Quote:
Originally Posted by Jelly
I read through this thread not understanding the use of the word "PREPRINT" in this context.
Then somebody posted the wording of other auctions and it dawned on me. A preprinted autograph would mean it was a facsimile of an autograph which was then printed mechanically - like a letter from Publisher's Clearinghouse which has Ed McMahon's signature on it. They have taken his signature and mechanically reproduced it thousands of times.
The use of PREPRINT makes sense now: "pre" meaning before, so the autograph was prepared actually before the printing of the image. The word preprint, which refers to the way the autograph was produced, has evolved through use to refer to the whole thing (the printed image itself and the preprinted autograph which is now part of the printed image).
Where the fraud comes in is the fact that this seller is obviously making her own "preprints" and selling them as if they are authentic preprints (an authentic preprint would be one which was produced by somebody authorized to use the initial real signature of the artist to make the mechanical copies).
I don't know if that clears it up for anybody else, but it does to me! The seller is being dishonest in my opinion. But the stakes are low, so the seller probably hasn't had any real trouble, yet.
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It is the difference between "eine signierte Kopie eines Bildes" (which is what an "autographed preprint" is) and "eine Kopie eines signierten Bildes" (which is, maybe, what he got). It comes down to who signed what. Only something physically signed by the person in question can be said to be autographed. A copy of a signature is not an autograph.
Although the amount is small, it is the principle of the thing, not least because it sours EBay for the honest buyers and sellers.