The Experience of an Artist with Jerry Lee and Judith Lewis

The following is a piece of the email and standard mail conversation I had with artist Tom Heyburn. (I recommend checking out his site at http://tomheyburn.deviantart.com/ as he does wonderful work) I believe collectors will find valuable information and writing examples contained below. I left Mr. Heyburn’s email as I received but added all of the images to help the email make sense. Any commentary by me will be italicized.

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In the first instance, I sent the drawing No.233 asking for it to be signed, enclosing (as always) enough cash to cover return postage. A small drawing A4 size. As you can see, it was returned signed. (Number 233)

          As a “Thank You” I sent drawing No.243 (Mean Old Man) as a gift to show how much I appreciated the signature. I said no reply was required and enclosed no postage.(Number 243)

          Unexpectedly I got a letter from Jerry Lee’s wife ,Judith Ann thanking me from her and the killer. I was delighted but also disappointed to notice that her handwriting was the same as the signature on Drawing 233  !! End of story…or so I thought !

(First letter received from Judith, written completely in her hand (7-25-2013).)

          About a month later I got another letter from Judith Ann. She must have thought that The Mean Old Man drawing (Number 243) was for signing, but her letter said Jerry Lee wanted to keep it, and, if I sent another , she would see that he personally signed it.  !!!!!!!!!!!

(Second letter received from Judith and Jerry Lee Lewis. The letter was written by Judith and signed on the left by Jerry Lee (7-25-2013).)

          Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I took advantage of the situation and sent TWO drawings. I said one was for an autograph and one was for Jerry Lee and he could take his pick.

This time I enclosed postage costs.

          Well, Jerry Lee kept the drawing No.274 and sent me No. 275 along with a great J.L.L. tee-shirt. As you will see, this time the signature is not in Judith Ann’s handwriting and I am quite sure I have eventually got a genuine Jerry Lee Lewis autograph on No. 275.

(Number 274, now owned by Jerry Lee Lewis)

(Number 275, Authentically signed by JLL and returned to the artist)

          I apologise for this being long winded, but it is not a simple story, but I am very happy with the outcome , the very complimentary letters from Judith Ann and ,of  course the tee-shirt from Jerry Lee.

          Hope this sheds some light, (if you can follow it all). Thank you for your interest in my work,

                                                                  Regards,

                                                                               Tom.

Autograph Planet Jerry Lee Lewis Forum

A forum post was started by Grant on April 24, 2014 at http://autographplanet.com/forum/serious-accusations-against-the-jerry-lee-lewis-familyand is entitled “Jerry Lee Lewis: Authentic, Stamped & Unfounded Claims of Secretarial.” I intend to use my post here to highlight some of the most interesting points raised on the Autograph Planet post. I intend to focus on the visual evidence presented while trying to stay away from arguments, jokes and superfluous comments. As of 2/12/2016 there are 73 pages of content and as such my post will barely be able to touch the high points of the original posts. My hope is to condense the discussion to emphasize the strengths of the post while leaving out the redundant and unnecessary points.

 

 

The post begins with the above image and Grant mentioning his disappointment that substantial evidence was not put forward when accusations were made that Jerry Lee Lewis was not signing many of the items purported to be signed by him.

The above four items are shared as examples of PSA/DNA Certified and encapsulated Jerry Lee “cuts.”

The following two items were posted and compared. In my opinion, the example on the left is a 100% authentic example with a great inscription. The example on the right is an 11X14 I personally mailed to JLL for a paid signature. Grant is certain JLL signed it and purchased it from me.

Three samples showing a“God Bless You” inscription. It is obvious to me the word “from” is in the same hand in each example. I find it interesting too how varied the spacing is on the various signatures.

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Posted May 3, 2014 by Grant- “Take note of the “S” in “Standing” in the inscription on this item:

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Note from Chad: The man in the photo is Graham Knight. Graham knows Jerry Lee and more can be read on him here Graham Knight

Graham is a nice guy and told me the large image he is standing next to is a “big canvas print” made from a “scan of the smaller one” (not seen in the photo posted by Grant). Here is an image showing the original and blown up version

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