Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-05-14
MAKING FAKE ANTIQUES
PROFITABLE BUSINESS,
Some OF the Tricks OF Trade Which Has
Been Found Remunerative People
Like to be Humbugged- Demand
for Ancient Things.

This Is a collecting epoch, and an
epoch that may slip more quickly by
lhan the cnrio dealer in his pride
imagncS. The rage for collecting has
grown steadily until the demand for
curios. the craze for old glass, and
old prints. and old furniture has be-
come more and more acutely keen.
What could he picked up" for FIVE
pound note fifteen or even ten years
ago now fctchcS its ten or twenty
pounds. The demand for the antique
having, therefore. become SD great that
even suburban households want their
old glass and their old china. the sup
ply has ot course become far less.
What is the result? The genuine article
has become corrcspnndingly moro and
more expensive. This is only fair; for
the dealer, who has more trouble in
finding genuine Worcester platc or
vase, or Baticrsea box naturally asks
far more than he would have done ten
years ago; and the collector, who,
whether he has collected for Tic mere
love OF cnrlos, or for tho more sOrdid
sake of making Il pound Investment.
Will find his collection is worth at
least twice as much as he paid for it,
This is sound financial success both for
dealer and collector; but Il great source
OF growing annoyance to the private
collector and unsOund finance for the
dealer is The appalling fact that TO
supply his constant demand for IAN
tiqucs' this country is being flooded
with cheap foreign limitations. These
limitations are not like tho worthless
toys and rubbish which arc imported
stamped made in Germany" they are
not only cruelty excellent limitations.
hut they are not stamped AT all..Thorc-
In lies the fraud on the public. TO what
country could we export limitations
free Of charge or duty, and yet We
peaccably put up with "old English
glass" from Holland and Germany,
"l3attersca" cnamels made in Paris.
and other frauds and limitations which
will proceed herewith to describe,
and hope to some extent expose for
he sake Of those who intend to "col-
lcct"
dealer at the seaside told me n
few weeks ago that a German traveller
for n Dutch firm came to his shop and
offered him for sale some "old Eng
fish glass" The price stamped il Mt
once as a fraud. for genuine old Eng
lish wine glasses will fetch from "a
Cd each and upward, even from a
dealer, whereas these were only 10d
a piece. The way to tell old English
cut glass is to feel the lower surface.
where the irregularity in cutting
(donc by hand) distinguishes the an
tiquo from the modern glass, which is
cut by machinery. This irrcgularity
had been fairly successfully initiated
i'm this case and the dealer said he
might have him taken in himself if they
had not been offered at such price.
He declined the glasses on the ground
that he did not want any frauds i'm
his shop; but the willy traveller point
ed out TO him that the old glass was
getting more and more difficult to pick
up, and that the demand was great,
and so on, and so on. Eventually the
dealer, whom do not attempt to jus
tify, as 1t would take morciful Re-
coring Angel to whitewash dealer in
modern antiques" took sixteen pieces
of the glass. may add that In a
short time that which were left in his
shop were turned slckly grecnish
shade; but the dealer had doubtless
made enough profit to cover his loss
One more word on old glass. a