Bob Dylan has apologised for utilizing a machine to autograph books that had been bought to followers as “hand-signed”.
The singer, 81, blamed his “error in judgment” in utilizing an autopen on vertigo and the COVID pandemic.
The Philosophy Of Modern Song was launched on November 1, with a restricted run of 900 “hand-signed” editions priced at AU$1000.
Each got here with a letter of authenticity from writer Simon & Schuster.
But followers who shared images of their books on-line realised the signatures had been similar.
The validity of Dylan’s signatures on prints of his artworks — which may promote for greater than AU$22,000 — has now additionally been questioned.
Dylan mentioned in a press release on social media: “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.
Using a machine was an error in judgment
“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 autopen 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.”
Simon & Schuster initially refused calls for for refunds however has since apologised and relented, writing on Twitter: “As it turns out, the limited edition books do contain Bob’s original signature, but in a penned replica form.”
Castle Fine Art, a UK artwork retailer that sells prints of Dylan’s work, mentioned it had been “entirely unaware of the use of autopen”.
“Only two collections, both released this year, were affected,” it mentioned in a press release.
It added: “All other editions were individually hand-signed by Bob Dylan himself.”
Buyers who personal a machine-signed print will probably be provided a full refund.
