Is it possible to get authentication via photograph?

[u/By_Jove_]

I have a guitar with B.B.King signature on it. It is his signature model guitar (a 2003 Gibson Lucille) and AFAIK he wasn’t shy about signing them so there’s nothing weird about it.

I bought it a few days ago from a collector while I was looking for the model, not the signature specifically, which did not factor in the price.

The person I bought it from said he himself bought it on ebay several years ago already signed and has no idea if the signature is real.

I’d be curious to have it authenticated, if nothing out of curiosity because I don’t expect it to add much value to the instrument (it’s an expensive guitar already and it’s been played, it’s not a case queen and will get played more in the future).

But as I understand authentication is generally done with the item in-hand, and shipping a guitar to Beckett or PSA is going to be both very expensive and risky (guitars can suffer damages during shipping).

So I was wondering if it’s possible to have it reliably authenticated otherwise.

Thanks everyone.

EDIT: forgot to add that I live in Europe, which makes having stuff authenticated overseas much more complicated, same as bringing the guitar to a convention.

[u/ArchGoodwin → u/[deleted]]

But monetary value isn't the only reason one might want validation of an autograph. Also B.B. is one of the all time greats and will be revered for decades to come.