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John Lennon Bag One Hors de Commerce edition

I am considering purchasing this John Lennon Bag One H.C. edition litho.

Firstly I'd like some confirmation on the signature - which to me looks fine.

What's spooked me is the H.C. written in the lower left corner. There were apparently 45 hors de commerce lithos signed but I've read that these were labelled H.C. I to H.C. VL (Roman numerals).

This litho only has H.C. written with no number.

Is it a fake?

What's your thoughts?

Tags: Bag One, Beatles, John Lennon

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on October 29, 2014 at 7:54pm

while the picture is quite stunning, I do not like the signature.

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Permalink Reply by Autographtastic on October 29, 2014 at 7:56pm

Thanks for the reply. What specifically don't you like about the signature?

I thought it compared well to other examples from the series but I'm a mere novice!

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on October 29, 2014 at 8:13pm

do you know what time period these were supposedly signed? I am just commenting on the signature itself, I have not seen others in the series.

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on October 29, 2014 at 8:16pm

1969.

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on October 29, 2014 at 8:15pm

To me the signature looks consistent with others from those lithos. My guess would be that it's a leftover from the "H.C." edition, but I could be wrong.

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Permalink Reply by Autographtastic on October 29, 2014 at 8:31pm

That's an interesting thought. From what I've read it was strictly limited to 300 regular prints and 45 H.C. copies. I guess if the signatures good then it's good. The doubt over the H.C. without numerals is what's holding me back from buying at the moment. In all other legitimate examples I've found the edition numbers are also much further away from the corner ....

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on October 30, 2014 at 5:25am

I respect Ballroom's opinion. I have just never seen the J formed like that. there are some similarities to this signature from the same time period. the one in the subject may be authentic, but I still have my concerns.

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on October 30, 2014 at 10:37am

Here are a couple from the edition of 300:

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on October 30, 2014 at 11:26am

Ballroom, thanks for posting these. I have never seen this J before.

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Permalink Reply by Autographtastic on October 30, 2014 at 10:53am

I've had Roger look at it and the formation of the signature is ok. The risk is whether it's pre-printed. And maybe someone has added the H.C. to try and make it look like a rare hand signed edition. From the photo it does look like a genuine pencil signature to me but the H.C. element is baffling.

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on October 30, 2014 at 11:08am

It's possible that it's preprinted. However, if that were the case, I would expect the numbering to be added as well in order to make it appear more consistent.