Folk rocker Bob Dylan said Friday that he “regrets” having sold limited edition copies of his book advertised that boasted having his hand written signature but actually had a machine-signed version of the rocker’s John Hancock.
Dylan said in a rare public statement that he is working to “rectify it immediately” and address the controversy surrounding the reported machine-signed signature on select copies of his book “Philosophy of Modern Song” alongside publisher Simon & Schuster, Variety reported.
Dylan blamed a “bad case of vertigo” and caution for preventing the spread of the coronavirus for the lack of legitimate signatures with wet ink. Instead, an “autopen” was used to duplicate the signature by reproducing it in different variations, according to a separate Variety report. (RELATED: Lawsuit Alleging Bob Dylan Sexually Abused 12-Year-Old Girl Dismissed After Anonymous Accuser Asks Judge To Do So)
Dylan did assure readers in the Facebook statement that all copies were hand-signed up until about 2019, one year before the pandemic struck. (RELATED: Dem New Mexico Gov. Skips Family Thanksgiving Celebrations After Testing Positive For COVID-19 Again)
The publisher took to Twitter to tell buyers of the book that they will be issued a refund:
— Simon & Schuster (@simonschuster) November 20, 2022
The limited edition copies of the book that were supposed to have Dylan’s autograph were sold for $599 and marketed as being personally signed, according to Pitchfork. (RELATED: Borrower Returns Library Book After 47 Years With Explanatory Letter)
Buyers of the book came to realize that the signatures were not totally unique book-by-book as readers discovered there were 17 variations of the digitalized Dylan autographs circulating around the web, Variety noted.