From: dpyle50@gmail.com   
      
   On Wednesday, November 23, 2022 at 12:45:45 AM UTC-5, K. Hematite wrote:   
   > New York Times    
   > By Remy Tumin    
   > Nov. 22, 2022    
   > Henry Bernstein has seen Bob Dylan 27 times in concert and owns three items   
   autographed by him: a copy of “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” album, a   
   photograph of the singer and a “John Wesley Harding” songbook. His   
   favorite song is “Tangled Up    
   in Blue.”    
   >    
   > So when Simon & Schuster, Dylan’s publisher, advertised limited-edition,   
   hand-signed copies of the musician’s new collection of essays for $600 each,   
   Bernstein was among 900 fans who went for one. Last week, he received his copy   
   of “The    
   Philosophy of Modern Song,” Dylan’s first collection of writings since he   
   won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, with a letter of authenticity   
   signed by Jonathan Karp, the publisher’s chief executive.    
   >    
   > There was only one problem.    
   >    
   > Karp’s signature “looked more legit than Bob’s,” Bernstein said.    
   >    
   > Bernstein was one of hundreds of fans who sleuthed their way around social   
   media, reaching the conclusion that the supposedly hand-signed books had not,   
   in fact, been signed by Dylan.    
   >    
   > “I got the nostalgia bug,” said Bernstein, who already owned an unsigned   
   copy of the book, as well as a Kindle version and an audio version. He added,   
   “If he touches this book — he wrote it, signed it — it feels like the   
   soul of Bob Dylan is    
   with me.”    
   >    
   > Instead, many fans suggested that the “autographed” copies of the book   
   had been signed by a machine.    
   >    
   > Justin Steffman, a professional authenticator who runs a Facebook group for   
   collectors, said the autograph was most likely created by an autopen. The   
   machine, which recreates signatures, is used by universities, celebrities and,   
   most notably, the White    
   House.    
   >    
   > Handwritten penmanship normally has a flow, Steffman said. But “with a pen   
   machine, it goes from point to point,” he said, adding that the beginning   
   and the end points of each stroke apply more pressure to the page. Dylan’s   
   autograph in the new    
   books also appears to have a “slight shakiness throughout the signature,”   
   he said.    
   >    
   > “It does not look like something a person signed; it looks like a copy,”   
   Steffman said.    
   >    
   > As orders began arriving last week, Dylan fans began comparing notes online,   
   and it quickly became clear that something was amiss, Steffman said. Steffman   
   collected images of at least 17 signatures that all looked as if they had been   
   created by a    
   machine. Items autographed by Dylan typically sell for $1,500 or $2,000, he   
   added.    
   >    
   > “They started popping up, everyone received them the same day and it was   
   instant — we all realized it was an autopen,” Steffman said. “More and   
   more people shared their copies, and we all put it together.”    
   >    
   > Steffman said Simon & Schuster’s customer service had originally refused   
   to issue refunds and had even denounced “online rumors” about the   
   possibility that the signature was a fake. Twitter and Reddit users also   
   chimed in; a chat board organized    
   by a fan encouraged others who had purchased the book to write directly to   
   Karp, the Simon & Schuster chief executive. Fans flooded his inbox, including   
   Bernstein, who, like others, received a personal response from Karp promising   
   a speedy refund.    
   >    
   > By Sunday, Simon & Schuster had issued a public statement that offered few   
   details but acknowledged that Dylan’s signature had been rendered “in a   
   penned replica form.” The publisher said it would give buyers “an   
   immediate refund.”I   
      
   Wow, just think of the other items out there!   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)