Toni Morrison
Born in 1931, Toni Morrison’s contributions to American literature have been profound.In 1993, Morrison won the coveted Nobel Prize in Literature. That was secured with her novel, Beloved which was published in 1988 (which also won Morrison the Pulitzer Prize). Her novels are richly detailed novels about African Americans and their quest for life.
Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, published in 1970 (at the age of 39), started Morrison out on the right foot of writing. Then, the book was regarded as controversial and was not the most remembered novel of the year. Today, the book is a modern classic taught at universities around the United States.
After The Bluest Eye, Morrison went on to publish Sula, Song of Soloman, Tar Baby, Beloved, and Jazz. With those novels, Morrison became one of the most important American writers as well as a voice for African and African Americans. From her novels she has won National Book Critics Circle Award and been nominated for The National Book Award as well as winning the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes.
In more recent years, Morrison has published a series of children’s books with her son, Slade. She has also published two novels titled, Paradise and Love. Both novels are not regarded as highly as Morrison’s writing that took place in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, but they are still respected books by any means.
Morrison’s value to a collector is disputable. Some, myself included, find that books signed by Morrison are not as sought after as they should be. Sometimes you can find signed copies of Morrison books for under $50. That is truly unheard of for a Nobel Prize winning author. She does hold the bar when it comes to earlier titles and signed copies of Beloved.
Beloved is the favorite title to have signed by Morrison. The caveat to that is that there are many out there. The value can depend on the current market demand. I have seen a signed copy sell for $100 as well as $860. She does not do many book signings, and when she does, the rules are very strict that Morrison will only sign the current title that she is promoting. I have known once instance in the past 7 years where she has signed back titles.
To me, Morrison’s signature is indisputably recognizable. There have been many frauds floating around eBay and other online selling forums…but for the most part, since Morrison’s recent titles are fairly cheap when signed, it’s not worth the effort. But even worse, the back titles are so expensive unsigned that the risk is also not worth the effort.In May of 2006, a group selected by the New York Times decided that Morrison’s Beloved is the best book published in the last 25 years. Keep that in mind when buying.
posted by Book Collectors at 10:18 PM
5 Comments:
A few great editions of Morrison's work, signed on auction for a great cause. http://www.charityfolks.com/cfauctions/auction_verticalngo.asp?slrid=42
What would you say is the potential value of a signed 2cnd printing of Morrison's first novel, "Bluest Eye"?
I lived and worked near Toni Morrison from the early '80s through 2003. I've been a book collector and seller since the '70s, and an avid fan of Morrison's works since the '70s. In the '80s, I began collecting her signed books (with the publication of BELOVED).
Here's my two cents: The signature considered the prime exemplar for Morrison's is NOT AT ALL SIMILAR to her true signature prior to the late 1990s, the era when Morrison's signed books began selling like "hotcakes" on eBay.
Not surprisingly, it also was during the same period that numerous online author signature sites began appearing, each displaying the SAME alleged "authentic" signatures of hundreds of authors.
Many of the signature exemplars were acquired (i.e., stolen) from photographs shown on eBay auctions. Not surprisingly, a large number of the signatures were and still are just BOGUS.
The exactness (and often sad attempts at exactness) of myriad obviously faked signatures doesn't seem to raise flags for buyers -- which continues to amaze me.
I've seen hundreds of copies of Toni's earliest works listed on eBay (and elsewhere) with the near-same signature as shown in her most recently published "signed" books.
Morrison's personal signature from the '70s, '80s and even the '90s was NOTHING like the one sold most frequently since eBay and other online book selling sites became a phenomenon.
When her publisher issues a new first edition with 1,000 copies "signed" by TM on bookplates, you can bet the farm that TM didn't have the time to sign them.
I acquired her personal signatures on the streets of Princeton, at a local market (where she shopped for years every Monday evening), at events held in the borough's public library, and in her office at Princeton University.
I've witnessed Ms. Morrison sign each and every book I've collected (and sold) -- and not one (of several dozen) signed prior to the publication of PARADISE has borne a signature markedly similar to the one now synonymous with her name.
For this, I must thank greedy and unscrupulous eBay sellers and brick-and-mortar book dealers who've acquired collectible but unsigned first editions on the cheap, added a copped "signature," then resold the books at obscenely high profits.
Of course, this nasty practice doesn't apply only to Toni Morrison's works, but also to those of most any other collectible author or celebrity.
And like other forms of market flooding, the sale of books with fake authors' "signatures" has significantly driven down the value of AUTHENTIC signed first editions.
Anonymous-- I agree with your assessment of signed TM material and have noted the change in her signature over the years that you describe. I hold a collection of over 100 of TM letters, photographs, manuscripts, proofs, promotional material, books, magazines and other material (60 or so of which are signed) and I have located the shift in her signature to have occurred in late 1987/early 1988.
Two signed copies of Beloved I have acquired indicate this: I have a copy of Beloved that is signed, as many of her first books are (Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon and Tar Baby), with her 'old style' signature on the front end paper. I estimate this book was signed some time in late 1987 based on another copy of Beloved I have that is signed and dated (5.26.1988 at the Pulitzer Prize Banquet) that bears what became her signature up to the publication of Love (it has changed again as is evident in the books signed on the Mercy tour). My dated example of the 'new style' signature proves authentic when comparing her handwriting (esp. her first name and numbers) on this copy of Beloved to copies of Sula, Song of Solomon and Tar Baby that are inscribed and dated to students (1978), friends (1981) and one of her colleagues at Random House (1973 and 1981).
As with most authors, the more writing in the inscription the better as it helps to authenticate the signature in that and other copies by comparison. All of the novels I have inscribed to me are of the 'new style' signature--the consistency of which varies--but the one thing that does not change is how she writes the name and "regards," which has remained remarkably consistent over the years when I compare it to copies inscribed in the 80s and 90s. As the demand for her signature has increased, and thereby the numbers of hours her signings last has increased also, the quality of her 'new style' signatures vary immensely. Even the kind of pen she uses, the number of books a person brings to a signing and the kind of conversation a person has with Ms. Morrison at the the signing table will effect the quality of the signature going into the book at that time (will she write out her first name or not? Will the Morri" and "son" in her last name connect--as they do on almost all of the copies of A Mercy that she signed--or not?).
Thankfully, regardless of the quality of the signature,hat is not difficult to determine is fakes if you are familiar with TM's handwriting. Boy are there a lot of them (especially on eBay), all of which are of her 'new style' signature. In fact, this 'new style' signature has become so common that many people consider her 'old style' signature to be a forgery.
Two more things: First: Aafter Jazz, TM will not--with rare exceptions or mistakes at the signing table (which I have witnessed)--sign anything but trade copies of books she authored. This means no papers, photos, proofs, collections in which something by her appears, etc... Any such signed material dated after Jazz, then, is rare. Second, the bookplates (green which were released by RH with Paradise and burgundy which were released by RH with Love, as well as a plain white one that has recently been released by her British publisher C&W) are authentic and were signed in advance of the release of the book--same process as the sheets bound into signed first edition of Jazz that was produced for the Franklin Library.
Last of all, anyone really COLLECTING TM's or another writer's work will be doing so not for financial motives but out of a admiration and respect for the writer, their work and for the benefit of posterity. My personal feeling is that when greed and books mix it is real bad news.
A comprehensive Morrison collection at Manhattan Rare Books:
http://www.manhattanrarebooks.com/book_desc.php?id=993
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