CONSUMER ALERT Certificate of Authenticity

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Bill Henry-

Bill Henry-

Brussel Sprout Connoisseur
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I received an “autographed” image of Mickey Mantle and of Joe Dimagio for framing. They are clearly ink jet prints.

Yet both of them have a CofA which states, “As a Forensic Document Examiner I have made a review of the Autograph that corresponds with this Certificate. Based on this review there are no patently obvious defects and the autograph falls with the parameters of established exemplars”. This is the first time I’ve seen these particular weasel words describing a document.

The CofA does not definitively state that the autograph itself is authentic which, to my eye, it clearly isnt. It appears to be at least a third generation photocopy and the signator of the CofA is illegible.

The people who brought in these images are planning to offer them for some charity auction, and I suspect they know these items are not authentic. I sure hope the bidders at the auction are told that these images are bogus.

It's discouraging to run across such activities.
 
Just DON'T put your gallery sticker on the back of the framing.
 
I'm still working on a Ferrari shadowbox I'm doing (well, still needing to FIND time to do it, I should say). I bought 2 autographed 8x10drivers photos to go in it. They have both have a CoA and are promised to be genuine. Except I can take one look at them and I know they are merely copies, and at the price I paid, I'm not suprised (about 1/4 the price a "real" one would be).
 
As an autograph collector with some substantial signatures in my collection - 90%+ of all autographs are fake. CofAs are a joke and most serious collectors are more learly of buying an autograph with one than without.

I can not tell you how many laughable examples I have seen from some of the big name 3rd party authentication "experts". There is a lawsuit pending against one I understand.


My favorite weasel wording says that the signature is authentic or hand signed, but does not say by who.
 
cjmst3k said:
Just DON'T put your gallery sticker on the back of the framing.
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Sorry, I don't get that.... you are not responsible for the signature to be authentic or not, are you? You frame what the customer brought in. You don't claim to be an expert in making sure it is authentic. That's not your job.

If the finished frame job is great, I would definitely put my sticker on it. This customer didn't come in to have it appraised, he wants it framed.

Doesn't mean that this kind of stuff wouldn't bother me, as it did Bill Henry. I think it's completely unethical as well.
 
I guess the experts that were creating the TK certificates had to find new work.:D
 
You are not responsible for the images - just frame 'em - make 'em look great - put your label on the back - whatever!

Not your responsibility for the authenticity.

People buy stuff from charity auctions for different reasons than from regular art auctions. They are buying for the sake of the charity not the sake of the art.
 
Ylva said:
Sorry, I don't get that.... you are not responsible for the signature to be authentic or not, are you? You frame what the customer brought in. You don't claim to be an expert in making sure it is authentic. That's not your job.

If the finished frame job is great, I would definitely put my sticker on it. This customer didn't come in to have it appraised, he wants it framed.

Doesn't mean that this kind of stuff wouldn't bother me, as it did Bill Henry. I think it's completely unethical as well.
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If it's a customer framing for themselves, then I understand and yes. I would write up on the order "copy of autograph" in the description, just so a customer couldn't come back later and say that I made a copy and swapped it for the real thing. And I would put my sticker on the back, as it's unlikely that a customer would auction off an item they had framed.

But right off the bat Bill said:
"The people who brought in these images are planning to offer them for some charity auction, and I suspect they know these items are not authentic."

That means he senses that there may be an intention to sell this as an authentic item when it seems clearly a fake. This would be fraud. I would be reluctant to have my sticker on an item that has a high potential to be used in the commission of a crime. ...but I WOULD take the framing job. :)

...now I'm a frame shop as well as art gallery where we sell items up to $10,000, so having my sticker might imply that we stand by the item sold. For those who are frame shops exclusively, there is less of an implication in my opinion having their sticker on there.
 
Chris, you have a point. But I think the reason is the kind of shop that you operate. You sell high-end art. You stake your reputation on it. So you are seen as being an "art expert", and for that reason you don't want to take a risk on putting your tag on a copy.

However, in a shop like mine, the most expensive piece of art that I sell are 36x48 oils for $249. I don't sell expensive art. I tell anyone who asks that I am not an art apraiser and I send them to another shop that might be able to help them value their works. So for a shop like mine, my tag only represents the framing that is done and gives me advertising and recognition for it. But in no way do I think a customer would assume that my tag means that I have judged the quality of the art.

So I would put my tag on it. But if I were you, I probably wouldn't. :)
 
You stake your reputation on .........

the stuff that you, yourself, sell. NOT on the stuff the was purchased elswhere(over which you had 0% control) and brought in over the counter for framing. If it feels better then annotate your copy of the WO that the stuff is most certainly fake-and why-and whether or not you advised the owner of your OPINION(unless, of course you are a certified appraiser? then it's a more serious question about whether or not you do/donot participate in the perpetuation of the fraud, etc etc)
 
Interesting dilemma actually.

Since the object at hand will be auctioned, the winner of the bid might assume the frame shop (identified by the sticker on the back) was a the originator of this fraud.

A can of worms could be possibly avoided by a missing shop sticker.
 
I have run across this problem several times and did feel uncomfortable with adding my sticker until I updated it. My sticker now looks like this and has room to make notes. I crossed out lots of info but hopefully you will get the general idea.
 

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Joe's label looks like an ideal way to go. It clearly states what the framer did.
"Do Not" make a notation on the cover or on your work order or invoice stating your opinion of the authenticity of the work or signature or CoA. Making such a statement in writing could be considered grounds for a lawsuit claiming slander, defamation and loss of business income for the originator. The legal cost alone would be devastating even if you were successful in defending yourself.
 
What about minding our own business. When you have a letter of autheticity it is that person who is putting their reputation on the line not the framer. Attach the letter to the back and move on. Do not assume the mantel of something you are not unless you are. Do the job for which you are paid and let the authenticator do theirs. Most of us are not schooled in this and should not asume that we are. Our seal says we framed it , It does not say we appraised it or certified it. Let the authenticator do what he was paid for and you do what you were paid for!!!!!!!!
 
Ray Bragg said:
What about minding our own business. When you have a letter of autheticity it is that person who is putting their reputation on the line not the framer. Attach the letter to the back and move on. Do not assume the mantel of something you are not unless you are. Do the job for which you are paid and let the authenticator do theirs. Most of us are not schooled in this and should not asume that we are. Our seal says we framed it , It does not say we appraised it or certified it. Let the authenticator do what he was paid for and you do what you were paid for!!!!!!!!
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Ray,

That's just it, we are minding our business - protecting our reputation is our business. I will do 1 of 3 things, turn down the job, not put a sticker on, or put on a sticker that describes exactly what I have done.

just my $0.02

Joe
 
WE also are a gallery and frame shop...and sell art from the low end to the high end ( $5-20,000). When we run into situations like this we do not put our stickers on the back and our work order is noted with the problem ( our file copy only ) for future reference...so far no problems.
 
I do agree there is a difference when you are a gallery as well, in which case I would be hesitant to take the job at all probably. You might not put a sticker on it, but how do you prevent word of mouth?

I am 'just' a frame shop. I woudn't even know if this was authentic or not. Does that mean I wouldn't be able to put my sticker on any frame job?
 
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