Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Robin McKay on December 30, 2014 at 9:45am

Well you've just given me a reason not to deal with them unless they are genuinely legitimate and have allowed this item to slip through.

Like you say, a really poor attempt at a forgery. 

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on December 30, 2014 at 10:27am

I agree. This is really bad.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Cushman on December 30, 2014 at 3:12pm

In Spain...this would be known as "El Crapo"...In France..."Le Pew"...

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Permalink Reply by Robin McKay on December 31, 2014 at 3:46am

This made me chuckle

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Permalink Reply by Edward Siebert on December 30, 2014 at 10:08pm

Never heard of the dealer, but the handwriting, doodles and signature are terrible.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Bonich on December 30, 2014 at 11:12pm

Yuk

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Permalink Reply by Trazom1 on January 5, 2015 at 4:51pm

The item was taken off the website late this afternoon.

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Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on January 7, 2015 at 2:53am

I have to say I find this particular thread quite shocking.

I have been receiving pdf catalogues from this dealer for several years, after buying a very early Gloria Swanson from him (not too expensive and bought more for the photo than the autograph).

This particular Lennon item has been on my radar for some time. The dealer has had it in his catalogue for around two years. I never even thought to question it. Such is the power of swanky presentation and high prices.

I am pretty sure that this was a genuine mistake, probably explained by the fact that the dealer is generally more into "historical pieces", but obviously there is no excuse for not doing your homework when you are asking $5000 for something.

The moral of the story is trust no one completely - a rather depressing thought for the new year.   

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Permalink Reply by Trazom1 on January 7, 2015 at 6:42am

I agree that the situation looks embarrassingly bad for this dealer. 

Wow, I didn’t realize that the item had been in their inventory for 2 years.  It’s extraordinary that, in all that time, they were never made aware of the highly questionable nature of the piece.  Hopefully they didn’t ignore such opinions, if offered.

Equally amazing, as you have already mentioned, is that they never consulted with a Beatles specialist (or, again, ignored the contrary opinion if they did). 

I also agree that, in all likelihood, this well-established, and presumably otherwise reliable, dealer believed the item to be genuine and offered it in good faith.

This situation points up the great value of this forum, where a large number of  experienced Beatles collectors can evaluate items, expose fakes, and protect beginners and other unwitting consumers from the offerings of ignorant, incompetent, or—in the worst case—predatory vendors.

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