Buying books signed by the author on the internet

September 17, 2017 4:55 PM

How do I know that the signature in these books is truly from the author?
posted by allelopath to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

You really don't know--
best case scenario is that the seller is a reputable bookstore that just had a signing.
Next best is a reputable book seller. BUT If the books were sold to them- you don't really have a guarantee about the origin of the signature.
posted by calgirl at 5:21 PM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

Ask for a photo of the signature page and do the kind of internet research they would have done, at minimum, before listing it -- basically, google a bunch of examples of the author's signature and compare. What you want to rule out is not an obvious fake (although you could, if it was) but a stamp -- in person it's easier to see if there are any smudges or if the paper's crushed a little bit by real pen lines and other such signs, and in photos, not so much. but you can still see if it looks EXACTLY the same as a bunch of other identical signatures (bad) or very similar but not identical (good).

but this is kind of a hassle and is part of what book dealers get paid to do, so that you don't have to. better than this is to find a reputable dealer with ABAA membership and all that stuff. that does not mean they won't be liars and cheats and thieves and generally disreputable! doesn't even mean they'll be competent. but it does mean they probably haven't got caught doing anything dishonest or incompetent yet, or not more than a few times. it betters the odds.
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:21 PM on September 17, 2017 [3 favorites]

also, more generally, you can sometimes google the name of the person the book's inscribed to, on the off chance it's a known but obscure friend or associate of the author. (this is another thing the dealers would do when trying to figure it out, themselves, for more valuable or rare signatures.) Not necessarily a help in this particular case but you never know. if there is a verifiable connection between the parties, but the dealer didn't mention anything about it in the listing, it's probably both real and underpriced because it was under-researched.

Plus, most people buying signed books as gifts don't want one that's already inscribed to an unknown previous owner, so a for-profit fake is less likely to be personalized. likewise the copy in your link with the signed affixed bookplate is probably real because if it were fake why not just fake it on the title page directly?
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:38 PM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

When I started listing books on sites, I ran into this problem all the time. If I could, I gave all the info I had on the signature, such as "acquired from inscribed" or the like. Best of all, I would put "signed in my presence" when I went to fairs or cons and got the book from the author. But not everybody will tell you things, so be especially wary on sites like ebay.
posted by MovableBookLady at 7:35 PM on September 17, 2017

Is it this specific book and author that you're interested in, or more general tips?

I'm no expert but if the reputable seller produces a photo of the sig, and you know there are many signed copies out there, and the prices are all clustered, and the price is around 2-4x what a nice unsigned copy of the same printing...

I say you have decent odds of legit sig and not
much more than $20 to lose, so why not go for it?
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:38 PM on September 17, 2017

Generally, signed books without an inscription or with a generic inscription to some unknown person are not a high priority to forge. If you're forging books, why do someone not particularly well-known? (No offense to fans.) Imagine a copy of McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses inscribed to Imelda Marcos or something - that's serious money.

As for how to buy safely, ask to see the inscription and how the seller got the book. If they're a serious rare book dealer, they know it's provenance and won't have an issue sending you photos. For more serious deals, use an escrow service or have it authenticated. If you watch Antiques Roadshow, you know the people with the serious stuff have interesting stories that can be corroborated by the author's history.

I do find the prices on that book a little off. Original 1st Editions seem relatively easy to buy and there seem to be a decent number of copies available online. Does anyone know if Robbins no longer signs books?
posted by fiercekitten at 11:38 PM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

Well, I know he did do a book tour for that, since I worked at a store where there was a Robbins appearance. That of course does not mean that any purported signed copy is authentic, but they are not rare. He didn't seem really thrilled to be on a book tour, but he did it.
posted by thelonius at 2:12 AM on September 18, 2017