Bob Dylan apologises for machine-printed 'autographs' in 'hand-signed' book copies

Dubbed one of the most acknowledged songwriters of all time in popular culture, American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, issuing a rare statement on Monday, apologized for using an autopen device to 'hand-sign' the special copies of his new book. Music buffs paid a whopping US$599 to get their hands on one of 900 copies of the legend's new book Philosophy of Modern Song hand signed by the musician himself. Publisher of the book Simon & Schuster issued a statement earlier confirming Bob Dylan had not hand-signed some copies of the book himself and that the signatures were imprinted via a machine. Dylan’s book The Philosophy Of Modern Song's limited-edition copies and purportedly autographed sold for $600 apiece. 

"To those who purchased the Philosophy of Modern Song limited edition, we want to apologize," said a tweet from Simon & Schuster. "As it turns out, the limited-edition books do contain Bob's original signature, but in a penned replica form. We are addressing this information by providing each purchaser with an immediate refund."

Outrage at identical reproductions of Bob Dylan's signature

Fans expressed outrage and poured indignation on social media realizing that the books, in fact, contained identical reproductions of Bob Dylan's signature. Addressing the angst over the mistreatment, Dylan wrote an apology note on Facebook saying that he resorted to using an autopen for the limited-edition copies because the "bad case of vertigo" prevented him from being able to sign the books himself. 

"I've hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there's never been a problem," 'Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right' singer wrote on his official Facebook page. 

Dylan noted that he had to use the autopen to sign the copies as in 2019 he suffered from a "bad case of vertigo" and it continued into the pandemic years of the novel coronavirus. "It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions, and we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging," the American music legend explained. Furthermore, he elaborated that he felt the pressure of contractual deadlines and "the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done 'all the time' in the art and literary worlds."

Dylan apologized to his fans admitting that the use of a machine for signing the copies was "an error in judgment," adding that he intends to "rectify it immediately." Dylan informed in the statement that he had already contacted his publisher Simon & Schuster and his gallery partners "to make things right" and expressed his "deepest regrets."