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Bob Dylan AUTOPEN Info To Help With Returns / Refunds - Simon & Schuster, Premiere, and Coles

***URGENT UPDATE

Three Articles Published by Chris Willman at Variety
 
 
 
 
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A message posted by Bob Dylan to his Facebook account
 
To my fans and followers,
 
I’ve been made aware that there’s some controversy about signatures on some of my recent artwork prints and on a limited-edition of Philosophy Of Modern Song. I’ve hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there’s never been a problem.
However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years. It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions, and we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging. So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and the vertigo didn’t help. With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done ‘all the time’ in the art and literary worlds.
Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately. I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that.
 
With my deepest regrets,
Bob Dylan

 

Previous update 
Some users have uncovered potential autopen use within Bob Dylan's expensive art prints. Please check your prints if you own one and post a picture on this thread if you have any concerns.

here is a link to one of his art prints in question

https://www.castlefineart.com/art/bob-dylan/cactus

*UPDATE -  Let this be a warning to ALL publishers and celebrities in the future. We are sick and tired of these autopen releases. Our community has had enough and absolutely will not stand for this practice to continue any longer!!! 

I want to point out that Coles Books needs to be commended. They made sure to look out for their customers and refused to ship these out if they came from the same S&S stock, which they did. It was also an easy process to cancel orders beforehand if you wished. Coles. on behalf of everyone, I want to thank you for having integrity and watching out for all of us.

I can NOT say the same about Premiere Collectibles. They refused to honor cancelation requests until it was known these books were in fact autopenned. They advertise themselves claiming they are collectors themselves. This is not true. They are a retailer first and only care about your money. There have been other autopen incidents where they absolutely refused to accept blame, stating items were real when they were clearly deemed autopen by the community. Be careful with future purchases with Premiere Collectibles.

This email came directly from Jonathan Karp at Simon and Schuster. If anyone still wishes to send him a message, here is his email address as well.

jonathan.karp@simonandschuster.com

We apologize for the mistake that was made and are offering a full refund of your purchase.  Please keep your copy of The Philosophy of Modern Song at no cost. We hope you will enjoy reading it.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Karp

Here are 51 articles and counting detailing our combined efforts on this forum

New York Post - Screenshot.jpg

New York Times - Screenshot.jpg

Los Angeles Times - Screenshot.jpg

Washington Post - Screenshot.jpg

Rolling Stone - Screenshot.jpg

Rolling Stone pt2 - Screenshot.jpg

Billboard - Screenshot.jpg

Billboard pt2 - Screenshot.jpg

Variety - Screenshot.jpg

Variety pt2 - Screenshot.jpg

Variety pt3 - Screenshot.jpg

USA Today - Screenshot.jpg

The Daily Beast - Screenshot.jpg

People - Screenshot.jpg

Daily Mail - Screenshot.jpg

Ultimate Classic Rock - Screenshot.jpg

Yahoo - Screenshot.jpg

Inside Hook - Screenshot.jpg

Poetic Justice - Screenshot.jpg

Exclaim - Screenshot.jpg

The Music Universe - Screenshot.jpg

Literary Hub - Screenshot.jpg

Stereogum - Screenshot.jpg

Esquire - Screenshot.jpg

Boing Boing - Screenshot.jpg

NME pt1 - Screenshot.jpg

NME pt2 - Screenshot.jpg

I Heart Radio - Screenshot.jpg

Publishers Lunch - Subscription required

Spiegel - Translated Screenshot.jpg

Boston 25 - Screenshot.jpg

Spin - Screenshot.jpg

Uproxx - Screenshot.jpg

Newser - Screenshot.jpg

Vigour Times - Screenshot.jpg

Pitchfork - Screenshot.jpg

UPI pt1 - Screenshot.jpg

UPI pt2 - Screenshot.jpg

Daily Caller - Screenshot.jpg

Far Out Magazine - Screenshot.jpg

Gulf News - Screenshot.jpg

Breitbart - Screenshot.jpg

American Songwriter - Screenshot.jpg

American Top 40 - Screenshot.jpg

We Got This Covered - Screenshot.jpg

Healthcare Buisness - Screenshot.jpg

Music News - Screenshot.jpg

Music Times - Screenshot.jpg

Happy Mag - Screenshot.jpg

Sydney Morning Herald - Screenshot.jpg

The Guardian - Screenshot.jpg

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ORIGINAL POST

I am creating this thread as a comprehensive all in 1 link for returns, refunds, chargebacks and claims made regarding the "signed" edition of Bob Dylan - The Philosophy Of Modern Song. Please use this link to email Simon & Schuster, Coles, and Premiere Collectables as 100% proof these were signed using an autopen machine. 

I would like to say right off the bat, Coles Books in the UK is handling this professionally and seem to care deeply about their customer base. They have stated that, once they are in hand, If they find evidence of them being autopenned, they will cancel all orders.. Kudos to Coles.. I wish all retailers would follow their lead. If you wish to cancel your order with them immediately instead of waiting, It seems to be an easy process.

This post will be continuously updated with new information over the next few days

Please refer to this article for the time being until more information is added

https://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-1290-cjbk/news/collectors-quest...

Here is the post I created a few weeks ago with info regarding the Indigo incident.

https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/indigo-bob-dylan-po...

So far, there have been a total of 17 confirmed different templates for the autopen machine used for Bob Dylans signature. I am in the process of creating video comparisons for all 17 sets. Please post full page photos of your item as they are delivered to aid in this process 

Here are all 17 templates used by Bob Dylan - I am still looking for full page photos for numbers 8,13 and 15 thru 17 but its still best to post whatever you receive

Be aware when checking against your own copy, it has come to light that they are possibly using 1st and last names interchangeably. Bob in #2 matches perfectly with Bob in #13 while Dylan in both are different

14th variation confirmed

15th variation

16th variation - Seems to be almost an exact combination of #11 and #13 with a different vertical line in his "D" 

17th variation

Video and photo comparisons created so far

Video of set 1 Dylan1.mp4  - Photo of set 1 Dylan1.JPG

Video of set 2 Dylan2.mp4  - Photo of set 2 Dylan2.JPG

Video of set 3 Dylan3.mp4  - Photo of set 3 Dylan3.JPG

Video of set 4 Dylan4.mp4  - Photo of set 4 Dylan4.JPG

Video of set 5 Dylan5.mp4  - Photo of set 5 Dylan5.JPG

Video of set 6 Dylan6.mp4  - Photo of set 6 Dylan6.JPG

Video of set 7 Dylan7.mp4  - Photo of set 7 Dylan7.JPG

Video of set 9 Dylan9.mp4  - Photo of set 9 Dylan9.JPG

Video of set 10 Dylan10.mp4 - Photo of set 10 Dylan10.JPG

Video of set 11 Dylan11.mp4 - Photo of set 11 Dylan11.JPG

Video of set 12 Dylan12.mp4 - Photo of set 12 Dylan12.JPG

Video of set 14 Dylan14.mp4 - Photo of set 14 Dylan14.JPG

Here are the COAs stating these books were in fact hand-signed

Suzanne Baboneau for UK - Certificate Of Authenticity UK.jpg

Jonathan Karp for USA - Certificate Of Authenticity USA.JPG

Coles listing before it was removed - Coles Website Listing.jpg

Important emails:

Jonathan Karp US - CEO of Simon & Schuster
jonathan.karp@simonandschuster.com

Duane Ward of Premiere Collectables
duane@premierespeakers.com  - Others have tried duane@premierecollectables.com

Suzanne Baboneau, Managing Director
suzanne.baboneau@simonandschuster.co.uk

Ian Chapman, UK - CEO
ian.chapman@simonandschuster.co.uk

Bob Dylan's Manager

Jeff Kramer
OK Management
275 South Beverly Drive
Suite 215
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Phone: 310-535-1647


Bob Dylan's Agent

Brian Greenbaum
Creative Artists Agency
2000 Avenue Of The Stars
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: 424-288-2000


Bob Dylan's Production Agent

Sony/Columbia/CBS Records
550 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-833-7305


Bob Dylan's Law Firm

Manatt Phelps & Phillips
11355 West Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: 310-312-4000

Bob Dylan's Twitter

Tweet or privatly message Bob on his verified Twitter account.
https://twitter.com/bobdylan/

Bob Dylan's Facebook

Post or message Bob on his verified Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/bobdylan/

I also found this email associated with Bob Dylans store. Its worth a try

BOBDYLAN@EPICRIGHTS.COM

Media Publications who may be eager to pick up this story - Please email them a link to this post and all related content

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/corp/contactus.html

For story pitches, please send:
News to Jim Milliot and John Maher
Soapbox ideas to Rachel Deahl
Features to features@publishersweekly.com

Related content:

Dolly Parton is also guilty of using multiple autopens in the same fashion with multiple templates over the years but with a slight twist where they manipulate the page as the autopen machine writes her signature. If we are looking to stop all future attempts at autopen usage, she needs to be held accountable just as much as Bob Dylan and S&S. Link to threads below

Here is a great example provided by Eric Keith Longo

Dolly Parton Autopen Example.jpg

http://www.feelnumb.com/2022/03/09/dolly-parton-fake-autograph-song...

https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/dolly-parton-signed...

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Replies to This Discussion

I’d scam the scammers by making a fake drywall repair bill to repair the damage . 10k cash in hand 

I ended up sleeping over 20 hours in the last day and a half. This last week was full of 2 to 4 hours of sleep per night switching between work and Dylan research. It finally caught up with me. I have a lot of catching up to do.. it seems like there are new articles out, not just from Variety. Ill gather and post them to the main thread today

Why can't Dylan sign 2000 signatures and send them out to people who were scammed? Is he still having vertigo problems? Still worried about the pandemic? Nah Its because his greed is causing him and his team to think releasing that many aurographs will devalue his signature overall.. they don't realize that it is the media shining light on this 3 year stunt that will actually devalue it.. he would be way better off just signing autographs making sure everyone has a real signature.. BUT.. I am back to suspecting a certain style is secretarial.. so who knows what we will get in the end anyways

As an autograph collector, I am a fan of celebrities body of work only and couldn't care less about what they do with their free time. I dont usually connect the 2. This Dylan incident is so different. Sure I will still respect what he has accomplished but his persona is a huge aspect that has a connection to it all. This absolutely tarnished his legacy. He shouldn't be worried about the value of his autograph at this point, he should be more concerned with how people perceive his character especially over the last 3 years. I see him now as a frail greedy old man fraudster criminal.. the only way to actually change it in my mind would be to stop making excuses and start signing autographs for anyone who wants them.. sign in person so we have more evidence of his real styles and can put to rest any suspicions of secretarial use on top of autopens.. also the main reason, to just repair the ending of his legacy.. it won't happen.. castle art will refund orders and S&S will not be receiving 2000 books. (1000 for Indigo, 99 for Coles, 900 for S&S, and I assume a portion of those 900 went to Premiere) yes even though there were only 1000 books total, the Indigo incident changes the new total he would have to sign at this point.

If they are monitoring this thread, they know how real people feel. Im sure Facebook is filled with bots and fake accounts and wouldn't be surprised if some comments are coming directly from Dylan's team.

Variety is on the ball with the Dylan story. Here is today’s art print refund story: https://variety.com/2022/music/news/bob-dylan-refunds-art-prints-ga...

Thanks for sharing. Ill be posting new articles about this to the original post soon.. Chris Willman needs his own section now lol.. 

I believe that Bob Dylan is considering being done signing autographs forever after all of this. Which if true would be an absolute shame.. 

True about Wilman, haha. In actuality, Bob may have signed his last autograph in 2019….or 2018….or whenever the first autopen arrived at Dylan Inc

Exactly!!.. and that may be the real reason autopens were even created. He refused to sign even for the autopen machine, which is why all examples have an odd slant. It would make sense for his team to hire a professional and copy his signature to keep the money flowing in

Although, the slant existed to "authentically" signed items prior to the supposed start of his autopen use. its all very interesting. its possible they had someone signing secretarial signatures long before. if anyone has an item purchased with this slant before 2019, please let me know. I'm going to go over all comments posted over multiple threads sometime this week as well but I need a break for now  

 InkInvestor I for one totally appreciated every effort of yours that you made to unravel this Dylan fraud. I read every single comment on this thread that you contributed, and I feel that you really kept the ball rolling. I really hope you'll stay with us here in this forum at Autograph Live...you're definitely a huge asset!

I appreciate all the research/help you have provided. With all that has come out, I have no confidence in the authenticity of the signatures on my prints.

Some of the more recent signature examples definitely don’t look right.

Here is an interesting post on the Bob Dylan Reddit that shows a handwritten note to Richard Prince, who folks speculate has ghost painted a lot of Dylan’s art. The handwriting and signature definitely don’t seem to match recent signature examples.

I’m My mondo scripto is simply not in the same person’s hand as the above:

Show me a video of him signing the crossed-y version several times in this style, then maybe I’ll believe it. I guarantee he couldn’t do it.

AND WHY DIDN’T A REP FROM CASTLE WITNESS THE SIGNINGS??

Well, I appreciate InkInvestor.

I appreciate you man . You have been spot on so far . 

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