Why publishers are refunding those who bought $600 limited-edition books autographed by Bob Dylan

Fans were on cloud nine when they got to know American singer Bob Dylan’s limited-edition book titled The Philosophy of Modern Song was personally autographed by the legendary singer himself.

Without thinking twice, they went ahead and bought the $600 book published by Simon & Schuster. But what came as a crashing disappointment, many customers found that the “original autograph” was indeed a replica.

It wasn’t long before people started attacking the book’s publisher for deceiving them.

The official website of the publishing house, which now stands deleted, read, “LIST PRICE $599. These are final sale and non-returnable.” Furthermore, the website “guaranteed to be personally hand-signed by Bob Dylan!”

Naturally, the “originally signed” copy raised the price of the books by manifolds while the non-signed copies are priced at $45.

Those who received the limited-editioned books also obtained a letter from the publishers saying, “You hold in your hands something very special, one of just 900 copies available in the US of The Philosophy of Modern Song signed by Bob Dylan. This is Bob’s first book of new writing since Chronicles, Volume One, published in 2004, and since winning the Nobel Prize in literature in 2016. This letter is confirmation that the copy of the book you hold has been hand-signed by Bob Dylan.”

The publishers have now issued an apology.

Let’s take a closer look at the details of the controversy.

What is the book about?

If it involves Bob Dylan, it ought to be about music.

The singer began working on the book in 2010. In Philosophy of Modern Song, Dylan penned down his insights into the nature of popular music. Throughout the book, he has written over 66 chapters where he has opinionated about songs by other artists like Stephen Foster, Elvis Costello, Hank Williams, Nina Simone and Frank Sintra, among others.

He analysed each song by breaking them down into parts and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal. The book also features nearly 150 curated photos of Bob Dylan and his fellow artists, which serves as a visual treat for readers.

How did the controversy unfold?

According to a report by CBS News, the shocking revelations about the book emerged in October, even before many readers received their copies. A popular YouTuber shared a video on the platform that showed a signed copy of the book.

He said in the video, “It was painfully clear that it was never signed by Bob. Secondly, the lines are 100% uniform and have distinctive starting and stopping points.”

He also noted that given Dylan’s age (81), the signature wouldn’t have been so clean and precise. “At 81 years old, you would expect to see some shake in his signature.”

He also warned others not to purchase the book and asked to cancel their order if someone has already ordered.

One Reddit user claimed that it looked like the book had been signed with a machine that reproduces someone’s signature, called an “auto-pen”.

A fan took to Twitter to express his disappointment. He said, “Definitely NOT a real signature. I have 3 actual Bob autos that look nothing like this.”

Buyers soon started to compare notes online to show the difference between the original and the replica of his signatures.

How are auto-pen signatures different from original signatures?

As mentioned before, an auto-pen machine duplicates a person’s signature and reproduces it rapidly. In the past, many famous personalities have used the technique.

According to PaulFraser Collectibles, an auto-penned signature is distinctively different from the original one.

An auto-pen signature can be spotted by gauging the thickness of the autograph as the machines usually produce signatures that usually have the same thickness and pressure throughout making it seem extremely uniform. Meanwhile, a person might not be as uniform while signing his or her own name due to the changing positions of our hands.

Secondly, in an auto-pen machine, the pen is static when it hits a page. The signatures often start with a dot and end with another one. People don’t usually put dots before and after their signatures.

Justin Steffman, a professional authenticator told New York Times that even he thinks that the signatures were auto-penned. Elucidating on the difference between the two he said, “A pen machine, it goes from point to point” with each stroke beginning and ending with more pressure applied to the page. Hence, autopen signatures lack the flow of actual penmanship.”

Publishers issue apology

Acknowledging the mistake that was made, Simon & Schuster issued a public apology to all those who received the books.

They said, “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.”

Although according to a report by Los Angeles Times, all the refunds were supposed to be made automatically to the customers, it is unclear if they have been initiated or not.

Bob Dylan, however, has not said anything on the matter.

With inputs from agencies

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