Authenticity is Everything
Billie Holiday Autograph
I purchased this 78 vinyl record purportedly signed by Billie Holiday from an RACC trusted seller. I recently submitted the item to JSA for authentication, and unfortunately it did not pass.
I originally submitted it in person at a show here in CA a few weeks ago, and I was disappointed by how carelessly the item was handled during intake. When I received it back, there were fingerprints all over it. I contacted JSA immediately to report the condition, and they did expedite the review process.
Yesterday I received their letter confirming that the autograph did not pass authentication. I’m extremely disappointed and unsure what my next step should be, or if anyone here might be able to offer advice.
Prior to purchasing the item, I did my research and examined the signature characteristics—such as the looping of “Billie” and the shape of the “H” in “Holiday.” However, upon further inspection, the signature appears to have been written in ballpoint pen. Additionally, the Blue Ace label is known to be a bootleg label, and this particular pressing seems to have been released slightly before the time of her passing.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by JK
-
No problem - it's the way that the responses appear in the threads.
Just to be clear, I was endorsing Eric's approach of constantly learning. That is a trait of true experts, atleast in a field like this.
-
Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo
-
"...likely regional.."
It was mail order.
-
Permalink Reply by Ryan Wolfson
-
The exact release date for Blue Ace #227 isn’t pinpointed in surviving ads or catalogs (unlike the label’s earliest issues from May 1950), but it falls within the label’s main operational window of 1950
-
-
You just agreed that the first releases were May 1950. You claim the signature is from March/April. The record Blue Ace 227 had not been pressed yet. That happened in May.
-
-
I never said the first pressing was May 1950
-
-
" (unlike the label’s earliest issues from May 1950)," - you just wrote that. That means nothing earlier IMO.
-
-
Being documented releases. Other releases are still unknown.
-
Permalink Reply by a pug called eva
-
I don't think the pressing date issue is absolutely critical as the eBay seller never claimed that the record was definitely signed at the Continental Room in March/April 1950. He/she just thought that it may have been. Presumably this was said in a private message to Ryan as there is no information at all as to the signing date or place in the listing. Ryan has just passed on the seller's non-committal thoughts.
-
-
Perhaps. It is part of the story he bought. I am still wondering why the "trusted dealer" is not stepping up
-
-
For ease of reference this is what the seller told Ryan: "If I recall, the record first originated from a radio station in Hawaii. Blue Ace Records reissued jazz records in the 40s and 50s. There is record that she played the Continental Room in Honolulu around 1950. But I’m not sure if the exact date is known—a handbill exists. I figure it was signed then. It was in my personal collection for a while".
-
-
That is not quite "apparently signed at the Continental Room in Hawaii" (The Waikiki Tavern). So it could be from anytime after the record was pressed in May.
"The Honolulu Star-Bulletin and The Honolulu Advertiser carried several ads for her 3 week residency at the Continental Room during the month of March 1950."
-
-
"No, this was the RACC Facebook group."
Perhaps run this past Steve C.?
Sign up for our Newsletter!
© 2026 Created by Steve Cyrkin, Admin.
Powered by
Badges | Report an Issue | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
