Bob Dylan regrets ‘error in judgment’ in selling machine-signed special edition books

Dylan said the autopen signatures were used when he had vertigo in 2019 and continued during the COVID-19 pandemic when he did not have enough staff members to assist him, the entertainment news website reported.

“Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately,” Dylan said in his statement, which was posted to his official Facebook account. “I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that.”

Dylan’s signed art prints routinely sell for $3,000 to $15,000, Variety reported.

[ Love letters written by Bob Dylan during late 1950s sells for nearly $670K ]

Simon & Schuster, the publisher of the special edition book, is offering refunds, The Associated Press reported.

The 2016 Nobel laureate’s book has 66 chapters about 66 of his favorite songs by artists including Nina Simone, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, the Clash, the Who and his childhood hero, Little Richard, according to the Los Angeles Times. Only 900 of the $600 limited editions were available in the U.S., and each arrived with a letter from Jonathan Karp, CEO of Simon & Schuster, that served as “confirmation that [each] copy has been hand-signed by Bob Dylan.”

Some of the books have already been refunded this week by Simon & Schuster, Variety reported.

A gallery that has specialized in selling Dylan art prints, British-based Castle Galleries, issued a statement Saturday and said it was “reaching out to each and every one of our collectors who purchased any print from the (pertinent) editions to offer a solution to fully rectify the matter.”