The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-07-14


 Makers.
 The Lelong sale brought one hundred and twenty thousand pounds to the fund created by the late Madame Le- long for broken down musicians. The purchasers were mostly dealers, who bid high to keep up the prices of mere old curiosities and antiquities with which South American "helots" and American multi-millionaires like to fill their houses. -L.....
 Amateurs were frightened from bid ding seriously by fear that perhaps Madame Lelong had somewhere near Paris a monufactory of antiques. I have been to see manufacturer of such wares. He makes no secret of his business, and enjoys sometimes a laugh at the amateurs who come in his way. In chatting about them he said: Lat terly an antiquary sent me a block of marble to make copy of an object dart belonging to him. executed the 5 order, and gave it such a patine that it looked more genuine than the origi- nal I sent it to him, and he took it for the original. Some days later I took him the real thing. He looked at it., turned it round, passed his finger over 1t, made face and said: Its a bit faulty. To be frank, it's blotched copy. I hardly care to take it. I looked at. him, and at last said: t'Why, it's the piece you gave me to copy I thought we would have 1 Ds,4 !, quite angry. talked loud. and pretend ed that he had known without my tell ing him, but feigned ignorance to see how far my irnprudence would go.
 I turned the conversation from mar ble tofwooden antiques.
 with wood you can do what you please You can now make.it worm eaten. and put dry rot into the curved parts. A chisel cannot work on dry rot. This defect can be used as a cer- tificate of authenticity. One of my friends bought bahut. He paid three experts to examine it, and they certi- fled it to be genuine. Some time after he had it taken down to shift it to an other room. In moving it a penel got broken, and he sent it to Picard to be repaired. Goodness mel cried Picard, it Is the bahut that made a few years ago, The cabinet makers who work for antiquaries now use the oak which had been employed in the beams and rafters of old houses Fortunes have been made by knowing people, who bought old, tumbledown houses in Orleans and other provincial towns. They sold the rotten wood to manufacturers of an cient furniture for more than the house cost, and had the ground for nothing. I have onother acquaintance who man ufactures time-p pieces for an antiquary ca the price of seventy thousand francs apiece.
 And for what does the dealer sell them? He alone could say. Such things are counted invaluable The antiquaries sell them to courtiers. who sell them to Park Lane millionaires and Americans. There are now only these two classes of purchasers. Here and there French millionaire springs up and wants to distinguish himself as a collector One should, leave to all such their illusions. The forged thing is as good as the genuine. Not long ago I took two pieces of furniture that M, de vaufreiard brides himself on possess ing for genuine things, until became acquainted with the man who made them. Marble is the material that least betrays the present day workman. I am now making marble fountain which will look the product of far back time. I gave 1t patine by burning. damp straw under it; and then knock of nose or a finger or leaves of a wreath. It is great trial for artistic workmen to be obliged to mutilate their work in this way. We feel aWfully dis gusted when we have disfgured a stat uette. But we can make three times more money in working for moderns. Sometimes our profits are enormous; we have to be so conscientious and so ! attentiyea to details. The artiquaries can ask any prices they like Their customers want antique things to give the illusion of having ancestors who Hourished in far back centuries. A present craze is for tenth. eleventh, twelfth century marbles. They are very ugly, but they help to throw dust in the eyes of South African gold kings settled in Paris, and American heiress- es The owner of the Chateau de Rochefort goes in for such things. He paid dear to secure for his chateau marbles that dare say are genuine, but so inferior in workmanship and conception that I would not stoop to l. pick them out of the mud, if by doing so I could have them for nothing.
 .sHoudons are now the rage, and have been for some time. Think of the prices to which they ran ID those spu- rious Braces on the time piece bought by a F'rankforter at the Double Sale! The most enviable Houdon is now 'Le Baiser' Copies oft are sold every where by Italian boys. The original at k this moment in London is worth four hundred thousand francs. We'll, there are seven or eight originals lying by quietly to be brought out in due time"
 Do you believe that great aggiome- rations of wealth conduce to art cul-| ture?" ,#
 Your question shows that you do not know what barbarians the multi-mil- lionaires are Vanity is their ruling passion. They have no taste for beau ty but for what they think uncommon, because to own it excites envy for their wealth and (they think admiration for their connoisseurship. Secretan, who began as a finisher of gronze statu-