High res pics of Beatles set?

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leveronea
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High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by leveronea »

Anyone have any high res pics of The Beatles set? Let me know.

Thanks.
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JErikR
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by JErikR »

Why high-res vs. regular pics?
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robotoil
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by robotoil »

Haha. They're real. Amazing deal.
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by comiconart »

If you are buying, be careful. There are some recent fakes surfacing. It's amazing how many Beatles sets are currently out there...and at such "reasonable" prices! :?

In fact...I wouldn't buy any Beatles on paper unless I knew EXACTLY where they were coming from...and this is especially true of AP's.

If it sounds too good to be true...it is.
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by conartstudio »

comiconart wrote:If you are buying, be careful. There are some recent fakes surfacing. It's amazing how many Beatles sets are currently out there...and at such "reasonable" prices! :?
you say this like it's a well known fact but it's the first time i've heard of beatles fakes surfacing recently. where are you getting that information from? - not that i don't believe you because i do find it odd that this guy puts up a set every 4 or 5 months, i just haven't heard anything about any fakes floating around
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by comiconart »

What I can tell you is this:

I contacted a seller on the Banksy forum that I did not recognize ("blackice", 13 posts) about a John Lennon print he had posted at $1300 OBO. He then tells me that he has a set of four available. He sends some pics that look pretty good (pics of the prints together with no numbers/sigs clearly visible, and then one closeup of a sig, but again, no shots where you can clearly see the print AND sig/number). Anyway, the price was too good to pass up on what he described as a "mint" set ($4500!), but I wanted to protect myself, so I paid with a credit card through Paypal. Once the Paypal transaction was processed, I was informed that the money had been sent to "Renee Moschella"...which struck me as odd, as the person I had been talking to had an email address of "jasonz...@hotmail.com" (meant nothing to me at the time, but some of you already know where I am going with this). Out of curiosity, I googled her name, and it turns out she resides in the Boston area. This raised some flags, as it reminded me of all the myriad horror stories I had heard about Art Asylum Boston. After another quick google search, I connected the email address to AAB owner Jason Zenga...and promptly opened a Paypal claim, notifying both Paypal and my credit card company of potential fraud.

Two days later, after telling a friend about all of this, he called me to tell me that he had just had a conversation with another collector who had bought an AP set of Beatles from Jason Zenga ($4000!!), and they looked good, but the paper seemed a bit thin to him (not paster thin, but thinner than normal).

I did not open the package when it arrived. I refused delivery...and now my funds are in limbo for 30 days (or until Jason releases them upon receipt of the returned package, or Paypal finds the claim in my favor). As such, I cannot definitively state that I received counterfeit prints...but I certainly did not feel comfortable enough in that situation to take a chance on the package, especially given all that has been written on this subject in the past.

The AAB connection aside (which, granted, could be purely coincidental), there are just too many variables out there right now on the Beatles prints that have been circulating over the last year.

1.) Are these pasters real? If so, how many of them are there?
2.) Are these "pasters" counterfeit?
3.) Are the OTHER "thin paper" Beatles sets (signed APs, etc):
a.) real pasters with forged signatures
b.) fake "pasters" with forged signatures
c.) fake prints on too-thin paper with forged signatures

It has been posited that the quality of the counterfeiting job could determine whether a fake is a "print" (GOOD fake) or a "paster" (BAD fake). Pasters can look a bit worn (are actually encouraged to be a bit worn), can be on crepe paper, and SHOULDN'T be signed/numbered. That certainly makes them easier to pass off to unsuspecting customers...don't have to look at them too closely. However, if they are really good quality fakes, why not go for the "home run" and double or triple the price?

Anyway, as I have said, I have no "proof" of anything since I did not open the package...but all of this adds up to make me very, very skeptical. This would be a really good time for there to be some sort of authentication in place through Obey.
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by Wheels »

comiconart wrote:This would be a really good time for there to be some sort of authentication in place through Obey.
Where there's smoke...

Has Kyle/OG had anything to say about these? I see that it's been 15yrs since they were printed, but these things are so hot that it seems someone would have an idea of how many APs and such were printed. The run qtys for the individual pieces are all over the place according to Beans.

Great work on investigating this, thanks for taking the time to share it, and best of luck getting your money back.
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by admonkey »

Man. Those two just keep showing up, only in darker shades each time.

http://forum.thegiant.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=21192
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by JErikR »

Is there a current ebay listing for a set of these? Or?
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by cybernigel »

I've heard straight from from Shepard that any unsigned Beatles are fakes or ill-gotten.

Also...

http://forum.thegiant.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=22490
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by spagucci1 »

JErikR wrote:Is there a current ebay listing for a set of these? Or?
Not signed- I wonder is this seller was duped by the Zenga's?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shepard-Fairey- ... 1474wt_922
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by JErikR »

spagucci1 wrote:
JErikR wrote:Is there a current ebay listing for a set of these? Or?
Not signed- I wonder is this seller was duped by the Zenga's?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shepard-Fairey- ... 1474wt_922
This is the same dude who was selling the Chinese Soldier canvas originally (out of Japan), if I'm not mistaken. So is he selling a paster set he had originally or is he flipping a set is just purchased?
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by comiconart »

I think it's quite possible that these are two totally unrelated incidents. These pasters could certainly be real. Even if they are...who wants to pay $2000 for pasters that cannot possibly be authenticated?
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by Raggadrop »

Did you not think it to be a bit strange that someone with very little feedback offers up a MINT John (and then a complete set) on the Banksy Forum and not here? I mean, the photo even looks like it the exact one in this forum's print archive.

http://banksyforum.proboards.com/index. ... e=1#861554

http://thegiant.org/wiki/index.php/John
Last edited by Raggadrop on Thu Sep 22, 2011 4:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by cybernigel »

comiconart wrote:who wants to pay $2000 for pasters that cannot possibly be authenticated?
Yeah, you might as well just print yourself off a set at Kinkos. They'll be worth about the same.
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by mr Revs »

JErikR wrote:
spagucci1 wrote:
JErikR wrote:Is there a current ebay listing for a set of these? Or?
Not signed- I wonder is this seller was duped by the Zenga's?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shepard-Fairey- ... 1474wt_922
This is the same dude who was selling the Chinese Soldier canvas originally (out of Japan), if I'm not mistaken. So is he selling a paster set he had originally or is he flipping a set is just purchased?

This guy is legit. I purchased a bunch of signed older prints from him over the years.
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by bdavenport »

mr Revs wrote:
JErikR wrote:
spagucci1 wrote:
JErikR wrote:Is there a current ebay listing for a set of these? Or?
Not signed- I wonder is this seller was duped by the Zenga's?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shepard-Fairey- ... 1474wt_922
This is the same dude who was selling the Chinese Soldier canvas originally (out of Japan), if I'm not mistaken. So is he selling a paster set he had originally or is he flipping a set is just purchased?

This guy is legit. I purchased a bunch of signed older prints from him over the years.
Seller may be legit, but unsigned beatles prints are not.
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by whyhoo »

bdavenport wrote:
mr Revs wrote:
JErikR wrote:
spagucci1 wrote:
JErikR wrote:Is there a current ebay listing for a set of these? Or?
Not signed- I wonder is this seller was duped by the Zenga's?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shepard-Fairey- ... 1474wt_922
This is the same dude who was selling the Chinese Soldier canvas originally (out of Japan), if I'm not mistaken. So is he selling a paster set he had originally or is he flipping a set is just purchased?

This guy is legit. I purchased a bunch of signed older prints from him over the years.
Seller may be legit, but unsigned beatles prints are not.

i would love to hear the back story on these particular ones from from shepard!

revs, did he give you any info (that you've probably posted before) about these when you asked to have your set signed? (assuming you bought them from this guy in japan)
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by admonkey »

Raggadrop wrote:Did you not think it to be a bit strange that someone with very little feedback offers up a MINT John (and then a complete set) on the Banksy Forum and not here? I mean, the photo even looks like it the exact one in this forum's print archive.

http://banksyforum.proboards.com/index. ... e=1#861554

http://thegiant.org/wiki/index.php/John
I wouldn't think it a bit strange if the seller is someone who can't access The Giant because his IP range has been banned.
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comiconart
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by comiconart »

admonkey wrote:
Raggadrop wrote:Did you not think it to be a bit strange that someone with very little feedback offers up a MINT John (and then a complete set) on the Banksy Forum and not here? I mean, the photo even looks like it the exact one in this forum's print archive.

http://banksyforum.proboards.com/index. ... e=1#861554

http://thegiant.org/wiki/index.php/John
I wouldn't think it a bit strange if the seller is someone who can't access The Giant because his IP range has been banned.
Shockingly enough, that information wasn't volunteered in the FS post. And...it's not all that uncommon to see Shep prints over there (or work from any number of other street artists).
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by mr Revs »

When I presented my unsigned Beatles set to Shepard (the set I purchased from the same person as the set currently on Ebay), he said that the prints were most likely stolen and asked me if they were from a Japanese guy (yes)? I asked Shepard if they were stolen or counterfeit? Shepard said the were not counterfeit (he did not exactly look at them with a magnifying glass) However, it was his policy that prints which left his studio without his signature were most likely leaving without his permission.
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by robotoil »

mr Revs wrote:When I presented my unsigned Beatles set to Shepard (the set I purchased from the same person as the set currently on Ebay), he said that the prints were most likely stolen and asked me if they were from a Japanese guy (yes)? I asked Shepard if they were stolen or counterfeit? Shepard said the were not counterfeit (he did not exactly look at them with a magnifying glass) However, it was his policy that prints which left his studio without his signature were most likely leaving without his permission.
Which is not always the case as he handed these out at comicon one year where my seller picked them up. I bought mine unsigned back in 2002 for $15 each. Hardly bootlegs.
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leveronea
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by leveronea »

How would you even get a bootleg of a print like that? All the images in books and online are so small and poor quality and tracing it to become a true vector is such a pain in the buttocks.

P.S At this point, I would almost take a bootleg set just to hang for aesthetic reasons...
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by mikep »

robotoil wrote:
mr Revs wrote:When I presented my unsigned Beatles set to Shepard (the set I purchased from the same person as the set currently on Ebay), he said that the prints were most likely stolen and asked me if they were from a Japanese guy (yes)? I asked Shepard if they were stolen or counterfeit? Shepard said the were not counterfeit (he did not exactly look at them with a magnifying glass) However, it was his policy that prints which left his studio without his signature were most likely leaving without his permission.
Which is not always the case as he handed these out at comicon one year where my seller picked them up. I bought mine unsigned back in 2002 for $15 each. Hardly bootlegs.
I also have a few old obey prints that were not signed, but came legitimately from Obey. Years ago, I purchased a bunch of prints, a couple of skate decks, and a couple large screened stickers from the owner of a now defunct company in San Francisco that worked with Shepard around '96-'97. Most of the prints were signed, but a few were not. The guy wasn't a Obey collector and never bought any of the prints, they were just sent up to his company. Some of the prints were still in the original flat cardboard packaging sent from San Diego to the company in SF. ...So, it is possible that not every old unsigned print was stolen. It's not like they were worth much back then. When I started collecting around '99, I think the prints were $22 shipped or something like that...

In the stash there were a couple unsigned prints from the Beatles set, but they either came from the studio in really bad condition, or they weren't treated well when they were in San Francisco. You can see the Paul print with shoe prints on it here:
http://forum.thegiant.org/viewtopic.php ... 798#p71798
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Re: High res pics of Beatles set?

Post by comiconart »

Just got a full refund from Paypal. so...refusing delivery ended up being a solid option in the end.
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