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
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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo
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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. She arrived in March 8th or 10th. The 78 was released on the label's first offering, appearing in the May 1950 issue of Record Changer magazine.
How could this have been signed at the Continental in March 1950 when the record was not pressed and released until May, well after her residency at The Continental (1st week of April) and while she was performing at The Apollo on May 24, 1950 as part of "The Amateur Hour at the Apollo Theatre" (aired on WMCA)?
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Permalink Reply by Ryan Wolfson
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Please send a link showing where the record was actually pressed in May.
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Just from a quick Google search of Holiday autographs, there’s an incredible range of variations. As for the ink on the ’78, it definitely doesn’t look fresh.
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You said the ink did not appear old or aged and that gave you pause. Now is appears old. What changes your mind?
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Not necessarily vintage but def. not fresh. Roger will evaluate.
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Be sure to provide all information, dates, and source/price.
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It should be 76 years old.
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That magazine was a collectors marketplace and review/listing publication, not an official label chronology. It documented what was circulating or noteworthy at the time, not necessarily when something was first issued.
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As I said, believe what you want. It clearly lists the first release dates for this bootleg label. It would not be an official label chronology - this was secondary market, Re-releases. Starting in May 1950.
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"Bootleg reissue label founded in 1950 by Sam Meltzer in New York City. First releases [of which this is one] were offered in the May 1950 Record Changer magazine." I have already supplied the publications that advertised her concert in March /April.
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It seems there is a date discrepancy in the "provenance." That is not helping matters. The sort of mistake a forger might make though.
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Reminds me of a certain Vegas Monroe menu who ads and no tax quietly gave the year - which was verify different than the year said to be the signing.
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