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Beware: Jimi Hendrix Experience Signed 1968 Liz Shaw Datebook

In June of 2011, a major auction house sold a 1968/69 datebook containing multiple signatures, including several from the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Individual signatures and signature sets from this book were subsequently offered through various autograph dealers and auction houses. The majority of the Jimi Hendrix Experience signatures and inscriptions appear rushed and loose, but bear an overall resemblance to authentic exemplars. The cover of the book is adorned with detailed artwork credited to a Liz Shaw, giving the appearance that it was once owned by a devoted fan. However, setting these things aside and taking a closer look at the signatures together with another person has revealed a number of issues. First and foremost, authentic signatures and inscriptions closely resembling those in the book appear to have been used as templates. In addition, the signatures and inscriptions contained in the datebook show a number of inconsistencies including incorrect letter formations, stops and starts, letter separation issues, uncrossed “T”s, undotted “I”s, a lack of detail in areas, sharp angles, and one instance of a signature that appears to contain an attempt at correcting a mistake.

In 2013, another major auction house previewed a similarly signed University of Exeter diary dated 1966/67, which was withdrawn prior to the time of the auction. That book contained signatures and signature sets that clearly duplicate some of those contained in the 1968/69 datebook. Some of those signatures avoid apparent mistakes present in the datebook signatures, while others duplicate them.

This one appears to have been used twice, with one set including the "Best Wishes" inscription and the other the instrument names and "Jimi Hendrix Experience" inscription.

The set on the left appears to have missed the "N" in "Hendrix", which is written directly over the "D". The set on the right shows incorrect pen lifts between the "EN" and "DR" in "Hendrix." The pen is slightly shifted and the signature continues. I don't believe I've ever seen a clearly uncrossed "T" in "Mitch" outside of this datebook, which contains two.

Here are closer pics:

This page appears to contain a number of errors as follows:

Incorrect formation of the "O" in a clockwise direction.

A "V" that is too sharp and angular.

A pen lift and shift while forming the first "A" in "Always."

An incorrect formation of the second "A" in "Always." It appears that the formation of the top portion of this "A" was misinterpreted, and was mistakenly written in a counterclockwise direction.

A lack of letter separation between the "AN" in "And."

A stutter of the pen between the "IM" in "Jimi."

The heart is incorrectly formed.

This one appears to contain additional letter separation issues along with a change in direction during the formation of the "N" in "And." In addition, the formation of the "A" in "Stay" is incorrect.

The "A" should be formed in a single motion. Here you can see that the lower portion of the "A" has been drawn separately.

Note: The purpose of this discussion is to provide information to buyers and sellers of Jimi Hendrix Experience autographs. Please keep the scope of the discussion limited to the two books and their contents. Thanks!

Tags: 1968, Calendar, Datebook, Ewbank's, Exeter, Experience, Forgery, Hendrix, Jimi, Liz, More…

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Permalink Reply by Gratefulphish on June 16, 2015 at 10:09am

That also looks like another one that was drawn very slowly.

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on June 18, 2015 at 10:46am

Has anyone seen the Yardbirds set that is supposed to have been included in the datebook? The 1966-67 Exeter diary includes an attempt at a Jeff Beck era set. The 1968-69 datebook would presumably include the Jimmy Page lineup, which I believe is the most sought after Yardbirds set. However, there hasn’t been any mention of it containing a Page signature.

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Permalink Reply by Charley on June 19, 2015 at 8:00pm

Great work indeed. So, this datebook is said to have been offered by a major auction house (U.S.) four years ago? Is this the first known sale of the item?

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on June 19, 2015 at 8:19pm

Thanks! It was sold four years ago by a major auction house in the UK. A few months prior to that it went unsold at a major auction house in the US. I'm not aware of any sales prior to that.

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Permalink Reply by Gratefulphish on June 19, 2015 at 9:41pm

So, has this datebook allegedly been disassembled, with individual pages now appearing for sale? Or, are all of the images from when it first appeared? I added that one page that I had in my files, which I do not recall from where I obtained it.

It would be interesting to see the date of the Yardbirds signatures, and whether the band as supposedly signed was actually the band in existence at the time.

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on June 19, 2015 at 11:13pm

It was disassembled and all of the pages have apparently already been sold with the possible exception of two attached pages. The images are from when the datebook was still intact, except for the one with the "Be Good" inscription.

It's said to have included signatures from the Yardbirds "and" Eric Clapton, but no mention of Cream or Jimmy Page. It also contained an attempt at Mick Taylor era Stones signatures, which I previously asked about here:

http://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/rolling-stones-autog...

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Permalink Reply by Gratefulphish on June 19, 2015 at 11:27pm

Well, lookie here. This looks like one of those pages, in a framed Hendrix display on ebay, with a PSA COA to boot. Well, that settles any question in my mind about their ability/inability to ascertain a true signature from a forgery, as you had documented numerous fairly obvious deficiencies about this particular page.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JIMI-HENDRIX-signed-autographed-display-gui...

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Permalink Reply by Paul on June 19, 2015 at 11:37pm

Well spotted.

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Permalink Reply by Full Time Flipper on June 20, 2015 at 12:55am

More great work ,its worrying about PSA people really should stop treating their opinions as the definitive

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Permalink Reply by Gratefulphish on June 20, 2015 at 11:16am

Well, I found another. This is the "May 1968" page. It is for sale on ebay in one of those tacky displays with all sorts of other "reproductions" in it, from hand-written lyrics to copies of tickets, to a miniature guitar and fake guitar picks.

But, look at how much darker the ballpoint pen writing appears to be vs. the image that Ballroom first posted. I suppose it could be due to the scanner used, or a difference in lighting, or it could just be a high quality copy of the prior forgery.

This is the link to the auction.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JIMI-HENDRIX-EXPERIENCE-signed-autographed-...

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on June 20, 2015 at 12:03pm

I'm sure it's the same one.

It’s an unusual situation in that the signatures and signature sets weren’t presented as standalone pieces. They were packaged in a datebook that is supposed to have been owned originally by a devoted fan named Liz Shaw who drew the cover art. It was claimed that she sold the datebook back in 1972. If you aren’t aware of the template signatures and buy into the provenance, it goes a long way towards covering up the various issues with the signatures.