The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-04-08
AUCTION ROOM FRAUDS.
EVEN THE oREAF a OBJECT. oNs"
NO. ABOVE SUSPICION,


Bogus Sales, Reserve Prices, end
Dummy Bids briag the Auction
Rom Into Bal Reputs MARY An
derson's Mash"-A New Workers.
Evening [ q.
NEW YORK, April AIR. ". Jennings
Demsrest will deserve a statue at the hands
of his grateful countrymen if be succeeds
in putting a stop to even oHe Of the bogus
auctions" which deceive the unwary New
Yorker SOS days in the year.
The bogus auction is Of many kinds. The
most palpable fraud is, Of course, tie fam
lily just selling out the extraordinarily beau
tiful furnishings of their house on - street +"
If man didn't know that fresh carpets are
laid on the floors every week and fresh furni-
ture brought in as fast as it is sold, it might
puzzle him to understand why the family is
so long disposing Of its wares. There are no
bargains a. these mock sales There is a
reserve price on every article aud if a
genuine bid cannot be secured at the reserve
price, or even O higher figure, the gods ara
knocked down to a dummy to be put up
again some other day. OF course wome,
are the fish for whom the hook is aited. A
woman's fondness 70. auctions and her
pIOu6ueSo 10 ull ulEu WISH dtObleT Al
old thing" completes are proverbiRl.
Art auctions are sometimes just as decep-
tive. ThereRare auction houses whose word
,s re liable and there are others which sell
cords Of Corots and Troyons by dozens,
without too curious scrutiny OF their
authenticity. 1t Is common enough in one
of those auction rooms to see a genuine
work by an unknown American painter
sold for higher figure than the imputed
mo Sf nj ~ nf f0h 70
Art amateurs haunt the shauy auction
rooms to pick kernels out of the husks, and
arts Of merit, when they get hard up,
send their uusold pictures there to try their
fortunes on the block. II a man doesn't
know a good picture from a bad one and
can't stop bidding when he has gone high
enough, no matter what the dummy says,
he might as we'll stay away.
S metlmes a man is quite willing to be
deceived. know man who has gallery
full of Corots, Troyons, Viberts, Daubignys
every thing but Miilets, which can't be
C unterfeited because all the known exam
Piles have pedigrees. He paid 500 or 1870
each for the lot. Pm pretty certain he sus-
poets that they are bogus, but b. has cata-
logue with all tue big names printed upon
1t and brags about his easures.
There are men in New York who make a
living by painting these chea's at day
wages One of them, when reproached by
reputable artist for his part in the decep-
tion. replied: Il h We a wife aud four
children. What can dof'
Even when lmei CO.. &c lions CO ne to the
block, there is a specles Of deception prac-
ticed not so very much less culpable. At.
lists say that at the Seney sale number Of
paint gs were auctioned off at high p Ices
which had not been i Mr. Seney's colllec-
tion at a /, bu were ushed hot from ans
tlantic studios to ge5 the advantage Of
a sale in we'll advertised company. They
we're authentic enough. but poo and basty
examples, "thrown off careles'ly for the
American Market As for the Ives sale,
/ have not yet seen it denied that s., 900
worth of Japa lese metals WAS ad led to the
collection just before the sale. No wonder
that there is a universal complaint of low
prices at art sales