John Williams Autograph

[galljaronim 0]

6 hours ago, LeHah said:

This took more doing than I care to admit. It took 4 or 5 months to come back, but landed August 11, 2022.

Can I ask you to let me know what address you sent your request for an autograph to? Thanks

[Juanki 23]

Would be interested as well. Thanks!

[LeHah 6]

4 hours ago, Juanki said:

Would be interested as well. Thanks!

I sent this two weeks ahead of his 2022 concert in Philadelphia

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

So you're saying you sent it care of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and hoped they would pass it on to him when he came?

[LeHah 6]

3 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

So you're saying you sent it care of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and hoped they would pass it on to him when he came?

 

Most of the autograph groups on Facebook are bunk but one or two people reported success with the Vienna Concert. I replicated it (thankfully I worked in shipping and receiving for 20 years), and got results.

 

Basically, I sent it like you said - but I made sure to give it some extra time, so I think it got there 2 weeks ahead of the concert? I also sent it Second Day FedEx (Human nature: FedEx and UPS boxes inherently look more "important" than regular USPS envelopes) and inside was:

 

* A prepaid FedEx Overnight Envelope, with some added cardboard to keep everything flat.

* A short letter to whoever opened the box at the venue, politely asking them to pass along the rest of the contents to Mr Williams if and only if it was unobtrusive. If not, to please ship them back to me in the prepaid envelope.

* A short letter to Mr Williams

* The CD cover

 

And months later, having given up on it, I got a random FedEx notification that the return label was being processed through a hub.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

Well done! Luckily the person who received it was sympathetic and passed it on. You asked for it to be personalized? I think that would help, so they don't think you're an autograph dealer.

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

1 hour ago, LeHah said:

Most of the autograph groups on Facebook are bunk but one or two people reported success with the Vienna Concert.

 

Never heard of that before, but I did hear that the Hotel Imperial had strict instructions not to pass anything on to Williams that people might send in advance.

[LeHah 6]

48 minutes ago, Mr. Hooper said:

Well done! Luckily the person who received it was sympathetic and passed it on. You asked for it to be personalized? I think that would help, so they don't think you're an autograph dealer.

Didn’t dare ask for anything more than an autograph. The personalization / dedication was his own volition.

 

That said: I wonder if maybe the album choice had something to do with it. I imagine he doesn’t get a lot of people asking him about Spacecamp.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

Then he'd be really tickled if I sent him this:

 

 

But then I'd be stuck with a John Williams autograph on "Heartbeeps". lol

[BB-8 3,480]

7 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

Then he'd be really tickled if I sent him this:

 

 

But then I'd be stuck with a John Williams autograph on "Heartbeeps". lol

It would be hard to see his signature on that kinda cover, anyway..

 

This reminds me of Sir George Solti once signing his black outfit on a photo with a black pen...which came close to having no signature at all.

Or Iiro Rantala's signature that came off with one swipe of a Kleenex.

 

Autographs are nice "to haves" but not really "must haves", especially not when they are forced off someone and there's no personal interaction involved.

[Jurassic Shark 12,080]

I'd rather have his DNA.

[BB-8 3,480]

13 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I'd rather have his DNA.

I'm happy with the "epigenetic" impact JW has had on my whole way of living.

[WilliamsStarShip2282 308]

12 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I'd rather have his DNA.

 

[Juanki 23]

2 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Autographs are nice "to haves" but not really "must haves", especially not when they are forced off someone and there's no personal interaction involved.

 

This is a great quote.

[JTN 2,035]

11 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

Never heard of that before, but I did hear that the Hotel Imperial had strict instructions not to pass anything on to Williams that people might send in advance.

I had a bouquet of flowers sent to him to his room with a card wishing him good luck before the concert in 2020, they were delivered without a problem.  

[LeHah 6]

8 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Autographs are nice "to haves" but not really "must haves", especially not when they are forced off someone and there's no personal interaction involved.

 

Your innate ability to post the most dour and off-topic reply, antithetical to the thread title, makes me very tired.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

8 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I'd rather have his DNA.

If you have him sign a glossy you might get a fingerprint. And I won't even ask why you want it.

 

8 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Autographs are nice "to haves" but not really "must haves", especially not when they are forced off someone and there's no personal interaction involved.

 

With Williams' signature it's just fun to know that he signed it with the same hand that penned all those notes. As for no personal interaction and not obtaining the signature myself, it does unfortunately leave a nagging uncertainty of it not being genuine, even if you're 99.9% sure...

 

4 hours ago, JTW said:

I had a bouquet of flowers sent to him to his room with a card wishing him good luck before the concert in 2020, they were delivered without a problem.  

 

Who else is not sure if he's joking. lol

[rpvee 805]

Funny timing for this thread to bump back up, because I had a hell of a buy this past week. I won this on eBay for a whopping $38. Yes, thirty eight dollars. It was at a local coin store that clearly didn’t realize its significance, and no one else really bid on it. No certificate of authenticity, but it’s remarkably similar (not exact, but similar) to one that sold in a Star Wars autograph Facebook group last year where every post is analyzed by experts before being approved, and that one also didn’t have a COA but was said to have been signed at a promo event, so it makes sense there’d be more than one out there. This one passed both SWAU and Beckett’s online quick opinion services before I bid on it, but I imagine I should send it in for full authentication. Regardless, quite nervously excited about this. 👀

 

 

 

It’s a flat 12x12 promo image, but looks close enough to a record sleeve that it looks quite nice alongside my signed original trilogy vinyls.

 

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

I would've snatched it up and taken a "risk" at $38 too! I could live with any nagging suspicion at that price!

[JTN 2,035]

1 hour ago, Mr. Hooper said:

Who else is not sure if he's joking.

Why would I be joking? Sending flowers to artists, even to male artists has been commonplace for centuries. 

[WilliamsStarShip2282 308]

6 hours ago, JTW said:

Why would I be joking? Sending flowers to artists, even to male artists has been commonplace for centuries. 

 

I remember there was a period of a few years where people kept offering him teddy bears at the stage.

RE: autographs- they are a double edged sword for me. If they didn't sign it in front of you, it could still be a nice thing to have that someone of legend actually touched and signed, and in some cases for the people on this thread, don't think authenticity for these types of autographed would be a problem. I once bought a Stravinsky autograph off an old lady in the UK because she got them "as a kid"for her autograph collection and didn't want them anymore.

But I do remember many times Williams begrudgingly signing stuff outside of symphony hall for guys literally shoving stuff in his facing and yelling at him for stuff they could sell on ebay, which in turn would annoy him and then he would leave and not sign anything for real fans.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

Mine was obtained through the mail almost 10 years ago now, and I'm glad to say he wasn't under any duress and signed it of his own free will. No bad karmic energy flowing through the ink.

[Toillion 215]

Here is my JW autograph. The Lost World poster which also includes Spielberg, Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, and Vince Vaughn. But honestly, I have no idea if they are real or not. My parents had gotten this online when I was a kid. Probably around 2006 if I had to guess. 
Around the same time they also got an autographed poster for The Last Crusade. That one doesn’t have Williams on it though. 
 

My dream autograph by Williams would be on either the record sleeve of Star Wars or Schindler’s List. 

 

 

[Thor 7,516]

8 hours ago, WilliamsStarShip2282 said:

But I do remember many times Williams begrudgingly signing stuff outside of symphony hall for guys literally shoving stuff in his facing and yelling at him for stuff they could sell on ebay, which in turn would annoy him and then he would leave and not sign anything for real fans.

 

Yes, that was a sight to behold when I was at the Boston Pops concert in 2014. Could have been Michael Jackson or Justin Bieber or whoever. Had to take a picture of that, a kind of weird selfie with all the mayhem in the background, that I've posted here a few times before.

 

The one on the right looks like he's strapped some kind of explosive device to his stomach, LOL!

[Jurassic Shark 12,080]

Any JWFan regulars in your picture?

 

5 minutes ago, Thor said:

The one on the right looks like he's strapped some kind of explosive device to his stomach, LOL!

 

Sign Stepmom or I'll blow myself up!

[Thor 7,516]

11 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Any JWFan regulars in your picture?

 

Koray Savas to the far left, with sunglasses and a black shirt.

 

The guy with the brown bag to the right, as well as the tall guy who looks like Louis Theroux right in front of him were both part of the pre-concert JWFAN dinner, but I forget their names/usernames.

[Jurassic Shark 12,080]

Nice, Louis Theroux is making a documentary about JWFans.

 

Looks like @Presto.

[Faleel 5,358]

???

[BB-8 3,480]

16 hours ago, rpvee said:

Funny timing for this thread to bump back up, because I had a hell of a buy this past week. I won this on eBay for a whopping $38. Yes, thirty eight dollars. It was at a local coin store that clearly didn’t realize its significance, and no one else really bid on it. No certificate of authenticity, but it’s remarkably similar (not exact, but similar) to one that sold in a Star Wars autograph Facebook group last year where every post is analyzed by experts before being approved, and that one also didn’t have a COA but was said to have been signed at a promo event, so it makes sense there’d be more than one out there. This one passed both SWAU and Beckett’s online quick opinion services before I bid on it, but I imagine I should send it in for full authentication. Regardless, quite nervously excited about this. 👀

 

 

 

It’s a flat 12x12 promo image, but looks close enough to a record sleeve that it looks quite nice alongside my signed original trilogy vinyls.

 

Is the whole digipack framed?

[JTN 2,035]

10 hours ago, WilliamsStarShip2282 said:

I remember there was a period of a few years where people kept offering him teddy bears at the stage.

Maybe they wanted to give him ewoks, but the merch was out. 

2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Sign Stepmom or I'll blow myself up!

Sign it or my

Mom will shoot!

[Miguel Andrade 1,263]

When you have good friends, you end up with autographs of a lot of people...

I've collected quite a few, more by sheer luck, people being at the right place at the right time, and asking for a signature for a friend (me), than actually looking for this stuff. 

As someone else posted, this are nice to have, even more if with a dedication (Christopher Young was so kind in writing "Miguel, we miss you", when a friend asked him for an autograph on the cover of his "Cinema Septet" promo set), but for me, certainly not must haves and certainly not at the expense of the composers well being.

 

Having that said, not a day goes by I don't glance in awe at the John Williams autograph that reads "To Miguel", on top of the Jurassic Park sheet music, a dear friend got me some years ago (not naming you, but you know who you are!).

[rpvee 805]

8 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Is the whole digipack framed?

It’s not a digipack. It’s a flat 12x12” promotional print of the cover art.

[Gary V 8]

Hello, everyone. Long time lurker, first time poster here. I'm hoping to get some opinions on the authenticity of the attached autographed photo. I have wanted Mr. Williams' autograph for a while now, and since I heard that he's no longer signing through the mail I figured purchasing an autographed item was my only hope. Today I was perusing eBay and came across a listing from Belgium for a 6x8 autographed photo and it looked like it could be real so I took the plunge and made the purchase. However, not long after my purchase was complete the seller listed several more John Williams autographed photos for sale. That's when the worry set in - how many signed items from John Williams can one person have? They're all different photos and the signatures don't look like they're copies from the same source, but still, now I have doubts. I know nobody here can tell me for sure that it's authentic, but I'm hoping someone with more knowledge can tell me if it appears to be genuine or not. Many thanks in advance. 

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

1 hour ago, Gary V said:

I've seen many over the years, and this one looks off to me. I personally wouldn't touch it.

 

I've seen examples authenticated by "reputable" companies that looked suspect too, so that's not necessarily a guarantee either.

 

Williams' signature has changed over the decades, so I suggest you do your research by studying genuine examples and knowing what to look for. Check also if the signature has a natural "flow."

 

One thing I've done to eliminate doubt is to buy autographs that are dedicated to someone. I know, you don't want "To Jerry" on your autographed picture (unless your name happens to be Jerry!), but that's the point. Dedications are the kiss of death to most collectors, so forgers never think of doing it. But if your first priority is to get an authentic signature, it's worth considering.

 

And yes, that's a definite red flag when a seller seems to have an inexhaustible supply of autographs from the same person.

 

Just my two cents!

[Gary V 8]

38 minutes ago, Mr. Hooper said:

I've seen many over the years, and this one looks off to me. I personally wouldn't touch it.

 

I've seen examples authenticated by "reputable" companies that looked suspect too, so that's not necessarily a guarantee either.

 

Williams' signature has changed over the decades, so I suggest you do your research by studying genuine examples and knowing what to look for. Check also if the signature has a natural "flow."

 

One thing I've done to eliminate doubt is to buy autographs that are dedicated to someone. I know, you don't want "To Jerry" on your autographed picture (unless your name happens to be Jerry!), but that's the point. Dedications are the kiss of death to most collectors, so forgers never think of doing it. But if your first priority is to get an authentic signature, it's worth considering.

 

And yes, that's a definite red flag when a seller seems to have an inexhaustible supply of autographs from the same person.

 

Just my two cents!

Thank you so much. I appreciate your input. Stupidly I already purchased it, but I'm trying to cancel it now. Fingers crossed. Thanks again!

[rpvee 805]

3 hours ago, Gary V said:

Hello, everyone. Long time lurker, first time poster here. I'm hoping to get some opinions on the authenticity of the attached autographed photo. I have wanted Mr. Williams' autograph for a while now, and since I heard that he's no longer signing through the mail I figured purchasing an autographed item was my only hope. Today I was perusing eBay and came across a listing from Belgium for a 6x8 autographed photo and it looked like it could be real so I took the plunge and made the purchase. However, not long after my purchase was complete the seller listed several more John Williams autographed photos for sale. That's when the worry set in - how many signed items from John Williams can one person have? They're all different photos and the signatures don't look like they're copies from the same source, but still, now I have doubts. I know nobody here can tell me for sure that it's authentic, but I'm hoping someone with more knowledge can tell me if it appears to be genuine or not. Many thanks in advance. 

I’ve seen all those Belgium listings, and the sheer amount of them is already a major red flag. You could also do Beckett and/or SWAU’s online quick opinion services, which only cost about $10.

[JTN 2,035]

4 hours ago, Gary V said:

how many signed items from John Williams can one person have?

Many. 😉

 

It does look pretty authentic to me. That “W” looks a little off. Williams writes the “W” differently. But I could be wrong. The other thing is the photo itself. People mostly have him sign a CD or LP cover, sometimes his sheet music, and he has official photos that he used to sign. I’m not sure where the person got this photo. But maybe he got it from the internet and then had it signed.
Hope it’s the real thing and it’ll make you happy. 
If not, hope you’ll get your money back. 
 

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

The forger did his homework on this one. It has many hallmarks of Williams' signature, but yes, the straight lines of the "W" worry me, for one.

 

Of course, autograph authentication is not an exact science, and the experts get fooled too. I've seen a couple that looked wonky, but turned out to be genuine, and were just examples of really rushed signatures. But this one doesn't look rushed. In fact it looks too deliberate and lacks the "flow" I look for.

 

Anyway, I say "go with your gut" when collecting. 

[Amer 2,110]

There is always a dash line under the name that he does.

 

P.S. mine came directly from his agency a decade sgo.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

 

The little line beneath is a definite hallmark, but he doesn't always include it...

 

 

 

 

 

[Gary V 8]

12 hours ago, JTW said:

Many. 😉

 

It does look pretty authentic to me. That “W” looks a little off. Williams writes the “W” differently. But I could be wrong. The other thing is the photo itself. People mostly have him sign a CD or LP cover, sometimes his sheet music, and he has official photos that he used to sign. I’m not sure where the person got this photo. But maybe he got it from the internet and then had it signed.
Hope it’s the real thing and it’ll make you happy. 
If not, hope you’ll get your money back. 
 

Thank you so much for your input. I appreciate it. I was able to get the order canceled and am relieved. Apparently the seller does print the photos himself - which is why they're all 6x8 - but the sheer amount of Mr. Williams' autographs they listed after I made my purchase raised too many red flags for me. The "W" did throw me off initially, but I think I just wanted to have the autograph of my favorite film composer so badly that I talked myself into thinking it was just a deviation in signatures. But as Mr. Hooper pointed out, the signature doesn't look rushed and I also thought it was too deliberate. Anyway, the hunt continues. Hopefully one day I'll be able to hang a signed photo or CD booklet on my wall. Again, I appreciate the replies. 

[Jurassic Shark 12,080]

The autograph was probably by William Ross - you could tell by its inferior composition. 

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

15 minutes ago, Gary V said:

Anyway, the hunt continues. Hopefully one day I'll be able to hang a signed photo or CD booklet on my wall.

If I were you I'd take a chance and send a request to his agency. There's no harm in trying, and you might just get lucky.

 

15 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The autograph was probably by William Ross - you could tell by its inferior composition. 

 

[BB-8 3,480]

2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The autograph was probably by William Ross - you could tell by its inferior composition. 

Or by guitarist John Williams. 

[JTN 2,035]

2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The autograph was probably by William Ross - you could tell by its inferior composition. 

William (Ros)s

 

🤔

[Amer 2,110]

Also try contacting the Boston Pops and its marketing dept. They may have signed pics of Williams. He used to do for them.

 

Got myself 6 years ago and also advised a member here who eventually got one too!!

 

No harm in trying or try contacting Jamie Richardson at GSA.

 

Best of Luck!

 

 

[Gary V 8]

33 minutes ago, Amer said:

Also try contacting the Boston Pops and its marketing dept. They may have signed pics of Williams. He used to do for them.

 

Got myself 6 years ago and also advised a member here who eventually got one too!!

 

No harm in trying or try contacting Jamie Richardson at GSA.

 

Best of Luck!

 

 

Great suggestion. Thank you!

[wickerman 21]

A great discussion, indeed! Even if some of the autographs shown above are fake, which unfortunately happens as Williams' autographs are among of the frequently forged ones on the market, due to their high value.

 

I wanted to show off my two dual-signed Williams/Spielberg pieces that I have managed to complete earlier this year.

 

First one is a "Jaws" DVD that I have originally acquired from someone who won it in a lottery ran by Chicago Symphony Orchestra some 5-6 years ago - I have added Steven on it earlier this year when he visited Berlin to pick up his honorary Golden Bear award at Berlinale film festival, and he signed this one with his almost full-name signature.

 

The second one is a stunning Mondo edition of "Jurassic Park" OST on vinyl that I have managed to get signed and personalized by Maestro to myself and my kids via one of the orchestras last year, and also adding Spielberg this year in Berlin.

 

Hope to see more signed JW pieces here!

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

Very nice! As you said it's rare to get Spielberg to sign his full name like that!

[Amer 2,110]

Yep. I sent some to him[SS] to sign but all got returned back unopened.