I'd agree; there are a few things not quite right with the first listing (although I'm no expert on drawings or signatures; and have no special interest in them.)

Lee's signature is usually always rising from left to right (i.e. isn't written level to page); and almost always in the bottom right of the page. This date equates to Moreton on the Saturday; Lee wasn't anywhere else that day. But, this fact is well known. The date also doesn't look quite right. Again, too straight; a bit 'shaky' looking -as if done quite slowly.

The drawing is okay -mabey a little large; but has anyone else seen Lee do anything else? Lee almost always does this kind of picture: usually large; quite light on the page; and portrait, showing profile.

But dogfark is surely known to someone. Lists a lot of stuff. Haven't heard of anyone questioning their auctions before; although I do recall that other ridiculous auction claim!

BH

Knew you'd be on the case Beren!

£150 for Tolkiens signature -bargain!

HC are evidently going to do nothing about this. Perhaps someone who is on friendly terms with AL (rather than all of us emailing him), could put the case to him regarding the obvious flaw in this 'exclusive' claim from HC; perhaps discuss with him the likelyhood of people asking him to sign copies in the future (he is the illustrater after all); and further, what he would do if this happened. If he could be persuaded not to sign any more, then that would at least help; although I can't see why he would agree to this, or should.

I suspect we'd have to go to someone like David Brawn to argue this case properly. People at HC on the end of the phone are not going to understand (or care) about 'first 500', 'signed & numbered' etc; regardless of whether they claimed this or not.

Could this be put to David Brawn? I'm sure a few other folk have his email address (I have, for one), but Beren seems to be in regular enough contact. And (if he hasn't already done so) we should perhaps just leave it to him. Beren?

BH

That's alrighty then! With that cold blue coloured quotation, I was imagining an angry Hammond banging away on his keyboard! (-did you ever have a Hammond typewriter before computers?...)

...But if the software has to change (perhaps with format changes); mabey different paper too; and these were always going to be 'reprints'; that means these back issues are really going to be second state! ( ) What's a collector to do!?

oh, these collectors! Yeh! I wonder what kind of people encourage these kind of folk! Publishing magazines and books of publishing and printing minutiae; feeding their secret vice...

BH