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Ray Charles signature study (just a start...)

I posted this earlier on another Ray Charles post but everyone got sucked into another matter.

I took two signed contract signatures as well as a 1988 signed 5x6 photo from Ray Charles Enterprises. We all know the full name cursive signatures are surely not real and I have seen dozens of these 5x6 photos of Ray signed with the fake full name signature. But this one, is different then the rest, the letter that came with it from Ray Charles's office states that they are sorry for running out the larger versions so please accept this smaller one instead. Is this Ray's actual signature? His real signature? I mean, it's on several contracts I have seen over the years and to me, it's looks like a blind mans interpretation of "Ray Charles". I personally feel Ray could sign more then block letters, he wasn't born blind and surely he could write some, or at least draw or doodle and I am sure he had at least seen writing so unlike Stevie Wonder he had a clue what writing even was and how it looked so I feel he could have taught himself over the years. idk, if you post that these are from a helper can you please post who signed his name like this, and also how you are sure of this? Thanks, and if someone could get Roger Epperson involved that would be great to try to work together and put together a solid Ray Charles signature (or lack there of) study.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Glackmeyer on March 2, 2016 at 3:04pm

So in 1962 he would have still been on heroin right? hence the shakey signature...

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Glackmeyer on March 25, 2015 at 1:25pm

Looks nothing like the signature on my Rolling Stone magazine that I got signed in 73'

just saying

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Permalink Reply by Phil Spilsbury on October 25, 2016 at 11:31pm

This one matches the autograph I have which was personally collected from Ray in 1963 by a friend in Birmingham UK. He said Ray's hand had to be guided to the paper and the best he could do was a block capital autograph similar to yours. If any are worth looking at then those are first.

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Permalink Reply by 00700 on June 4, 2017 at 4:30am

Here is one more in-person signed photo by Ray Charles. He had his concert here in Finland (in the Espoo Arena) in April 22, 1999. This was got by "Uncle Eric", owner of one of the largest in-person autograph collections in Europe (more info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erkki_Rapo ).

Ray's hand was guided to the paper by his manager/personal assistant.

Uncle Eric collected thousands of autographs - especially musicians & bands in Finland but also abroad in England and in Sweden. He e.g. met in London The Beatles in 1966 and The Doors in 1968. He got basically everybody in his collection from The Queen to The Rolling Stones and from Frank Sinatra to Frank Zappa.

I bought most of the items from Uncle Eric's collection in 2005 at an auction here in Helsinki after his death. I'm now about to sell this and many other valuable items to anybody interested in them.

Size of the photo is 7,5 x 11 cm / 2.95 x 4.33 inches.

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Permalink Reply by Phil Spilsbury on June 4, 2017 at 4:46am

Your story is similar to mine where Ray's hand was guided to the paper but in my case it was from 1963 in UK. Mine is part of a 1000+ hand-signed collection also.

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Permalink Reply by John William Henry Wheeler on April 5, 2021 at 10:18am

Hello,

I have a similar Ray Charles autographed photograph that was given to Derek Mills, the head of BBC RADIO 2 in the late 50s early 60s.it is extremely rare and about to be sold.

Attachments: No photo uploads here

E0C4F66F-8A0A-4FF6-8F24-3AB0D0EC5A9E.jpeg, 2.1 MB
4D4CC716-0F43-4B6C-8E9A-D65317B20AE6.jpeg, 2 MB

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Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on April 5, 2021 at 10:42am

Where is it about to be sold?

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Permalink Reply by Phil Spilsbury on October 25, 2016 at 11:28pm

I've got two Ray Charles autographs that were personally collected in 1963 and at 33 years old he could barely write. The block capital example lower on this thread is a genuine autograph. I'm seeing people sell what look like perfect autographs of Ray Charles for $500 and they are not real, they are fake.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on October 25, 2016 at 11:40pm

Do you have a scan of your ray sig?

I posted one at rr auction next month.

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Permalink Reply by Phil Spilsbury on October 26, 2016 at 12:39am

Not to hand. I'm in the process of starting to sell a larger collection of which the Ray autograph will figure but not scanned it in yet but will attach when I do, but it is very similar to the block capital one above and was collected in 1963 in Birmingham UK.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on October 26, 2016 at 12:41am

Well i hope you give members here options of buying your collection.
Esp ray.

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Permalink Reply by Phil Spilsbury on October 26, 2016 at 12:59am

Only just came across this forum and joined. Can we just post links to auctions in here? I'm going through a massive collection with Ray as one of the highlights as well as Beatles from '63 which was taken back stage in the dressing room of a venue near here (Plaza Ballroom) when they were bottom of the bill having just released Please Please Me. They had so little money at that point that they had to stay the night at the venue owners house as they could not afford a hotel.