The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-26

discovers q treasure" clinches his bargain and hurries away with 1t for fear the merchant will call him back. In such a case there is double dealing on each side; so no particular fault can be found.
 But the big dealors in bogus antiqui- ties. who have to do with a more ex- perienced clientele. have developed their game until may be classed as fine art. In the Paris trade the game is technically know as the "plantage." The word and the thing 1t represents are as modern as the old masters which are passed of on the art-loving public
 The old way of selling a bogus anti qufty was to tell the customer 1t came from some hateau owned by once rich family now In need of money. Names were withheld 'out of a sense of professional courtesy" But this game was only good once for each victim. It had to be perfected. This gave rise to the "plantage."
 Since 1t was the chateau which con- ferred a patent of genuineness on an object. 1t occurred to some genius in the trade to place the pseudo-antf- quity in the chateau itself, where the suspicious customer could discover 1t and carry 1t off without the interven- ton of third party.
 The. original discoverers of the plan now has a host of imitators. Impover- ished memb bers of the aristocracy all over France have lately been deluged with requests to allow their chateaux 10 be used for the purpose. Artistic furniture. paintings, by masters of by gone centuries. brass candlesticks, tapestries. old laces-sll of 1t imitation. of course-are offered them as inde- finite loans. and it is understood that if these things are sold the noble aristocrat will receive a handsome com mission.
 The plan has proved to be extremely popular. False art works have thus been planted all over France-in Paris and in the country. To many pen niless nobIeman this pGanatge has proved a great financial boom.
 Now, when the American millionaire who wants a collection calls on his Paris art dealer the latter remarks carelessly that he has nothing in parti- cular on hand just now but he knows a certain prominent member or eN- elusive society who is secretly desirous of selling a thing or two. Merchant and millionaire drive around to the house in question. The historic setting and the great name of the family both bear weight In attesting the authen- tlcity of everything soen. The sale Is made In the name of the noble lord, who later goes around to the merchant and gets his 15 or 20 per cent.
 American amateurs on the quest for art works in Paris should also be on their guard when 1t comes to buying anything at a public auction Such sales are numerous during the tourist season, and are fruitful occasions for all sorts of tricks. A number of dealers often organize such a sale when they think that the time Is ripe to get rid of a whole carload of limitations. For weeks preceding the sale the Paris papers are filled with fiattering reading notices concerning the importance and beauty of this or that object. When the sale begins at least a dozen ac- complices are scattered through tht hall. They follow the simple process of hiddihk up whatever Is offered. If they outstep the mark and accidentally outbtd a genuine buyer, the thing is knocked down. merely to be offered at another sale later on.
 There Is one more trick which Is worth mentioning, as 1t Is practically new. A wellknown collector was re- gently having a portion of his house rebuilt. sone morning one of his work. men came to him and confessed that while tearing down an old house in a distant quarter of Paris he had discov- cred a small pot of antique coins. The workman was ready to sell these at a moderate price,, Instead of rising to the bait, the collector suspected a trick and threatened the workman with exposure. The workman then confessed that the coin had been given him together with instructions as to how to get rid of them, by a dealer in imitation antiques.