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PRINCE OF FORGERS.
Rosenblum, Joseph.
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First English translation of the 1870 edition. On a cold, damp day in February 1870, the Correctional Tribunal of Paris sentenced Vrain-Denis Lucas to prison for forging and selling over 27,000 historical letters to many of France's leading collectors. The sensational trial exposed the most colossal literary fraud ever perpetrated. The trial revealed that for 19 years Lucas created fake literary masterpieces, mostly letters to and from famous or historical figures, and profited greatly from it.
At first, Lucas used quills, inks, papers, and styles of writing used by historical French authors. As the years passed and his forgeries were accepted into the foremost collections in the nation, his ego got the best of him. The versatility, industry, and knowledge displayed earlier by Lucas was beginning to enter the realm of incongruity. When he produced a host of letters written by Mary Magdelene to Lazarus, Cleopatra to Caesar, Pompey to Cato, in French no less, and boldly sold them to one of France's leading collectors, Lucas's shameless audacity reached new heights.
This edition is the first English translation of the rare French title, UNE FABRIQUE DE FAUX AUTOGRAPHES, OU RECIT DE L'AFFAIRE VRAN LUCAS (Paris 1870) by Henri Bordier and Emile Mabille. With a new introduction by Joseph Rosenblum, this fascinating book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of literary forgeries, manuscripts, autographs, and the drama of fools and scoundrels. This is truly an incredible story of the "Prince of Forgers." Illustrated.
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Books of related interests - -
> Gilreath, James (editor), THE JUDGMENT OF EXPERTS, ESSAYS AND DOCUMENTS ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION OF THE FORGING OF THE OATH OF A FREEMAN.
> Knight, Stan, HISTORICAL SCRIPTS FROM CLASSICAL TIMES TO THE RENAISSANCE.
> Boucher, Philip P., LES NOUVELLES FRANCES, FRANCE IN AMERICA, 1500-1815, AN IMPERIAL PERSPECTIVE.
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AGATHA
by Eliot, George
This is the fake of the counterfeit edition produced in the United States [Todd 156c(3)]. Probably printed sometime around 1920, and it is uncertain who produced this fake. Unopened pages that are folded together.
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