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Buying a (sort of) Signed Beatles Photo

Hello! I’m new to this site and forum and I’ve already learned a wealth of info about autographs which is very helpful. I’ve done a search on this site to try and answer this question with no luck, so here goes..

How do you evaluate a vintage photo signed in ballpoint pen with ink that has faded to the point that the signatures are just impressions with a small amount of ink left?

Background: We have an opportunity to purchase two Beatles-related items in the very near future (my husband and I buy vintage vinyl collections and these were offered to us with a record lot). One is a set of bed linens from the Apple Boutique on Baker Street and the other is a signed black & white publicity photo with all four Beatles signatures. These came to the current owner by way of a relative who worked at the Apple Boutique in 1967/68. I have no reason to doubt the owner and her collection of other memorabilia certainly supports her story.

Unfortunately, I do not have a photo to share here.

I understand that there are pitfalls -- we don’t have the skills to determine if the autographs are genuine or signed by a secretary and you can only see them clearly when held to the light at a certain angle. But the possibility of owning a signed Beatles photo is really tempting.

Are photos signed in pen with little to no ink left of any value at all? Is it possible to have it evaluated if we purchase it?

And….. what might an appropriate price be for such a “maybe”?

Thanks so much for any advice - it’s greatly appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Bruce Juice on November 18, 2020 at 5:54pm

Really hard to make judgement about value without seeing a photo of the impressions or partial signatures. Not sure if anyone could authenticate it if the impressions can't be seen. It would hold some value but a fraction of an actual, readable signed photo.

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Permalink Reply by Kawarthan on November 18, 2020 at 6:02pm

Thanks Bruce - the impressions are fairly clear when you tilt the photo into the light-- lack of ink is a huge problem. If we are able to acquire the photo I'll see if I can take some pictures or perhaps a scan that I can enlarge to show the impressions better. Cheers!

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on November 18, 2020 at 6:13pm

Poor contrast is something to avoid IMO.

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Permalink Reply by fab432 on November 18, 2020 at 7:29pm

Interesting dilemma. I can only offer advice having purchased a similar set many years ago. For the purposes of this discussion let’s assume the set you are looking at is in fact genuine. One of the first sets I bought was a signed promo photo with literally 10% ink coverage. It was sadly exposed to the sun for a very long time and the sun did a number on it. At the time autographs were selling for around $1500 and I bought it for $300. You could see the autographs but only in your hand, standing on one foot, under a strong light on Mondays between 4 and 5 pm. I resold it a couple of years later for $600. So if your photo is a genuine signed item the value could be in the range of 1/5 of the value of the same item with no fading. The resale value will be about the same so it should be purchased because you like it as opposed to an investment. IMHO