In a rare personal appeal, Bob Dylan took to social media to formally apologize for the recent furor regarding fans paying big bucks for an autograph from him — only to receive an auto-pen facsimile.
Publishers Simon & Schuster are sending $600 refunds to customers after their personally autographed editions of Dylan's latest book, The Philosophy Of Modern Song, turned out to not actually have been signed by the legend.
Dylan's Facebook post to fans reads in full:
To my fans and followers,
I’ve been made aware that there’s some controversy about signatures on some of my recent artwork prints and on a limited-edition of Philosophy Of Modern Song. I’ve hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there’s never been a problem.
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.
With my deepest regrets,
Bob Dylan