge you to carefully review and investigate the credentials, qualifications, and motivations of the people making these unfounded claims before deciding how much weight -- if any -- to give to their assertions. We are aware of no expertise that these individuals have in Michael Jackson memorabilia, signature, or handwriting. As far as we are aware, none of these individuals have ever been retained by any of the top auction houses or the Estate of Michael Jackson to provide authentication on Michael Jackson memorabilia or signature or have had any dealings with Michael Jackson or his companies, or with anything Michael Jackson related. We are aware of no one, other than the individuals themselves, who recognize them as "experts" in Michael Jackson signatures or handwriting.
In short, it is all too easy to proclaim to be an "expert" and to make frivolous and false allegations. It is another matter altogether to support them with facts.
Please be assured that we firmly stand behind Michael Bush and the items sold in the auction. We hope this correspondence will put to rest any concerns you may have and that we can count on your continued support. We truly appreciate and value your patronage.
Sincerely,

Michael Doyle

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Permalink Reply by Helen on January 8, 2013 at 2:07pm

Veronica, this is the same form letter many have received, with the same misinformation. They are very simply lying.

I refer to my earlier reply, plus:

Laura Woolley is not an autograph authenticator, she is on record saying that. In the recent NBC investigation she refers the journalists to PSA/DNA for good authentication work. PSA/DNA think the autographs are fake. http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/NBC4-I-Team-Joel-Grover-Inv...