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Hey everyone;

I joined this site tonight hoping some members here would be willing to offer their opinion on this item's authenticity.  Jim Henson and his creations were heroes of mine growing up, and a number of years ago I wanted to acquire some signatures of his to have my own little piece of him.  Attached are pictures of one of those pieces, and the fact that it featured Kermit's name as well was the icing on the cake.

This record was won on Ebay 11 years ago.  The seller had sold and was offering many other diverse signed pieces from the entertainment world and seemed legit.  Unfortunately, the only COA included was the seller's own, which doesn't prove anything and wouldn't mean anything if he was a fraud.

I won this record for a very moderate amount, so if it were proven to be a fake, I would not be out much money - it would just be very disheartening and disappointing.  Both then and now, I could only compare it to proven certified examples of Henson's signature found online, and in this regard, it certainly seems to match up.  There are many consistencies.  The addition of "Kermit the Frog" in the signature makes for extra text and would seemingly make it extra complex to forge.  Not impossible, but not the easiest of tasks either.

I know a few simple .jpgs won't tell the whole story, but if there are any collectors familiar with Henson's signature here - and especially if you have any of your own - from an initial look at this one, what do you think?  Any comments or input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot

Joe Pawich

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Although it's a little more "spaced-out" letter wise than his normal signature, I'd say it was authentic. Probably signed when he was in a hurry. 

That was his "in a hurry" signature?  I come from a family of very sloppy handwriting on my dad's side, so maybe my expectations are different :)

I always come back to this one which has made the rounds online as both an original and a reprint:

Not every letter is identical, but enough of them are.  I know that doesn't mean it can't be a fake, I just think that was incredible attention to detail if it was.

Thanks a lot for your feedback; do you have many of his signatures in your own collection?

Joe

I just have two - a photo he signed for the crew on Emmett Otter an a book he signed along with Kermit - but I have seen his signature many, many times, being a lifelong fan just like you. I just meant that usually his letters are closer together, but I really have no doubt that what you have is definitely Jim's signature.

Those signed pieces you have sound great, did they come from Ebay too?  I have a few other signed pieces I won around the same time - some more records and some First Day Cover stuff related to his stamp releases - whatever I could afford.  But this record is still my favorite piece.  It's a shame there are forgeries out there that can cast doubt on the legitimacy of many signatures.  I would love to get this record professionally authenticated, but I'm not sure I could justify the cost to do so.  I didn't pay a huge amount for anything in my collection, so I wouldn't be out a lot of money if they were all fake and may have to just go on believing they are what they were sold as.  Would be nice to know, but at the same time, it would be pretty disheartening if they weren't. 

The Kermit one was from eBay, and the other, along with a signed photo of Richard Hunt, was from Lynn Klugman, who worked with him in the 70's. I hate that those authentication services are so expensive - the cost is ridiculous!

Yeah, if I was looking to sell, it might be worth it to have the pieces authenticated, but if I'm not and it's only for my peace of mind, can I justify hundreds of dollars?  Authentication isn't a 100% foolproof science either.  Sometimes, I think ignorance is bliss :)

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