2 Elvis MRS fake acetates listed by Heritage Auctions for Nov-Dec 2024

[raised_on_sofa]

Well, well...and so Heritage Auctions too has taken the path of carrying fake Memphis Recording Service acetates in their auctions. This is not the first time (and it won't be the last) that major auction houses, including ha.com, in order to grab commission money, offer fakes in their auctions by authenticating them themselves and providing their COA which ultimately only serves as paper to wipe our asses.

The two Elvis acetates are fakes, as was the Jerry Lee Lewis "Crazy Arms" one sold on eBay years ago. Label colors... layout of printed characters... size and color of printed characters... lack of notes/numbering on the reverse of the acetates... aging due to age (70 yrs gone since)... focus and contrast... all of this is missing compared to the authentic and original MRS acetates. Those who make these fakes print the labels by copying them (high definition scanners) from an original in nice condition, correcting the various impurities with special graphics programs, then take a presto acetate and transfer the Elvis song onto it... then print in high definition and glue the fake MRS label on top. Then they age it artificially... making scratches here and there... making it opaque in some places... etc... etc..

Sam Phillips would never have been right and interested in pressing an acetate of My Babe's Gone and I Love You Because because these were just sessions in which Elvis was being tested by Sam. Only with That's All Right Mama did Sam decide to take action in order to promote Elvis on the radio by transferring the tracks from tape to acetate.
Stay away from specialized auction houses... it is now highly risky to buy there too. Furthermore, in a few years thanks to AI they will also be able to counterfeit MRS and/or SUN by even creating unreleased versions generated with AI.

This EAP Society video is also very informative and interesting:

[drjohncarpenter]

Well, well...and so Heritage Auctions too has taken the path of carrying fake Memphis Recording Service acetates in their auctions. This is not the first time (and it won't be the last) that major auction houses, including ha.com, in order to grab commission money, offer fakes in their auctions by authenticating them themselves and providing their COA which ultimately only serves as paper to wipe our asses.

The two Elvis acetates are fakes, as was the Jerry Lee Lewis "Crazy Arms" one sold on eBay years ago. Label colors... layout of printed characters... size and color of printed characters... lack of notes/numbering on the reverse of the acetates... aging due to age (70 yrs gone since)... focus and contrast... all of this is missing compared to the authentic and original MRS acetates. Those who make these fakes print the labels by copying them (high definition scanners) from an original in nice condition, correcting the various impurities with special graphics programs, then take a presto acetate and transfer the Elvis song onto it... then print in high definition and glue the fake MRS label on top. Then they age it artificially... making scratches here and there... making it opaque in some places... etc... etc..

Sam Phillips would never have been right and interested in pressing an acetate of My Babe's Gone and I Love You Because because these were just sessions in which Elvis was being tested by Sam. Only with That's All Right Mama did Sam decide to take action in order to promote Elvis on the radio by transferring the tracks from tape to acetate.
Stay away from specialized auction houses... it is now highly risky to buy there too. Furthermore, in a few years thanks to AI they will also be able to counterfeit MRS and/or SUN by even creating unreleased versions generated with AI.

This EAP Society video is also very informative and interesting:

First off, any chance you can make the font just a little bigger and bolder?

You failed to include the page links, here they are:

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/music-memorabilia/recordings/elvis-presley-i-love-you-because-10-45-rpm-acetate-memphis-recording-service-1954-/p/7383-98001.s

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/music-memorabilia/recordings/elvis-presley-baby-s-gone-10-45-rpm-acetate-memphis-recording-service-1955-/p/7383-98002.s




Secondly, both are considered "previews" and this is what appears on each page:

Auction Preview: Preview items may not have yet been properly described or vetted, and items are posted as soon as they have a description or a picture. We are continuing to add and correct information as we approach the auction posting date, so check back here often and Contact us with any comments or suggestions.

Since you are clearly upset about it, why not hit the site's "Contact Us" link and tell them?

"Report an error/bug, description or lot correction"


Here they are:


https://entertainment.ha.com/c/contact-us.zx?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fentertainment.HA.com%2Fitm%2Fmusic-memorabilia%2Frecordings%2Felvis-presley-i-love-you-because-10-45-rpm-acetate-memphis-recording-service-1954-%2Fp%2F7383-98001.s%3Fic4%3DGalleryView-ShortDescription-071515&topicId=33#answer


https://entertainment.ha.com/c/contact-us.zx?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fentertainment.HA.com%2Fitm%2Fmusic-memorabilia%2Frecordings%2Felvis-presley-baby-s-gone-10-45-rpm-acetate-memphis-recording-service-1955-%2Fp%2F7383-98002.s%3Fic4%3DGalleryView-ShortDescription-071515&topicId=33#answer



Good luck! Let us know what happens.

[drjohncarpenter]

Scans from the site:

I Love You Because acetate auction.jpg

Baby's Gone acetate auction.jpg

[raised_on_sofa]

You are right Doc, I forgot the auctions' links. Well done. The mere fact that HA has listed (in preview) the 2 acetates as originals implies that no serious and thorough checks / verifications have been done by them before listing them for sale. Also, we shall not forget that this is not the first time HA has listed fake items in their auctions: starting with copies of the never-existed Chicken Of The Sea Aloha LP.

[drjohncarpenter]

You are right Doc, I forgot the auctions' links. Well done. The mere fact that HA has listed (in preview) the 2 acetates as originals implies that no serious and thorough checks / verifications have been done by them before listing them for sale. Also, we shall not forget that this is not the first time HA has listed fake items in their auctions: starting with copies of the never-existed Chicken Of The Sea Aloha LP.

You are mistaken. It's not "implied" --> it's STATED on the page.

Each "preview" has this note:

Auction Preview: Preview items may not have yet been properly described or vetted, and items are posted as soon as they have a description or a picture. We are continuing to add and correct information as we approach the auction posting date, so check back here often and Contact us with any comments or suggestions.

This is the second time I've shared this.

Are you going to write the site "Contact Us" or not? I provided those links as well.

[raised_on_sofa]

Yes I do twice. First, asked for Provenance and lettering handwritten and/or etched on reverse and they replied none of those were provided.
Second: told them they were fakes but they never replied.

I tell you again : the mere fact that HA has listed (in preview) the 2 acetates as originals implies that no serious and thorough checks / verifications have been done by them before listing them for sale or preview .

When you have such important pieces the first thing you have to ascertain is their authenticity and provenance: HA didn't do that...preview or not preview changes nothing.

[drjohncarpenter]

Yes I do twice. First, asked for Provenance and lettering handwritten and/or etched on reverse and they replied none of those were provided.
Second: told them they were fakes but they never replied.

So they replied, and then they didn't reply?

[raised_on_sofa]

No response from them when I wrote them that they had previewed 2 fakes. Obviously they don't respond...they know very well that they are fakes.

[raised_on_sofa]

But then...let's look at the label in the frame: ORIGINAL ELVIS PRESLEY ACETATE...
Another possibility could be some dude screwed by having spent a lot of money on these 2 fakes in the past and now tries via HA to get their money back...

[raised_on_sofa]

Hello Doc,

HA replied to my alert-email and will investigate about them. Hopefully, they will remove both listings or list them as mere reproductions. Being these 2 acetates just rubbish much better for HA to remove both listings being a non-sense for major auction house losing time & reputation for such craps.