Bob Dylan issued a rare public apology for secretly using an autograph machine to pen his name to supposedly “hand signed” special editions of his book and artwork since 2019.
Dylan described the controversy as an “error of judgement” that led to his books and art being sold with the claim that his signature was written by hand.
He ascribed the use of an autopen to a case of vertigo he came down with in 2019 that lingered.
The signatures came under scrutiny when they appeared on a limited edition $600 copy of his new book The Philosophy of Modern Song.
Fans began comparing the signatures and noticed that they were all identical, and suggested that they must have been printed using an autopen.
The book’s publisher Simon & Schuster was forced to admit that the signatures, even with their “letter of authenticity,” were a “penned replica” of Dylan’s signature, and offered buyers a full refund.
The revelation has now cast doubt about Dylan’s hand-signed works of art which sell for as much as $15,000.
"I've hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there's never been a problem," Dylan said in a Friday statement.
"However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years. It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions, and we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging.
"So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and the vertigo didn't help. With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done 'all the time' in the art and literary worlds.
"Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately. I'm working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that."