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Ayn Rand's Autograph

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OismForever

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I am considering bidding on this item. Is anyone here an expert on her signature that can verify this item's authenticity?

Ebay Item

This is an item for sale by a banned member that sells fake dvd's on Ebay that are nothing but stolen collections of other people's works. So I'm going to go with a big no.

In general, when it comes to buying anything that is a signiature you need a letter of authenticity or at least a history of the object. Plus you have to do what you are doing and check on the party selling the object. Of course, you could ask him to guarantee the authenticity of the signiature. I doubt that he's willing to put it to the Pepsi challenge.

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Recall that the seller was selling pirated Rand videos, so I would be suspicious of his honesty. But of course a pattern of past dishonesty isn't iron-clad proof of current dishonesty, though it is a reason to be suspicious.

Interesting. Makes me not want to risk it. Can anyone comment about the Autograph itself? Are there any links to some known samples of her signature?

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It looks like her standard signature seen in various publications, i.e.

ayn_rand_sig.gif

It is rather large, it seems; I should point out that signed Rand books command prices in the thousand dollar range, not the ten dollar range.

Looks pretty darn close. But, the seller has zero credibility. I might bid $10 on it, because what do I have to lose? I notice he just sold a first edition of Atlas Shrugged for WAY below market value.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMESO%3AIT&rd=1

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It looks like her standard signature seen in various publications, i.e.

It is rather large, it seems; I should point out that signed Rand books command prices in the thousand dollar range, not the ten dollar range.

Actually, you'll notice it's EXACTLY like the gif. My bet is someone placed a printout of her signiature under the page and traced over it. Like I said, I'm willing to bet he won't vouch for authenticity.

Edited by scottkursk
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If you still wanna buy it, how about I copy the signature and sell you the copies? How about $5 for a set of 3? :thumbsup:

I suggest that at the very least you contact the seller and discuss the background. He has not even said in his listing whether this is a copied autograph. Some sellers tend to be very "clever" with their wording. If confronted they might even say "autographed doesn't mean by Ayn Rand herself". So, make a list of lawyer-like questions if you must. Best however to buy things like this from reputed dealers.

I notice he just sold a first edition of Atlas Shrugged for WAY below market value.
This is another fact that should raise suspicions. Edited by softwareNerd
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It's definitely a forgery.

Even though it looks like her signature, she would never sign a book in that way.

Most of the forgeries are in books with otherwise little value, as in this case.

I actually bid on the item, it was a day from closing...and he cancelled all the bids and relisted it the next day.

So, I am done with him. But, look at some of the stuff he is selling...first printings of Atlas and the Fountainhead. I wonder why he deals in Ayn Rand material when he seems so dishonest? It would be like a satan worshipper selling bibles!

O.

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Again he's taking a book of relatively little value - in this case maybe at most $75 - and trying to boast its value by adding a purported AR signature - which in this case is also a forgery.

In general avoid "cut" or "laid in" signatures. It's a phoney attempt to "marry" two unrelated items.

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  • 17 years later...

I have a signed addition by Ayn Rand of the 35th anniversary edition of Atlas Shrugged. Copy right 1957 tenth printing. It was my mothers pride and joy. I hate to part with it but at 65 , I have had health issues, the economy ect . I am wanting advice as to where to sell . I have been given no reason to believe the signature is not original but willing to have it authenticated , but also need guidance in that area too . I welcome your input .

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24 minutes ago, Boydstun said:

 

Cheryl, the 35th anniversary edition was in 1992, and Rand had died ten years before then. Are you perhaps looking at a signature in the book that is another name?

The dust cover is 35th anniversary . And the book is a signed by Ayn Rand but the that is what is info on publication. Could I have a signed copy but not with the original  dust  cover ? it further reads library of congress catalog card number : 57-10033 tenth printing 

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1 hour ago, Cheryl said:

The dust cover is 35th anniversary . And the book is a signed by Ayn Rand but the that is what is info on publication. Could I have a signed copy but not with the original  dust  cover ? it further reads library of congress catalog card number : 57-10033 tenth printing 

Yes, I imagine that is simply not the original dust cover.

I have the first printing. It has that same number 57-10033, which is the Library of Congress Catalog Card Number. It was given to me by a friend in college, and I think she got it at a garage sale, in about 1970. Mine is in poor condition in that the dust cover went away a long time ago, the front and back's hinge wore away from the spine and are now just free companions to the pages. I think the manufacturer had everything right; life of the book with me was pretty harsh, including endurance of one collapse of a book shelf. The important things for my purposes are fine: all the pages and all the words are there, and the print is large enough for me to read these 50+ years later. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

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