Is this real or fake?

infinant

I'm a bit suspicious of this item. please let me know your thoughts.

http://www.antiquitiesca.com/james-bond-50th-anniversary-signed-photo/

canoe2

Okay, here's a funny story: I was in San Francisco at the start of January and visited Antiquities of California. I spoke with the owner and we ended up talking about James Bond memorabilia (of course). He actually told me he had this item coming in and offered to reserve it for me, but given the insurance and shipping costs of getting back home, I didn't follow up on it.

What I can tell you is the owner seemed like a really nice guy and the store is packed with authentic memorabilia (sports, movies, music, etc.). He also had in-store several autographed pictures of the Bond actors which I checked out (not that these are rare). In other words, at no time did my "fake" radar go off and nothing about the operation looked fly-by-night. On the contrary, he and his store come across as very professional and knowledgeable. The price on the listing you shared is about $600.00 over what he offered it to me for. Glad he sold it; he really seemed excited to be getting it in.

Hope that helps!

Gadget Meister

Certainly not an autograph affianado but had a run in with one of these type of stores in Vegas last year, the chances of getting the same piece signed by all six are about the same as winning the Powerball lottery, Connery & Dalton are especially difficult, Lazenby & Moore fairly easy, Brosnan and Craig you'd have to be really lucky. Also the minute you ask for evidence of the signing eg photos they will clam up tight and start quoting things like exclusive contracts, non disclosure etc. Buyer most definitely beware. X-(

infinant

canoe2 wrote:

Okay, here's a funny story: I was in San Francisco at the start of January and visited Antiquities of California. I spoke with the owner and we ended up talking about James Bond memorabilia (of course). He actually told me he had this item coming in and offered to reserve it for me, but given the insurance and shipping costs of getting back home, I didn't follow up on it.

What I can tell you is the owner seemed like a really nice guy and the store is packed with authentic memorabilia (sports, movies, music, etc.). He also had in-store several autographed pictures of the Bond actors which I checked out (not that these are rare). In other words, at no time did my "fake" radar go off and nothing about the operation looked fly-by-night. On the contrary, he and his store come across as very professional and knowledgeable. The price on the listing you shared is about $600.00 over what he offered it to me for. Glad he sold it; he really seemed excited to be getting it in.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for your message. Your story is exactly the same as mine. My "fake" radar didn't go off until I googled Antiquities of CA or Antiquities of Las Vegas or Antiquities International. These comments also concern me:

http://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/antiquities-of-ca?commentId=3524372%3AComment%3A554406

http://live.autographmagazine.com/group/tupac-shakur-autographs/forum/topics/antiquities-lv?commentId=3524372%3AComment%3A518373&groupId=3524372%3AGroup%3A500823

Gadget Meister

Vegas is one of those places that these stores will always flourish, a constant turnover of long distance visitors, most with holiday heads on and a pocket full of cash. They seriously don't like being questioned by anyone with a little knowledge.

canoe2

Gadget Meister wrote:

Certainly not an autograph affianado but had a run in with one of these type of stores in Vegas last year, the chances of getting the same piece signed by all six are about the same as winning the Powerball lottery, Connery & Dalton are especially difficult, Lazenby & Moore fairly easy, Brosnan and Craig you'd have to be really lucky. Also the minute you ask for evidence of the signing eg photos they will clam up tight and start quoting things like exclusive contracts, non disclosure etc. Buyer most definitely beware. X-(

Of course, there's that ...

I'm not claiming to be any kind of expert. And I'd trust Gadget Meister's experience over mine any day. Just thought it a funny coincidence to see the same piece I saw show up here. At the end of the day, I had a nice chat with the owner about Bond collectibles on what I'm sure for him was a slow day. {[]

Gadget Meister

I had a couple of minutes to spare today and Google'd "antiquities of california fake" How enlightening that is, I urge all interested parties to do the same.

canoe2

Gadget Meister wrote:

I had a couple of minutes to spare today and Google'd "antiquities of california fake" How enlightening that is, I urge all interested parties to do the same.

Ouch!

I'll be out at the lab getting my "radar" tuned up ...

PoorMansJB

In a similar vein ...

Around about the SPECTRE premiere I was in Harrod's and saw this:



Now I'd be tempted to ask the same question regarding authenticity but maybe a little more inclined to think Harrod's less likely to sell fakes? Or am I just being bamboozled by the name?

Gadget Meister

Alan, I would be suspicious of ANY piece that purports to have all six 'autographs' on a single sheet. It's just not going to happen. Six different photographs signed framed or six Photographs with separate autographs maybe. To my knowledge all six actors have never been in the same room together (apart from in Madame Tussauds), so this would mean a single piece has to be conveyed from one actor to the next, a very risky proposition, even IF all the actors were willing to sign. The ONLY thing I would trust is photographs of each actor signing the piece. You've been to BondStars events at Pinewood and this is exactly what happens, fans/resellers take photos of the actor signing the piece.

Bond Collectors' Weekends

The signatures don't look right to me on that piece.

Asp9mm

... and the fact that they are almost all in order and in the same pen just shouts that it's a fake. No way would that be possible unless they were all lined up in front of you.

Youknowthename

stag wrote:

I too would think that the Harrods name would mean authenticity of the item but would have the "too good to be true" niggle.

There are reputable and well-known auction houses that have sold fakes in the past - Harrods aren't remotely expert when it comes to this kind of item.

Smithers500

Asp9mm wrote:

... and the fact that they are almost all in order and in the same pen just shouts that it's a fake. No way would that be possible unless they were all lined up in front of you.

Yes, too well ordered, same pen used (at least it looks like it), in my opinion too good to be true sorry...

Bond Collectors' Weekends

I keep in my archives some photos of real signatures for just such an emergency.

PS. Pen... or Class 4 grenade? Three clicks forges the signature!