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An AUTHENTIC Jimi Hendrix autograph

While browsing this website today, I noticed the number of Jimi Hendrix forgeries that seem to be floating around out there, and they are horrendous. A number of people were asking others if they could possibly authenticate their autograph, so I hope this may help in some way.

I received a Jimi Hendrix autograph on June 19, 1969 on a stairwell of Toronto's Old City Hall during a recess in Jimi's trial for heroin possession which I attended that day. Seems he was busted at Customs while entering Canada for his concert at Maple Leaf Gardens (which I also attended) in May of '69. I recall Jimi was an hour and 15 minutes late, and was actually booed when he came on stage for it. At the time, nobody knew of the troubles he had 'experienced' at the Toronto International Airport just hours earlier. He certainly made up for his lateness with an incredible display of concertship that evening.

On the day of his trial, Jimi entered the Courthouse wearing a pink headband, pink shirt, black furry vest, black leather pants, and a black fur cape which dragged behind him while he walked. I distinctly recall the Judge asking him to "show the Court some respect" by removing his headband, which he did. The lawyers were going through some paperwork with the Crown Prosecutors, so the Judge called for a short recess. Jimi walked out of the Court and sat on some stairs and lit a cigarette (yes, it was allowed in those days!) while a small group of fans gathered around to talk to him, myself included. I realized that I had nothing for him to sign, so I purchased at a Courthouse concession stand a 5 cent Kleenex pack, which at the time had a cardboard backing inside. I threw away the Kleenex, and asked him if he would sign the piece of cardboard, which he graciously did.

The one thing that stood out during that half-hour encounter in the hallway, of all things, was how beautiful and white his teeth were. Strange. He was very soft-spoken, almost shy, but he was funny, and we all shared quite a few laughs with him while he dragged away on his Kent cigarettes. A nice guy, and a perfect gentleman.

Only years later did I realize that I had nobody but my buddy Steve, who was also there that day, who could verify the authentication of my autograph. I recall he told me years later when I asked if he still had his autograph, him telling me "no, I gave it to some chick for her birthday" and that he was still kicking his ass to this very day for doing so. He said if I ever needed him to verify it with an affidavit, he would.

Funny enough, two decades later, I spotted a story on a local paper's website about his Court trial in 1969. At the end of the piece, there was a link that said 'click here to view pictures of that day', which I did. Here was a slew of pics taken inside the Old City Hall that day by a photographer from the Toronto Star newspaper, and in the very first picture sat 'yours truly' directly behind Jimi in the Courtroom!! Unbelievable! I now had my authentication. I called the Star and they said I could purchase the pics by coming to their offices, and I would have purchased several more except for the fact that they were very pricey. However, I did score a few of them, and nice ones too I might add.

I just wanted to post a picture of the autograph which I got that day so that it could be compared to any fakes that someone may have been unfortunate enough to receive.. Although this has faded over the years from being tucked away in an envelope, it indeed is an authentic Hendrix.

And by the way, Jimi was acquitted on the heroin possession charge due to the fact the the Crown could not disprove Jimi's claim that the drugs had been placed in his travel bag by a fan, and of which he knew nothing about.

Justice prevailed in Jimi's case that day.

And just further, this autograph is dedicated to my son, and is not for sale.

Lucky kid.

Peace out.

1 member likes this

Comment by BallroomDays67 on May 11, 2012 at 10:45am: I guess I dismissed it too quickly. The photo looks pretty badly aged, but the signature is pristine. It appeared to me as though it was written on top of the aging. Well, then someone got a heck of a deal.

Comment by The Doog on May 13, 2012 at 7:25am: .

   The Jimi Hendrix Experience .... LIVE in Stockholm

   FULL CONCERT .... January 9, 1969

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahXTw_v96ek

SET LIST

1- Killing Floor
2- Spanish Castle Magic
3- Fire
4- Hey Joe
5- Voodoo Child
6- Red House
7- Sunshine Of Your Love

   Enjoy!

.

Comment by BallroomDays67 on July 6, 2012 at 1:59pm: Here's a set of what I believe to be authentic autographs that was sold by Christie's:

and here's a set that was previously sold by Bonhams UK, and which is now on eBay with a bid of $2K:

Thoughts?

Comment by BallroomDays67 on July 6, 2012 at 2:50pm: The bid was retracted.

Comment by The Doog on July 7, 2012 at 3:42pm: BallroomDays67 ..... indeed, both of those look authentic. The drop off on the 'en' of Hendrix is identical to mine. Do you recall what the Christie's one went for? Thanks for those pics BTW!

Comment by BallroomDays67 on July 7, 2012 at 3:54pm: Actually, I said that the set from Christie's looks authentic to me. It sold for $1,367 back in September of 2000.

Comment by RevolveR on July 7, 2012 at 8:20pm: I would think that if the Christie's one is good, the Bonham's one is good too. They look pretty much the same. I would think that forgers wouldn't go through the trouble of the lengthy inscriptions. Too many chances to slip up!

Comment by RevolveR on July 7, 2012 at 8:22pm: Looks as if the ebay listing (bonhams example) got pulled by the seller. He also pulled his Syd Barrett and Nick Mason from the same autograph book. Do you think its an authenticity issue?

Comment by BallroomDays67 on July 7, 2012 at 8:45pm: Not sure. To me they appear too similar to each other (right down to the ellipse under Mitch's autograph), but with a couple of added inscriptions. Unlike the Christie's set, portions of the Bonhams set don't look natural to me. What about the position of Jimi's and Mitch's autographs? It looks as though one left room for the other so that they could sign adjacent to each other.

Comment by RevolveR on July 7, 2012 at 9:00pm: Fair enough. I am new to Hendrix so who's the guy who knows all of this? I'm a Beatles guy so I know Caiazzo, Tracks, and Cox can tell me for sure on Beatles stuff but who is the Hendrix guy? Honestly, I like the Bonhams one better simply because the Christies one looks a bit rough and rugged in spots and the fact that the Bonhams one came from a book with good looking Pink Floyd and Who sigs as well. Of course all of your points make me doubt all of that...

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