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John Lee Hooker autograph

Hello all,

I would appreciate other's opinions on this John Lee Hooker autograph.  The gentleman who has it says that he witnessed J L Hooker sign this photo.  He said that it was in his later years, and that he really didn't want to sign but reluctantly agreed to do so, and that it took some effort for him to complete the signature.  What do you all think?

Thanks in advance,

Allen

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steven Jackson on August 17, 2014 at 7:54am

Hi Lynn

Your best bet is RR.Auctions in my opinion they will take pretty much anything or know who they would recommend. Any autographs I'm sure by posting them here members would be interested in buying them.

thanks for joining already been a great help

Permalink Reply by Lynn on August 18, 2014 at 7:23am

Thanks Steven. I don't know where to set the price. I see some selling on eBay for next to nothing. I don't want to "give" them away, so how to gauge their price? Any idea?

Permalink Reply by Michael Frost on August 18, 2014 at 4:54pm

I do know of the store CD signings John Lee Hooker did, but do you know if he has ever done a private autograph signing on color glossy 8x10's with any autograph dealers.

Here are just 2 color glossy's that were recently sold for $75 from a local autograph auction company. What is your opinion of the signatures and the likeliness of John Lee Hooker signing any quantities of color 8x10's for a dealer?  
 

Permalink Reply by Lynn on August 18, 2014 at 9:18pm

In all the years I'd known and worked for him, I never saw him do an autograph signing for dealers. Wasn't his style. When we answered fan mail, I'd give him a stack of 8 X 10's and he'd sign until he was tired.

Now, his manager, Mike Kappus, may know more about any kind of signings that you speak of, but I certainly aren't aware of them.

However, these do look authentic to me. It's pretty hard to replicate his signature. My only problem is that I've never even seen these colored photos. Do you know where these came from?

By the way, check this out. I stumbled upon it online. This is my old fan mail company, "Healer Productions" and this is a letter that I answered for John, narrated by the man himself! I never wanted to use my own words, so I asked him. You can see my initials at the bottom of the page!

http://www.icollector.com/John-Lee-Hooker_i9873618

Permalink Reply by Carl Ryan on August 19, 2014 at 12:16pm

Hi Lynn,

Your contributions are very valuable and thanks for being here. Although i have to disagree with you on Hookers signature replication. Forgers are very good at authenticating even the most neat and intricate signatures. Typically signatures that are block letters or that tend to be shakey are very easy to replicate. IN my experience viewing forgeries, Hookers signature would actually be quite easy for a forger to replicate and sell to an inexperienced/average citizen who isnt familiar with the autograph game. With a little study, in my opinion Hookers signature could be copied easily that would fool probably 75 percent of the buyers on ebay.

Permalink Reply by Lynn on August 19, 2014 at 1:08pm

Thanks Carl. Well, shows what little I know about forgeries! All I can say is that what I have is real. A lot of the others signatures I've seen look real to me, but now I won't give my opinion! I wonder why his autographs aren't selling for more? Do you think it's because there are so many forgeries out there?

Permalink Reply by Michael Frost on August 19, 2014 at 1:24pm

100% He should be valued at $200+.

I was not aware that he was sending authentic autographed B&W photos through the mail for fans during the 1990's. 

Permalink Reply by Lynn on August 19, 2014 at 1:35pm

Yes, Michael, those were the years that I worked for him, thus my "stash" of 8 X 10's and LPS signed, guaranteed AUTHENTIC. Guess that I shouldn't have listed the one on eBay if they are are valued at $200+. I think $200+ is only fair for the legend that he was.

If you feel that is the "going" price, then I will part with a few at that price to all who are interested. I'm pretty busy, but I'll try and scan some other pics. Also, does anyone know what an autographed LP would sell for? 

Permalink Reply by Lynn on August 19, 2014 at 1:45pm

Here is another photo in the early 90s of JLH defacing my jeans! We were doing an autograph signing and the Sharpee accidentally grazed my jeans. I told him to just keep on doodling! Now I own a fabulous pair of jeans with doodles and signatures from JLH!

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Permalink Reply by Rick Meyer on August 19, 2014 at 2:11pm

He should be valued at $200+ but most aren't.  You can find legit Hooker signed stuff for about $100.

Permalink Reply by Nate on August 20, 2014 at 12:48am

Hi Lynn,

Great to hear your story and your thoughts.  With regards to this section I will say that I agree with Carl and Rick. 

With regards to Carls comments – I agree that a JLH autograph would be relatively easy to fake, and especially a late example (1950s and early 60s examples would be more tricky).  It doesn’t help that he signed in so many different ways e.g. joined-up/not joined-up, all in Caps/only some in Caps, including the initials ‘JLH’/not including the initials, finishing his last name with an obvious ‘R’/not finishing with a ‘R’, signing his middle name ‘Lee’/signing his middle name ‘L’, the list could go on and on. 

Ricks comment on value I also agree with, if you look around, know your stuff and are a little patient you will find a JLH signed photo or album for about $100 (and probably less).  But for those who are not patient or do not want to spend time looking round (and maybe don’t know their stuff) then they may well (and do) spend more i.e. $200+.  Also if the item is rare like a rare album with a contemporary signature or a rare photo with a well-placed signature then the value would increase.  You need to remember that his autograph alone is not rare, there are numerous examples out there, and, yes, it probably should be worth more than it gets, but personally I think that of many of the great Blues players for example: how on earth can people pick up a Memphis Slim autograph or an Alberta Hunter one or Willie Dixon or even the great W C Handy for $20-$30, it’s just crazy and much more crazy than JLH’s (but true).

Permalink Reply by Gary Craig on August 21, 2014 at 10:48am

Lynn, could you give an opinion on this 1969 UK programme I have? The Groundhogs were on the same bill. I believe Tony Mcphee went a long way to getting John Lee to sign and write?Thanks in advance,

Gary.

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