New-York tribune., 1903-07-16

made by knowing people who bought old tumble
down houses in Orleans and other provincial
towns. They sold the rotten wood to manufact-
urers of ancient furniture for more than the
house cost, and had the ground for nothing. l
have another acquaintance who manufacturers
timepieces for antiquary at the price of 7O.oOo
francs apiece
And for what does the dealer sell them? He
alone could say. Such things are counted invalu-
able The antiquaries sell them to courtiers. who
sell them to Park Lane milliouaires and Americans.
There only these two classes of purchas-
ers 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 good the genuine Not long
ago l took two pieces of furniture that NJ de
Naufrelard brides himself on possessing for gen.
uine things, until I became acquainted with the
man who made them. Marble is the material that
least betrays the present day workman. L am
now making marble fountain which will look the
product of far back time. l gave il patne by
burning damp straw under it; and then I knock
on nose. or finger, or leaves of wreath II Is
mutilate their work in this way. We feel awfuly
4isgGsted 5g when we have dishgured statgette, "a r
But we can make three times more money IN WORK
ing Tor antiquaries than for moderns. Sometimes
scientious and attentive to details. The anti
toner's want ASK sas aS E6es f0eg tn gye the Illusion Of
having ancestors who iourished in far back cen
twelfth and thirteenth century marbles. They
very e ugly put they help to throw DUST st n P The
and American heiresses. The owner of the Chateau
to secure for his chatea1 marbIes that dare say
are genuine: but SO inferior in workmanship and and
Out OF the mud If by doing so l could have them
'Houdons are now the rage and have been for
m some h6 tune Think OF the prices to which they Sy ran
by a Frankforter. The most enviable Houdon IS
By aR bog TRe Original G IA are at SGa this 1
London. Is worth 100000 francs. Well, there are
brought out in due time
Amateurs may often buy jewelry with their eyes
quisite workmanship is needed for them that
lers for European style are in Paris, and, for the
Partisan working jeweller earns very high wages.
" l should also purchase blindfold fine porphyry
vase Porphyry quarrieS are nearly worked out,
and porphyry is nearly hard the diamond
Amateurs are sometimes, "as a favor taken
or chateaus. A dealer in the neighborhood of the
Opera house has made mint of money out of the
after rarties opportunities to discover it. They
imag1 it is find" because he uses it instead Of
suaded but not easily to sell it, another
just like it, sells it also in the same way. and
then another
Here l took leave of my informant
And now the following anecdote for the finale.
l went some time ago to avowedly spurious
antiquities IN workshop In the Rue de Turenne
They were shown to forgeries too clever to
be detected. The mddleman who hoped to circu-
late them genuine named. Screws were old
and loose fits. The enamel on the dial plate was
identical with that timepiece of the same
period az the Garde Meuble. l examined the works
with magnifying glass, and could see how they
Not long after met an appraiser of the Mont de
of my visit to the Rue de Turenne. expressed ad-
miraton at the completeness of the imitation I
had been shown there, and mentioned the pride the
artifcer took in his work
on! said the Yaluator, he has no right TO be
with the original old screws works and ali and I
had them made 10 order