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David Bowie autograph (Failed PSA)

I bought a David Bowie autograph from a vendor a while back who swore that it was authentic and said he had it signed in person himself. This is an early signature of Bowie's (early to mid 70s)- before he started scribbling his initials. I sent the piece in to PSA, who deemed it unauthentic. I know that PSA can get things wrong from time to time. I've compared this piece to different examples I've found around the web, and the characteristics of the signature look solid to me. The paper that it is signed even has an aged feel to it. I wanted to reach out and see what you guys thought.

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on September 15, 2016 at 10:36pm

Hello,

The vendor said he had this signed himself and doesn't recall the year?

I am much more familiar with his post 1976 signature, but I don't think this is authentic. It appears a drawing based on one, with some hesitation and a lot of ink at the "w", and some other things

Eric

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Permalink Reply by Full Time Flipper on September 15, 2016 at 11:44pm

you can see that was written slowly i think it is a half decent attempt by a forger

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on September 16, 2016 at 12:20am

Hi again

While some 1980 signatures appear "borderline scribble", such as the signatures on some Scary Monsters lithographs ("triple B"), and apart from the occasional loose, lengthy, rushed/rapid or odd example, I would not really say his signature is "scribbled" once he started to decide on a basic form. To me "scribbled" implies little to no intent. I think his signature is pretty ordered, with a a few presentations for each period.

Below are 4 signatures from 4 decades, 1978, 1983, 1993 and 2010. This is my preferred form for his signature - this form appears fairly regularly and it really doesn't change terribly much over all these years. The more looped style, not shown here, uses this construction as a base - the pen stays down for the whole body of the "B", and the following "o" is laid down to the left and then the right darting paraph, which can be seen in its infancy in the 1978 example shown below as a single stroke coming off the "o". The earliest I have seen for the start of this looped style is a 1976 signature on a Station to Station sleeve. The dot of the "i" would no longer be rendered with a circle by 1985.

Eric

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Permalink Reply by Tim Male on September 16, 2016 at 3:14am

Has a style similar to what you'd expect but signed way too slowly. I'd say perhaps traced

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Permalink Reply by Richard Booth on September 16, 2016 at 1:03pm

I don't think it is authentic either, sorry.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on September 16, 2016 at 9:24pm

Some of the "Bowie" sigs I have in the "Bowie's I don't think are real" discussion are also quite good, some of them really good - but tells remain. ;)

Eric