Look At This Garbage.

[OismForever]

A pirated book and a forged signature!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ayn-Rand-Atlas-Shrugge...1QQcmdZViewItem

As if Miss Rand would have signed a pirated copy of her book to begin with. Hopefully no one is dumb enough to bid on this.

--O

[Qwertz]

At least they put this line in. You have to read the whole description to find it, though.

To avoid misunderstanding: This is an autograph on a separate slip of paper, which has been placed in the book.

-Q

[mailegreene]

I have never seen anything like this before. It is very possible that somebody is willing to purchase this item simply because it is unique in and of itself. I would imagine that finding a pirated edition such as this one would be just as hard, if not harder, than finding the true American first edition.

[scottkursk]

At least they put this line in. You have to read the whole description to find it, though.

-Q

It's called being "tipped." A bookseller will get a copy of the genuine signiature (which has to carry its own provenance to be authenticated) and "tip" or glue it in the book. That generally enhances the value of a book by taking the inherit value of the book itself by adding the value of an autograph. Of course, they still have to prove the reality of the signiatures which they usually don't.

[DavidV]

a copy of the genuine signature

A copy of the signature? What value is there in a copy? An "autograph" seems to imply that the signature was real - does this mean that authors routinely sign pieces of paper to be sold by autograph sellers?

[scottkursk]

A copy of the signature? What value is there in a copy? An "autograph" seems to imply that the signature was real - does this mean that authors routinely sign pieces of paper to be sold by autograph sellers?

Sorry, I dropped context when I said "copy". I meant it to be a real signiature. When I worked in the book trade we always called them copies. Especially if they weren't flat signed. Flat signed being the book was laid flat and the author signed it. Also, any book is called a copy. Yes, it is a real book but the term copy just meant it was one of many. IE I have a 1st edition signed copy of Capitalism: The Unkown Ideal. I doubt there are any like it but I still refer to my book as a "copy".

And yes, authors frequently sign paper that is tipped in to their books. They generally use bookplates but the term bookplates is generally refering to a piece of paper tipped into a book that says "this book is in John Smith's private library." It's especially true in mass market authors that just don't have time to sign that many darned books. Take Stephen King. There is a demand for millions of his signiatures but the physicalality of having him sign a million books would be a nightmare. Instead, he signs a million things like post it notes and they are tipped into books. Viola', an authorized copy of his book with his signiature that comes with a letter of authenticity. The fan is satisfied and so is the author and publisher. The happiest of all is the bookseller.

I've got a rack of signed 1st editions only 1 of which has a tipped in signiature but due to the rareness it is worth it due to the rarity of both. I personally wouldn't touch anything like what was advertised. Mind you, I must admit I have a fake Spanish edition of Atlas Shrugged I bought in Mexico off a street vendor selling used books. I did have a friend in India get me a copy of The Fountainhead (hoping it would be in Gujrati or Hindi) but found it was the exact same Penguin anniversary edition I could get here. Though it was bought for roughly .20 US. Argh.