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Jim Morrison signed photo on cover of RR Auctions catalog

The following JDM signed item is up for sale in RR's May 19 auction. It is only the second known signed photo by Jim and is indeed a Jim-era print. It is featured on the cover of the catalog and comes with an Epperson COA.This item bothers me a lot. It's been said before (which is true) that if you sat down and signed your own name 100 times, they would all look slightly to even completely different. The sig as a whole and letters will vary a lot. Obviously no 2 would be exactly alike so i don't want to hear that as an excuse on this particular signature.

Let's start with the pink elephant on the picture. The "i" is dotted with a small circle. I have now 102 authentic JDM exemplars in my personal files and not one of them has a dotted "i" on which he signed since Ray and Jim met on the beach and formed The Doors. Jim Did dot his"i" though 3 times. All 3 are from his 61' senior yearbooks which he signed for a classmate.All 3 as you see are with dotted i's, and exactly that an i with a dot above it. RR's "i" is topped off not dotted but with a small circle. Never saw that before. (also notice that in the yearbooks, Jim's sig is continuous throughout versus the sig we are all used to seeing which is broken down into JM-ORR-I-SON).

The last loop of the M is a tad to high isn't it? very unusual as all the loops of his "M's" are almost always the same height. The first"O" is completely off. It starts high and is an open "O". 99% of his first "O" tucks into itself before transitioning into the first "R". RR's "ORR" looks identical to a Morrison sig on Roger's website which he states is a forgery. (shown below)

.To me the most suspicious portion of the RR sig is the "SON" which is completely uncharacteristic of him. The "S" looks like an 8. The "O" which follows the "S" is awful and take a look at how the "O" transitions into the "N" with that "downward loop" versus the way he normally did it which is transitioning up or a small horizontal line into the "N". This to me is a tell because all the forgers do this and get that part wrong.

I think Roger is one of the best in the business and have a lot of respect for him and for what he has done to help our hobby. But i just can't see how RR's item is genuine.I couldn't bid on it with confidence. It just has way too many anomalies. Many authentic Jim sigs have that occasional letter that looks totally wrong, but it's still authentic. How many things did i list on RR's sig that just don't look right.

Opinions please.

Best, Jack...

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Permalink Reply by JackGotLucky on April 24, 2016 at 2:42pm

This is what i mean by a common Jim starting his first"O" and tucking into itself.This is also a common way he did his "ON". The "O" to the "N" transition goes up or horizontal, not looping downward like RR's version. Show me one Jim sig That has that downward loop.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Hakimian on April 24, 2016 at 3:42pm

Hi Jack,I also recieved the catalog and saw this piece the other day.I see what you mean on all pointsThe signature is very uncharacteristic and my first hunch was to also pass on this piece in May.Fortunatly there are a lot of good stuff in that auction that I'm going to go for.

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Permalink Reply by JackGotLucky on April 24, 2016 at 4:00pm

Paul, Good luck. I also see some gems that have peaked my interest. Best, Jack...

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Permalink Reply by Paul Hakimian on April 24, 2016 at 4:01pm

Good luck to you also.

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Permalink Reply by JackGotLucky on April 24, 2016 at 4:03pm

Thanks buddy...

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Permalink Reply by Paul on April 24, 2016 at 4:34pm

Good points on the Morrison,id give it a miss.
As far as the auction goes, there are some items that have been retailed before. So if the items were retailed at a reasonable price they would sell and they wouldn't have to consign it to rr.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Hakimian on April 24, 2016 at 4:52pm

You're right Paul,but there are a few pieces that I don't think we have seen on the selling floor yet.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on April 24, 2016 at 5:09pm

Yes some Paul.H.

Gee Jack you just ruined the auctions catalog cover. ha.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on April 24, 2016 at 5:19pm

I see why some may question the photo, because it's a bit unusual. I'm hoping Ballroom will comment because I consider him quite good on Morrison.

An autograph can vary due to a lot of factors:

Is it beings signed for someone important to the signer? Typically, the more important the person, the more carefully signed the autograph.

What surface is it being signed on? If it's signed with a ballpoint pen on glossy stock like a photo or a varnished old UK release album front cover, you have to sign more carefully and often press a bit harder, which affects the characteristics.

How large is the autograph? The size affects the characteristics.

Is the signer trying to sign in a limited place? In this case, Morrison appears to be trying to sign in a particular place.

I look for typical and atypical characteristics and try to put them in the context of the piece being signed and its documentable provenance if any is provided.