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did ray bradbury ever go by Bill?

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12 September 2003, 01:23 AM
foejump
did ray bradbury ever go by Bill?
I have recently aquired what looks like to be a signed copy of "I Sing the Body Electric". Inside it is signed to Paula, followed by a signiture which looks to read Ray Bradbury. Also, inside the book, was a postcard written to the same person, but this time signed "Bill".
12 September 2003, 01:42 AM
Nard Kordell
Per Your Profile:
STUDENT
defined as: (stood'nt, styood') n. 1. a person who studies, esp. at a secondary school or college. 2. any person who studies or carefully examines a subject.

You are hereby graded an 'F,' for post card evaluation.
12 September 2003, 01:48 AM
foejump
student yes study yes F? dont think so....First try examination was at the horses mouth....I always thought it never hurt to ask....
12 September 2003, 03:57 AM
octobercountry
Well, I would assume that the postcard was simply stuck in the book by the original owner to use as a bookmarker. Does the writing on the card match the signature in the book?

Look here for a sample of Bradbury's writing--I just pulled a couple volumes off the shelf and scanned them quickly, but I assume that this is representative of Bradbury's writing... http://www.yourinter.net/flearn/bradburysig.jpg
12 September 2003, 04:31 PM
foejump
Thanks Octobercountry! This was exactly what I was looking for. The signature looks the same. I'm not sure about the writing on the postcard.
12 September 2003, 05:46 PM
Nard Kordell
Come on. This is a joke...!
12 September 2003, 07:33 PM
Miss Piggy
Nard chill out, I think foejumper was sincerely asking. Remember that Confuicus(spelling right?) once said that those who ask are stupid for fifteen minutes while those who don't ask are stupid for life.
12 September 2003, 09:43 PM
Mr. Dark
Looks like you may have gotten an autographed book. I tend to use old business cards as book marks. If someone got one of my Bradbury-autographed books with a business card in it, it wouldn't invalidate the signature in the book, would it?

On asking. It never hurts to ask, and, assuming he's sincere, he came to a pretty good place to ask. Remember that for as smart as Socrates was, he spent his whole life asking questions, with the final result that his wisdom was that he knew he didn't know everything, where others thought they did.


[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 09-12-2003).]
18 September 2003, 11:00 PM
foejump
To anyone who cares:

I've deicded with help that it is INDEED signed by Mr. Bradbury. Which happens to be quite cool considering how I aquired the book. The postcard inside is signed by someone who gave the book as a present. None the less, I'm still excited at owning a signed book a favorite author.
19 September 2003, 05:44 AM
dandelion
Congratulations. According to Ray, your book is now worth half as much...the joke being that he signs so many it actually reduces their value! But it means all the more to YOU!
19 September 2003, 02:42 PM
foejump
Exactly!
19 September 2003, 07:43 PM
Nard Kordell
Dandelion:
Whoa! Hold on there! I mean hold on for maybe 20 years...and a great percentage (30% +??) of the Bradbury signatures may possibly fade into oblivion. Some of those inks last just a few years.
Take note:
I got Neil Armstrong to sign a photo to me around 1979-80. It has faded into nothingness because of some squirrley pen that he used. I did some pen and ink (pentel-style pen) drawings about 5 years ago that have turned brown, and now heading for yellow.
Will just have to wait and see, unless something on the market prevents fade by chemical application of sorts, a spray for instance....
Otherwise, it's important to use an archival ink, one of those permanent marking pens, etc...

[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 09-19-2003).]