This debate has been going on for years and people remain split on it. In fact, more recently there was this raging debate on a fan site about removing personalization from a genuine signature from a Beatle.
My thoughts, then vs. now, have changed. I used to think personalization ruins a book, poster, photograph, whatever. I no longer do and prefer it because: 1) The more strokes of a pen, the easier it is for authenticators to separate what's genuine vs. what's a forgery. 2) Collectors can still prefer NO personalization - but it gets complicated when it's done by a celebrity who is no longer alive. Recently, a collector wanted opinions about removing personalization from an item signed by John Lennon. The signature was authenticated by two different organizations - and the collector said seeing "personalization" to another person not sharing his name - really bugged the crap out of him. Where I fall on this is simple. I would NEVER want to erase a single pen stroke done by a legendary figure. Same with authors. I prefer personalization from an author like Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Didion, E.B. White, Virginia Woolf, etc. I don't care if the personalization is for a random fan vs. for someone who was famous, the latter of course would enhance value. To me, it represents the celebrity taking an extra few seconds to write something besides his / her name. I myself would never erase personalization from even a single-genre celebrity like Mark Hamill, who is notorious about publicly calling out fakes of his own signature. Separate from signatures, restoration of paper does impact the perception of value, e.g., sometimes a poster needs it and the value goes up or down or stays the same. In the comic book world, though, restoration does have devastating impact on value. Of course, right now people want to remove things like, "Best of luck William, All the Best! Paul McCartney" - if they're not named William. They're look at personalization as hurting market value. Probably. But when someone like McCartney eventually passes - and the world mourns him - the perception of market value with or without personalization DOES shift. Again, speaking for myself, I would never want to remove anything signed by such a person. That's like wanting a portion of Albert Einstein's writing removed because it includes something like, "You're a smart young man, Herbert! Good luck! A. Einstein." -d. ________________________________ From: MoPo List <mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU> on behalf of Glenn Taranto <exit82afi...@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2024 1:41 PM To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU <MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU> Subject: Re: Does This Poster Restoration Work Impact Value? Interesting topic, Scott. I have always been under the impression that a personalized autograph was more likely to be authentic. I had Robert Dix sign a lobby card the first time I met him. Instead of Glenn he signed it to STAN! I was too polite to correct him or do anything about it. It bothered me every time I looked at it. I eventually sold it. It wasn't worth much at all but I just couldn't look at it. Silly I guess but I'm not Stan and never have been! Robert and I later became good friends and I have his signature on things that are more personal to me than a lobby card so it's all good. Glenn On Wed, Feb 21, 2024 at 4:05 PM Scott Burns <sbu...@columbus.rr.com<mailto:sbu...@columbus.rr.com>> wrote: Interesting video from Fourth Cone Restoration on YouTube where a client wanted “Best to Harold” removed from a “Star Wars” Topps poster, autographed by Mark Hamill. Does this kind of restoration make any difference in the value of the poster? This being a Topps poster, I’m not sure how much value there was to begin with, but a Hamill autograph would certainly boost the value. Opinions? https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mfK1nW-ovFY?feature=share Scott MoPo List Owner Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
