Reports are emerging that Mr George Harrison may have just forged some signatures, to make a fans dream come true.

With these reports, it poses the question: Is forging okay, if you’re famous? There are so many ways to gain musicians signatures: Some legal, some entirely not.

Each year there are also polls released stating the best signature signer, and the worst. Naturally, some people want their privacy kept just that way – but in this case, Harrison signed the autograph for a dying fan.

The girl, Ann Bartlett, was believed to have written into one of the Beatles’ fanclubs stating that she was unfortunately dying, and her last wish would be to receive a signed autograph of the band.

She received the autographed photo when she was 16, and unfortunately died a few months later – never really knowing the secret of the photograph.

The photograph was recently auctioned off, and on point of sale was sent to a handwriting analyst who pointed out that the handwriting style was very similar in each signature. While it was determined to be George Harrisons in the end, this case seems to be just one of a whole lot more.

Harrison has been noted in the past for producing many different pictures with all of the autographs done by himself.

It’s hard to say exactly why this was the case. Was George the only Beatle who sincerely cared about his fans, and only wanted the best for them? Or was everyone too busy to care, and George Harrison the only one to carry off the task?

In this case, when does it become acceptable to forge signatures for fans even if it’s detrimental or not? Naturally, this poor girl never knew the outcome of the situation, but unfortunately her father does after the writing was analysed. The fortunate thing being that Harrison had seen the need for this terminally ill girl, and being nice enough to send it off quickly.

Having a look through eBay it seems as though signatures hold more of a monetary weight than they did back many decades ago. Sifting through the autographs, it pains me to see that there are several autographs from the same artist, but significantly different. When does it become acceptable in the case, to forge signatures for a monetary gain and the expense of a true fan?

Signatures are also being reproduced through printers onto posters, in order to cheat fans out of money in the thought that they’re gaining a credible product.

If you’re buying autographs from your favourite musician on eBay, please check out the fine print on the page. On closer inspection, most of these pages will state “digitally reproduced from a genuine autograph.” But really, how do you know?

Ebay does produce a guide to buying autographs, so certainly check it out before making any purchases. Other than that, getting an autograph could be as simple as waiting around after a gig, or even just the chance of running into them on the street.

Remember! Don’t hassle anyone for an autograph, always respect privacy, and never cross the line.

As for that poor girl with the forged signatures, she was very lucky to find a musician that cared enough about her happiness to do the one thing to give her final hope.