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Authenticity is Everything
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.
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Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on July 8, 2012 at 8:21pm
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Ryan,
Ballroom and I aren't experts on Hendrix...we're just collectors talking about these pieces.
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Comment by Ryan on July 9, 2012 at 5:41am
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Fair enough. I may be naive, but I think they're both good. Like I said, the Bonhams piece comes from an autograph book that had very good Pink Floyd and Who autos in it as well. I find it hard to believe that someone went through and perfected every musician's handwriting, only to pull off excellent forgeries one after another, without a mistake, all in the same book! Likewise, the Christie's example is virtually the same, but not traced. If this forger exists, he/she would have made 100's of these and we would have seen them all in the marketplace. Just look at the SoCal Beatles forger. He's not even this good and we've seen tons of his work. Try writing your name with an inscription 100 times. I bet there's quite a few differences in where you dot an "i" or loop a "d". Well, that's my two cents. I think sometimes we get fooled so many times that we start to pick out every little thing that could be wrong. In the end, it doesn't really matter. No one is going to want to own a piece that you're not sure about. So, unless you get it from a first hand source, its all piece of mind and how the item makes you feel. Of course, if you're just trying to flip it and make some cash, a simple COA from half a dozen different experts is all you need. But that's just collecting vs. dealing.
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Comment by BallroomDays67 on July 9, 2012 at 12:02pm
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I can't find the other autographs from that same book. Are they viewable on the website?
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I think I am wrong again. At closer look, the Bonhams listing says that its several autograph books, not just one. I am now thinking you are right Ballroom. The same seller has two other hendrix autographs that are just about identical. Same inscriptions and everything. Too many alarms for me! Back to the Beatles I go...
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Could someone post links or images of the other two sets of Hendrix please?
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Set 1 - Sold for $2,125
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Set 2 - Ended by the seller
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Comment by roger epperson on July 11, 2012 at 10:48am
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These are not authentic in my opinion.
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A very, very good forger though.
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I think you're right. The program itself is pretty rare, so it was a bit of a risk.
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