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Is this signed David Bowie "Aladdin Sane" album authentic?

Saw this while browsing eBay, and had it in my watch list, but it looks like the seller sold it before the auction was over. Do you think it's legit? I've attached two photos, one rotated to better see Bowie's signature. I would have loved to own this album, but looks like someone convinced the seller to sell it to them for who knows how much.

Tags: LP, aladdin, album, authentic, bowie, david, sane, signed

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Permalink Reply by Richard Booth on April 23, 2016 at 2:29pm

You had a lucky escape! This is totally fake, all signatures not real.

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Permalink Reply by Jacob Larsen on April 23, 2016 at 3:35pm

Thanks. Can you elaborate, or give me a few pointers? I'm relatively new to collecting Autographs, and I am mainly looking for Bowie related items.

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Permalink Reply by Richard Booth on April 23, 2016 at 3:50pm

The signatures don't resemble any of the correct autographs.

Bowie's signature changed slightly over the years and had always been forged.

Here are a few of my Bowie signatures over the years.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 23, 2016 at 4:51pm

That Aladdin Sane is awful. Here is one of mine from early 1993 with a 1995 promotional Outside photograph. This one is a little unusual as it is an "open B", which was more a thing of the 80's. It has Epperson REAL and Jeff Gold certification/papers. I like these transitional sorts on these ISOLAR cards where he is drawing and experimenting with shapes and spaces. One of these batch of signatures looked like a rose drawn by a spider, but I decided I liked this one. I saw a range of A,B and C in quality/beauty (centering, balance, creativity, etc). I noted the number of strokes increased with the more creative ones, and those were the examples with a "tick" for both the "i" and the date. Only about 2 of perhaps 30 were "open B". Click for full image:

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 23, 2016 at 5:09pm

PS - By "open B" I mean no connection to the vertical stroke or the "o".

Eric

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 23, 2016 at 6:00pm

Hello,

I made the scan below for comparison. The signature on the album you posted is trying to look something like the signed gallery brochure on the right which is from April, 1995. I can live with the smudge as every other example I have seen was signed with a fugitive red ink on the hard glossy white that only sat on the surface, and was worn down by countless hairline scratches. I contacted the gallery, they said a limited number were signed, I guessed maybe 200-400, I have heard 500. Original price 15 GBP. The album, while having a rudimentary understanding of the construction which many forgeries thankfully lack, is obviously not David Bowie's hand. Click for full image.

Eric

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Permalink Reply by Jacob Larsen on April 23, 2016 at 6:14pm

So informative. Thank you very much. I'm still looking for signed copies of Aladdin Sane, Low, and Heroes, but with David's passing it's almost impossible to find them authentic.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 23, 2016 at 7:42pm

Hello Jacob,

You're welcome. I just made something I have been meaning to get around to - a chronological composite of 28 authentic Bowie signatures from the early 1970's to 2015. It will be posted in a few minutes as a new discussion. I hope you find it useful.

Eric