Freddie mercury? Please

epislash

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Not sure of the era. Or authenticity. Any help is appreciated

LochNESS

He looks young in the photo. If you believe the sig and photo were acquired together / at the same time then comparing to his earlier sigs may be helpful? If there's one thing I know it's that authentic sigs can vary greatly decade to decade. Sorry I can't help more.

epislash

Not a problem, thanks so much for the input

Tookybandit

Here's a printed signature on a collector plate. I had to zoom in with my browser but it looks very similar to yours!

Freddie Mecury

magikbilly

I need some time for this - is this an auction?

Eric

magikbilly

Hello again,

First off - what do you think, and why? You should be more familiar than I with this signature. I'll do this one in real time. First impression with thread title - fake. Second upon seeing fluidity and firmness of authorship - good. Next we mine the internet for unquestioned exemplars. BTW, posting exemplars of good repute is helpful when asking for authentication...but I am gonna look for my own anyway As a buyer you should have a collection of authentic signatures to work with. Just sayin'...you know I am a stickler for the collector getting involved in the authentication process....after all, you are paying. Might as well play too. OK - exemplars...looking...this Mercury could be good...now selecting various exemplars of reliable provenance and using my eye to see from the many I have here what is by the same hand...we gonna do the upside down and backward in negative comparison...opening Photoshop...saving files...lots of felt tip on slick surfaces and would prefer ball point as it "bites" the surface...but will rely on eyes and loop volumes...slant and formation...all of it...and ink dispersal/heavy spots as this is felt tip those should reveal in negative...looking reasonable...more exemplars needed...I think this is good....yes. I believe that is authentic (or a very good forgery). Formation, number of features, slants, trails, end strokes...I am not a Mercury expert but seems good and in line with others. At the very least, worthy of further more expert examination. What is the provenance?
I say good signature - from what I have seen. Anyone else; more exemplars? Get additional opinions before purchasing.

Best wishes,
Eric

Edit for spelling/words left out.

magikbilly

Anyone else? Would like to see some more firm exemplars. Not sure. Looked up as many as I am going to and have time to now. Reading about recent forgeries by one hand. This is clean, blue felt tip and on card - ripe territory for forgery. Would like to see some early known exemplars. Would not buy as is as a matter of procedure.


Eric

LochNESS

Well, not owning any, I did a google search. "Freddie Mercury signature" is all I typed. Tons of results appeared (all images) including this curious note from www.QueenZone.com:



I knew that his birth name was not Freddie (it's Farrokh Bulsara), but I am very confused by the message. If it was written by him then I have a few questions. Primarily, does he mean to say that he never signs "freddie Mercury" and only signs "farrokh?" or did he have two signatures, "farrokh" for personal matters like drivers license and "freddie mercury" for fan memorabilia?

If the latter explanation is the case, then his fan sig may not be worth much. The personal sig would be much more valuable I'd imagine, as it'd be much harder to collect.

Here are some more comps from live.autographmagazine.com:



EDITED TO ADD: After comparing all of these images shown, I conclude the OP's sig is fake because it doesn't have the Treble Clef sign in the first name. Instead it has two clearly defined "d" letters. The personalized notes have the musical figure instead.

LochNESS

Another example of many found on Google ...




So ... this one is obviously not hand-written and was probably created by the record label graphic design department ... but it illustrates another difference between most of his sigs and the OP's artifact ... the surname is very streamlined except in the OP's sig ... the "c" is too big, in my opinion. I have found a few sigs with the double "d" letters but I have found zero examples with that large, clearly defined "c" in "Mercury" ... they all seem much more streamlined to me. So again I'm saying it's a fake.

magikbilly

Hello

I saw those - and then saw this. Autopen or someone is playing. Considering the content of the note you posted, I would think playing:



In the other two you posted, in black ink in the composite scan with the red, they are same hand, but the formation of the "M" in "My" is reversed - one like an "M" and one like "W". Would prefer some signed contracts and checks etc. Too much out there, variation (firm exemplars would take this down a notch) and this name is forged continually.
This sort of thing is one reason I love lengthy inscriptions - forger overload!

Eric