Bob Dylan Signed Guitar (1968) Authentic?

Hello all,

Looking for some feedback and opinions on the authenticity of this guitar, believed to be signed around 1968.

I purchased this guitar off of Peter Bradford Wood in 2005. A musician who claimed to be quite close with members of The Band around that period. One of The Band members, he says below, had Dylan sign the guitar. I had not spoken with him about the guitar since I purchased if off of him, and believe I found him on Facebook, then subsequently found an obituary for him - and unfortunately, he passed away in 2016.

Peter Bradford Wood

Obituary

He sent me the following about his guitar when I purchased it back in 2005:

"Purchased on my way back from Southeast Asia, its not pretty but a functioning and truly unique piece of the times. I traveled across sixties America singing and protesting the war and civil rights. I'm sure it has been over 20,000 miles. Bob Dylan signed it, I believe, in '68 but things are a little sketchy about those years. I had hitchhiked from California to Oklahoma and then driven with my friend Roger to White Lake, New York where we stayed for about a month before heading with SDS to the convention in Chicago. A friend of mine worked for Al Grossman and she said just to come on by if there was anything she could do. We also delivered 50 four-way hits of windowpane. We were welcome. As you can see, I have decided to be as candid as possible here as I am not ashamed at all of those days and wish, in some form, their return.

It is a minor miracle that this guitar is still in fine sounding and working condition considering where it has been. Another girlfriend of mine took it home to Park Forest outside Chicago just before I had the crap kicked out of me in Lincoln Park at the '68 Democratic convention while trying to get Pigasus on the ballot. It was at the 69 Summer Solstice in Aspen Meadow outside Santa Fe and at least 10 Rainbow Gatherings at one of which the truly bizarre inlay job was done (if you don't know what Rainbow Gatherings are I am sorry but words fail me. Please ask around). My cousin, who at the time was depriving a village of an Idiot, installed one of the first Japanese pickups with controls mounted on the upper side of the guitar. It sounded like crap for years. It was removed and now has a $200.00 Barcus Berry (?) pickup mounted under the bridge and sounds fine and quite natural. This is the fourth bridge (each one better than the last in quality. I know. I am no luthier nor do I pretend to be) and I mounted it just last week. It is very hard rosewood and improved the sound by 20% I feel. The neck is straight and the action is low and even. I really do like the sound of it even after all these year. Levon Helms once kicked it across the basement room by accident late one night and there was zero damage.

While I was away in Boston, having traveled from White Lake to see my father who was at the time teaching at Rhode Island School of Design, either Levon or Garth had Bob sign the guitar. I know they did not sign it as I know both of their writing skills and they would not have done that anyway. My friend who invited me to White Lake in the first place was Lucinda Hatch, she now lives in Santa Fe."

I have hung onto this tired little guitar, and should have acted sooner to contact Mr Wood about some deeper back info on the story behind this guitar. Would very much appreciate any advice on whether I should have this professionally analyzed, should I put something on it to protect the surface?

Something about it makes me feel that she has had a fascinating life, and the story is true.

But I defer to those on here that are far more qualified than myself to assess this piece.

Thank-you so much!
Todd.

Tags: autograph, bob, dylan, guitar

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 10, 2021 at 1:35pm

The tuners are not from 1968. I'd not have added that bridge. The celluloid fret board dots don't seem aged. The nut appears a disaster. Interesting Lenin inlay. It has been refretted and then not used much - the board shows some wear before the refret. The pick plate seems newer. The rest of the body shows much less wear than I'd expect from such a storied history, apart from the bit by the signature and what has been done to the bridge area. It is not rock maple. The inlay and binding do not show the wear I'd expect on such a guitar.

It appears to be signed in an odd place - from what I can find he often signed at the bottom of guitars under the bridge heading in a different direction. The ink does not appear to be over 50 years old. The signature appears a hesitant simulation. The circular wear at the signature does not appear natural. The whole thing appears unnatural.

My .02 cents. Let's see what others see and say.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 10, 2021 at 3:21pm

The next question would be what does the Reverse look like? Often more revelatory than the Obverse...this traveled 20,000 miles? Unless it was on the Concorde I'm just not seeing it.

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Permalink Reply by TheToddfather on August 10, 2021 at 3:56pm

Thanks for the feedback. Definite food for thought. I would assume he had a case for it in his travels.

The back is in considerably better condition.

Kinda odd that he would give me his real name etc

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 10, 2021 at 4:17pm

"...The back is in considerably better condition..."

That is really troubling. The wear I am talking about occurs outside of the case.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 10, 2021 at 4:43pm

Those sealed tuning machine heads are way after 1968.

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Permalink Reply by TheToddfather on August 10, 2021 at 6:10pm

Hmmm… thanks for taking the time to respond in such detail. I’d rather know it isn’t real than have something fake hanging on my wall.

What are the odds someone would replace the tuning heads?

I guess it all adds up to being bunk. He wasn’t a very good scammer. Would have probably paid a lot more back then to have a Dylan signed guitar.

He asked for $200 for it, so I jumped.

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Permalink Reply by Stepeanut on August 10, 2021 at 6:04pm

It’s a hard no from me.

Quite aside from the salient points already made about the guitar itself, this doesn’t look like any other example of Bob’s signature that I’ve seen from the late 1960s. The style, the hesitancy, the way the signature has seemingly been applied over a patch of existing wear … it’s all kinds of wrong, IMO.

Bob was incredibly elusive during that Basement Tapes period, and quite aggressive toward any fan who tried to breach his privacy. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a legit 1968 autograph by him. If this were real, it would be a museum piece.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 10, 2021 at 6:18pm

Agreed, poor fake. What gets me is the tuning heads. If signed and then not played, why change the tuners many years later? Signature aside, that and the overall condition are immense red flags.

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Permalink Reply by TheToddfather on August 11, 2021 at 10:03am

Thanks for the input Stepeanut,

In his story, he doesn't specifically say it was 1968, but around this period.

IF the story were true, members of The Band might be the only level of people who would have the access to him to be able to get the signature.

The two signatures HERE with Sara's signature present would most likely be from around the same period, and shares similarities. Being that Sara signed it, it's probably from between 1965 - 1975.

This seems to also be the style he predominantly uses when signing a guitar.

As you point out though, the sheer odds that this whole story is true and this being authentic, combined with the MANY additive inconsistencies and flaws in the physical guitar itself... This seems extremely unlikely.

It feels very odd to me that he appears to be the genuine article who played festivals in the 60s, and lived that life. I was able to authenticate his email used to facilitate the transaction belonged to the real Peter Bradford Wood.

The whole thing just seems strange that all this trouble would be made to scam someone for $200. The guitar still plays and everything...

Shame he passed on. Would have loved to speak with him more on FB and see if I could get answers from him on the reasons for the guitar's state...

In the end, all he ever really claimed is a) The members of The Band who said they had Dylan sign it probably were not the people who signed it because he saw their penmanship.

And... b) They claimed that they personally had Dylan sign it.

So, even he couldn't give first-hand knowledge of it being signed.

Kind of a mystery that I am sad I sat all these years on, instead of acting sooner to speak with him and see what he would say today. Maybe he could elaborate, or maybe it would quickly become apparent that he barely remembers the story he concocted, and the holes become clear right away...

Anyway, thanks for your intelligent input. Seems like I have some closure, but still have this nagging feeling about the whole thing. Wish I could reach out to him and get more.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on August 11, 2021 at 10:15am

I'm sorry but this is an obvious fake. There is no chance this is real.

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Permalink Reply by Stepeanut on August 11, 2021 at 10:38am

There are several things to consider here:

— Bob’s signature on legal documents is often at variance to autographs signed for fans.

— Bob’s signature has changed multiple times over the years. I have seen many examples, but the style of letter D you’re talking about didn’t become commonplace until the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s.

— The example you posted dates to October 1974. See here:

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/autographs/bob-dylan-rare-signed-d...

— I have never seen a legit Dylan autograph from 1967 or 1968. Those years are the most mysterious of his entire career. The closest would be a 1969 signature. Here is an example from that year. As you can see, it varies markedly in style from the one on your guitar:

https://www.bobdylan-comewritersandcritics.com/pages/odds/various/d...

— Members of The Band would likely have been under strict instructions from Dylan and/or Albert Grossman to not bother Bob with autograph requests from random strangers, or even acknowledge Bob’s presence in the area. To do so would almost certainly jeopardise their position in his inner circle.

I’m sorry, but nothing about either the guitar or the signature is correct for Dylan in the late 1960s. By late 1969, Dylan was living back in NYC, so that draws a line under any variance in the date claimed for signing the guitar. It’s a fake. As a long-time Dylan collector, I’ve learned to question everything, but I’ve never been so sure of a fake autograph in all my life.