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Station to Blackstar: David Bowie Signature Study 1976 - 2015 2024 - / POST AP/TF FORGERY PROBLEM

Hello,

I have been meaning to make this for some time. A chronological composite of David Bowie signatures from the mid 70's on to 2015. It is not as complete or neat as I'd like (not enough of earlier material for one) and I will add more observations regarding the signatures, but they are genuine and it does manage to show the evolution from C. 1976 on through the decades. There are scans and photographs of signed albums, album pages, playbills, IP, business cards, inserts, lithographs, books, scraps, photos, cards and a guitar. Various markers, pens and pencil. There are "open" and "closed" B' examples and some bits of handwriting also. I hope it is useful to you. The forgeries out there (pre 2018) are largely of very poor quality, and usually fail from a lack of understanding regarding angle, basic construction and form. These examples are almost all dated. My favorites, oddly, are the 1983, 1993, 2003 and 2013 examples. The first 1993 example (with "open B") is in my collection and I like it because it appears a bit of a throwback in form and with that "o", and the bottom of the "B" looks like an axe blade. Comments and additions welcome. Click to see full image.

Eric

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 24, 2016 at 11:39am

Hello again,

Juxtaposed with these 28 Bowie signatures from 1976-2015 is one of the more common "preprints" from this period - the "signature" inside the 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour book. An earlier example can be found on the ISOLAR 2 tour book. I'll try to post one later.

Eric

Permalink Reply by Jacob Larsen on April 24, 2016 at 3:55pm

This is amazing. Thank you for doing this!

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 24, 2016 at 5:41pm

Hi Jacob,

You are welcome. It was your post that reminded me and got me to finish it.

Eric

Permalink Reply by Alexander on April 24, 2016 at 12:35pm

Amazing post. Cheers!

Permalink Reply by JJ on April 25, 2016 at 11:15am

Hi Eric,

It's great that you've done this. Thank you!

I'll add an autographed photo that I found in 1988. The seller told me he got it in-person in New York (1980/81?) when Bowie was playing in The Elephant Man there.

Below that is a signature page from the 2012 Bowie/Sukita photo book that Genesis put out. They've done a lot of Bowie books and photos, now sold out, but there are numerous signature examples shown on their site (Genesis Publications).

Below that are two vintage signature pages that if real would be from the 1960s. I found the first one in 1989 and always wondered about its authenticity. I couldn't find any of the other signers until today when I found this web site (click here) that shows someone named Chow who played with Bowie in 1966 - the year that he became David Bowie. The other one was on eBay in 2000. That seller, who was in England, can't be correct when he describes "early 60's," but the style of both is similar. Your thoughts?

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 25, 2016 at 1:17pm

Hello JJ,

Thanks. The first looks good - kind of dark to see. The second obviously. The two others perhaps another member will comment on - this earlier stuff I have seen much less off. Of the last two I prefer the second FWIW.

Eric

Permalink Reply by JJ on April 25, 2016 at 2:38pm

I'm finding the one that is second from the bottom is too neat and therefore looking forged. Here's another vintage one that probably won't be up much longer on eBay, but it's got great info. For when it's gone, here's the main image:

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 25, 2016 at 6:49pm

Second from the bottom going up? I don't like the index card.

Eric

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 15, 2016 at 11:51pm

Hello All,

Here are some scans I put together that show the evolution of Bowie's signature form. I have written comments that I am working on for this posting, but I must finish them. The scans below show the same basic construction from 1976 on to 2013 - one can see how the "typical" 90's autograph was constructed. The 1990 example provided is a clean and neat signature that is easy to follow from start to finish.