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Bod Dylan addresses controversy over supposedly ‘hand signed’ $600 books
The publishing company was forced to repay customers after it came to light that the books were signed in penned replica form
Until recently, signed copies of Bob Dylan’s The Philosophy Of Modern Song, published by Simon & Schuster, were going for $599. However, the company has been forced to refund customers after it transpired that the books were not hand signed by Dylan but in fact contained Dylan’s signature in penned replica form.
When fans started sharing the copies online, it quickly became apparent that the copies had been signed using autopen, with at least 17 different signature variations being used. Fans were understandably upset.
Initially, Simon & Schuster refused to issue refunds and claimed that each limited edition of The Philosophy Of Modern Song “was personally signed by the author and is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the publisher of Simon & Schuster.”
However, the brand was later forced to retract this statement, tweeting: “To those who purchased the Philosophy Of Modern Song limited edition, we want to apologize. As it turns out, the limited-edition books do contain Bob’s original signature, but in a penned replica form. We are addressing this information by providing each purchaser with an immediate refund.”
Dylan himself responded shortly afterwards. His full statement reads as follows:
“To my fans and followers,
“I’ve been made aware that there’s some controversy about signatures on some of my recent artwork prints and on a limited-edition of Philosophy Of Modern Song. I’ve hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there’s never been a problem.
“However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years. It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions, and we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging. So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and the vertigo didn’t help. With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done ‘all the time’ in the art and literary worlds.
“Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately. I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that.
“With my deepest regrets, Bob Dylan”
