Jim Morrison Signed Yearbook

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

by 'Porsche'
"I thought this might be a discussion worth having. I recently received the Doors Collectors Magazine's (www.doors.com) monthly newsletter listing their latest items for sale. Normally, I don't care very much for what's in there because most of it is painfully overpriced. But I do occasionally look at what they have to offer just out of curiousity.

One item Mr. Kerry Humpherys put up for sale and apparently sold just as quickly (I think it's cute that he writes "sold out" as if there were more than one) was a 1961 George Washington High School Yearbook allegedly inscribed by Jim Morrison to his "favorite girl."

My concern is that the signature is a fake and that the DCM should have realized this before selling it to an unknowing fan. I don't believe that Kerry or anyone else at the DCM created the forgery, but whoever once owned the yearbook likely did, possibly when Jim's fame increased in the late '60s -- notice the youthful, feminine quality of the signature. Throw in the all-too-hokey dedication of "To my favorite girl, love forever" and my suspicions are raised even higher.

I realize that signatures can change over time, but I do remember reading somewhere that most people's handwriting does not change much after high school. Perhaps there's more maturity to a signature or handwriting style, but all in all it should still be recognizable. In Jim's case, his handwriting was always pretty sloppy. The handwriting and signature in this yearbook bares no resemblance to any Jim Morrison signature I've ever seen. The DCM, which prides itself on dealing with so much authentic, rare material, should have known better than to sell what I believe is an all too obvious forgery.

But this is a democracy. You have my opinion. Please judge for yourselves."

Alleged yearbook forgery from 1961:


Jim's authentic signature from a signed copy of 'An American Prayer':


An authentic page of Jim's handwriting from 1957:


An authentic page of Jim's handwriting from a letter written to Dave Marsh in 1970
(notice the matured resemblance to the 1957 sample despite a 13-year difference):

Len aka 'Porsche' suggested to me that maybe this might interest a few here.....so I added the post he made on the LL.......
I must admit that I was surprised when I saw it mentioned on the DCM newsletter a few days ago and now seeing it am a lot more wary....it looks like a poor fake especially the rather cheesy and to me clumsy message 'Jim' left........maybe its real....but it don't look real.....
Rare autographs are big business and many trade on that......the famous copy of Weird Scenes Inside The Goldmine that was sold a few years back with Jims autograph comes to mind and lest not get into Patricia and her Fireheart cobblers..........as do the copies of LA Woman that do the rounds.......this one looks so obviously fake so even if it wasn't DCM maybe should have excercised some discretion here.......not worth losing a hard earned reputation over some badly executed forgery.....maybe its the real deal but it does not look like it is.......

[darkstar]

You make an excellent point in questioning the validation of the Jim Morrison signature. I'll call Kerry at the DCM and ask him who authenticated the signature and/or who gave a written testiment claiming this was Jim's signature prior to the yearbook being sold.

After reading the originial DCM advertisement for the yearbook in question it states there was a letter from the owner of the yearbook.

1961 George Washington High School Yearbook Inscribed by Jim Morrison

INSCRIBED BY JIM MORRISON
An amazing yearbook from George Washington High School where Jim Morrison graduated his senior year. I have heard of Morrison signing a few yearbooks, but until now had never seen one - This is indeed a very rare item. Possibly one of the earliest signed Jim Morrison items that a collector could ever hope to own. And it includes a great Morrison-esque inscription which says, 'To my favorite girl, Love Forever Jim Morrison "61"'. It comes complete with a signed letter of provinance from the original owner of the yearbook who Morrison signed it for back in 1961. The condition of this item is about as perfect as one would expect for a 45 year old yearbook, but graded conservatively Exc+.
www.doors.com/door_mem/autographed/

I'm still going to contact Kerry at the DCM for a clarification of the authenticty of the signature.

[darkstar]

After sending Kerry an email with the LL Message Board Link questioning the yearbook signature I received this reply:

From: The Doors Collectors Magazine
Friday March 31 2006 10:32am
To: Sara
Subject: Re: JIM MORRISON SIGNED YEARBOOK IN QUESTION

Start Of Message.

"Jim did sign a few other yearbooks and while
I haven't seen these, I am told that by those who
own them that his handwriting in them is similar
to this....and is the "hokey" inscription...I
really think it is actually very morrisonesque."

"The letter of Provenance is also iron clad. The
girl who I got the yearbook from is in the
yearbook."

"I put this on the website only to share this
with others who might find it interesting. The book was sold last week prior to the newsletter and the buyer was much more knowledgeable about these things than any closet expert...or I for that matter, He did everything to check this out as did I and at the conclusion was very excited to get this early example of
Morrison's handwriting and character. He has way
more rare Jim Morrison items than I have ever even seen."

People questioning the yearbook signature, "might have thought to look at those at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame....the ones that Morrison's parents donated from his early childhood. - not ones from 10+ years later after his graduation."

End Of Message.

It's unfortunate that the original poster questioning the yearbook signature did not contact Kerry at the DCM prior to posting an allegation on the Lizard Lounge. I'm sure if the original poster did make an inquiry to the source they would have received a satisfactory answer which as you can read answers the authencity question. The buyer obviously was satisfied with what they purchased so I would say the allegations of the signature being fake is a moot point.

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

I think its fair comment to question these articles as there are so many of them about...........and Kerry did not explain that this was just for information on his site so the criticism is fair game as he profits from these things....
Also the iron clad argument never works for me....The Hitler Diaries were iron clad and vouched for by one of the worlds foremost historians but they were just crude fakes......
Kerry moves in these circles he has to expect to be asked to jutify his wares from time to time.....

For me one of the most bizarre things about the signature is if you were writing something for your favourite girl why put your full name and the date......surely your favourite girl would know who you were and when you wrote it?
'Jim' or 'Jimmy' would sound sensible but 'Jim Morrison' seems to me to be something written for the posterity of E bay or Southerby's.......the best thing the buyer could do is have someone test the ink from the signature and see if its 40 year old ink or modern ink.......that was one of the things that confounded the Hitler crap.

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Go here for more on this!

Jim Morrison Alexandria Virginia

More information on this period can be found by members in the calendar section which includes some amazing information on Jim's schooldays.
New information will be added there as it comes to light so don't just visit once and forget it as Darkstar is a relentless archivist and here research unique in The Doors world so if you are a member and actually profess to be a Doors fan get into the habit of utilising this awsome resource as there is nothing quite like it anywhere in The Doors world.