Signed, Inscribed and Facsimile Signatures
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A signed copy bears a signature. An inscription adds written words, often addressed to a recipient. A facsimile signature reproduces handwriting through printing or another reproduction process. These distinctions affect how a copy should be described.
Identify the writer and location
Ask who signed, where the signature appears and whether the description identifies it as handwritten or reproduced. An owner’s name is different from an author’s signature. A signed print bound or laid into a book is also different from a signature on the book’s limitation page.
Read the inscription as evidence
An inscription can connect a copy to a recipient, but a named recipient alone does not establish a relationship. Read the wording, date and supporting documentation. Preserve qualifications when an attribution remains uncertain.
The Cocteau Le Grand Écart association copy in our catalog contains an attributed ink drawing and inscription. Its attribution remains qualified; the catalog records the accompanying estate letter. The O’Hara–de Kooning Poems listing, by contrast, explicitly identifies an authorized facsimile signature.
Compare without a fixed hierarchy
There is no universal rule that a bare signature is preferable to an inscription. A collector may value a particular recipient or the story supported by the copy’s evidence. Compare the edition, handwriting evidence, association and condition together rather than using “signed” as a complete description.
Browse Signed & Inscribed. Further reading: ABAA: Signed Books vs. Inscribed Books.
Questions about a particular copy? Email breethingbooks@gmail.com with the title and the detail you would like to see.