Emmons County record., 1908-03-12
/ CELEBRATED HOAX.


w. W oS - - O0S3f09esSS
and Us Audsef.
CLEVER AND eRAzEM FRAUD.
~ laosassss psAzsestssa csnsseseEy
eessa6 t1As 3avaess - olbFsskiles
- esrsps - vs. ~ Lissrsry Sea-
sssies q NJ oey.
wh<a p Z Bazncn cyaicslsy re-
eaeked thAs tie American people
Irved to he fooled be might Iuss As
Oeu hare 5e1t out the adjective. for
tAat Americans are much more gill
he than natives Of osbe1 lands can
vesy readily be called into question by
anybody At au familiar with the his
tos5 q hoaxdom- suppose that Tor
pure e4rontesy and Ingenious b-azen
n8 the Foesxas Catalogue stands In
tAe front rank Of deception Yet this
pamphlet vas fotssei not upon the
American public. but upon the savants
ana bfbsiophiies of Eurore-men skill
Cd In the art of books and IN the detec
tion of forgery So ctevefiy was this
ffapd conceived and executed that Il
deserves to stand in the front rank OF
any consideration. however brief. OF
clever deceptions-
The Foftsas Catalogue was publish
Cd in 1Sl0-a small book purportins to
Be The catalogue Of the private library
c1 . certain Count J. X. A. de Fortsa5
of Binche, in Belgium Although the
book consisted Of but fourteen pages
and listed only hfty-two titles. 1t
stirred mp a veritable teapot tempest
among the wife heads The reason
vas not Tar to seek-not one OF the
books mentioned In the catalogue was
to be found in any other library or
publisher's list! They we're all abso-
luteiy sole surviving" copies Of In
teasely interesting works. In the
words Of the catalogue itself, the
count pitilessly expelled from his
shelves books for which he had paid
their weight in gold-as seon as he
leaned that = work up to that time
unknown had been mentioned in any
catalogue" Each new research OF
leaned investigators into the book
lore Of antiquity, 1t was claimed, had
thinned sti,l further the already dec
mated ranks Of the counts sacred
battalion" Weary Of his tremendous
and self imposed task OF collecting
only unique specimens, the count was
stated to have died on Sept 1, 1899.
and his library was now offered for
sale. Apparently the fraudulent char
actes of such master fooaefy was quite
patent Yet the high brows "bit" en-
thusfast1calIy, and there resulted one
a the most amusing incidents Of the
decade
For instantly the learned book lovers
were MP In arms, each trying to out6o
his rival and secure for himself the
most pfecious Of the treasures at the
saIe which was advertised. Orders
poured In from m over Europe on the
behalf Of scholarly societies, libraries.
royal families ana literary epicures
One bookseller came m the WY from
Amsterdam just to see No. Is, the
Corpus Juris Civflis" The Princess
d Lgne ''for the honor Of her fsmi-
u" ordered No. 4s at any price to sup
press It on account Of certain discred-
table family episodes It was supposed
TO contain. Many other prominent per-
sons and institutions clamored for q
chance At the collection. Men re
membefed having seen books that new
ef existed" says william Shepard.
The foreman in Casteman's printing
once at Tourney had distinct recollec-
lions Of bogus volume credited to his
press
Unfortunately the advertised sa3e
never came Oh. On the 9th Of Au-
gust, the day before It was to have b.
gun. the Brussels papers announced
that the town Of Binche had determin-
ed to keep the collection intact by pur-
chasing II with public funds. The
amusing part OF this statement vi
that Binche was Z most insigni1cani
village. quite unabls to purchase much
Of anything, let alons universally de.
sired library. etill, even that state
ment was believed.
The truth eventually transpired that
the Count De Fortsas, his miraculous
library ana the catalogue were all the
creations Of an ingenious fellow named
Rene Chalons. living in Belgium. Hia
catalogue besot rather extensive lit
eraturs Of its own, which has since
been collected and published under the
t1tle documents Of Particularites His.
toriques sur le Comts Do Fortsas." A
copy Of the original catalogue now
rests in the Congressional library q
Washinston. = Cincinnati Commercial
Tribune.
a euepriss Per et l<ilda.
The Inhabitants Of the lonely isle @
81. Kilda were astonished one winter
some years ago ct the appearance Of
great blood red, conical object floating
-. AAA ~,elA A<1notAN hNl1nvx,a IN thl