The Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1903-1909, 1908-03-12

| 10 Ohly SoDGI iii doy q "CSh. w hNh
| ask him the reason he merely says
he doesn't know. Yesterday, when
walked into the laboratory at the back
of his little village shop, he was a
hand OF hope epitomized.
There's something you'll like" he
said. indicating small bureau, old
| Spanish mahogany within, new satin
wood veneer-so far unpolished-wi It'll
out. The veneer was inlaid with ebony
lines and kingwood bands. The accur-
acy of the jointing was wonderful; the
finish perfect.
you must come in again when I've
stained and polished it, he went on;
land then you'll think 1t one of the
best Queen Anne pieces extant."
Don't your customers ever find you
out?" | ask.
Lord, no, sir! When you've pulled
mountaineering furniture to pieces
all your life, and learned the things
the lemons and mortices and the finish
tell you, it's easy enough to get the
right effect. The public haven't any
judgment, and, for that matter, many
of the London dealers aren't much
better.
But this veneer-so very new" |
nazarded.
"Ah, wait until you see 1t toned
down, and the drawers fitted with a
set of old Boule handles and 'scutch-
con I've got by me, and few little
dents hammered here and there-es-
pecially about the feet, where they get
kicked. You'll not know 1t then. See
that little black knot I've left on the
face of the third drawer? That knot
will take in all Wardour street,"
He is always frank with me about
his fakes. He seems to take a pride
In being able to deceive a trained eye,
and a satisfaction in explaining his
dexterity.
left the bureau, and began examin-
ing hoary-looking oak settle, gray
with age.
Looks ancient, doesn't it?' he OBJ
served.
"Looks!' / wondered. Surely it's
genuine?"
He shook his head with wise old
smile. It's as genuine as dilute nitric
acid can make 1t. Oh, you needn't
60 by the panels. They're purposely
warped with hot ammonia. The sun
and rain do the rest--bleach 1t, you
know"
But the carving?' / argued. Its
almost effaced In places"
1T would be after half an hour with
a sand-blast--a little thing of my own
contrivance. The worm-holes / make
with very fine punch. Beginners use
shot; but that's clumsy way. OF
course, the timber it's made of is old
Bits of Charles the First table most
ly. The hinges are ordinary trade
copies that have lain In the wet all
summer and got nicely rusted; and IL
you were to draw the screws that hold
them you'd find they were rusty, too,
and had no points. Those | filed off,
and then hammered the heads a bit
II didn't know you-treated metal
as we'll as timber" | admitted.
Sometimes. See that fireback?
| went to the corner indicated and
scrutinized the fireback. AS far as
| could tell 1t was beautiful speci-
men of hammer-work, bitten and worn
by over two centuries of use, as its
date, 1857, seemed to show.
81 bought a dozen of those Of diff
ferent dates from man who makes
| them. They're only cast; but after
they's had bonfire over them In my
yard for week or two they get soft
and look right enough, don't they?'
| admitted that they did flinching
bit, though, at the adjective he used.
There's regular trade between
! the manufacturers of faxed antiques
and the country dealers-more than
with the London ones. Why? Well.
the manufacturers have discovered
that people go into the country dis
tricts now hunting for antiques. They
think the things they pick up there
must be genuine. The simple country
man inspires confdence There's
nothing hardly that can't be initiated"
he went on. It's merely question of
time-and skill, of course, and It's only
by accident--or talking, as I'm doing
that the facts discovered But
when a man knows he can take In
an expert its difficult for him to keep
1t to himself. That is. If he's got a
sense of humor, Do you think that
Syrian gold-work they had at the
Louvre would have been known as a
forgery II somebody hadn't talked
No, indeed! There's china now. Peo-
pie always think its above suspicion;
but you just look at those two china
cows on the shelf there. Ones genu-
inc old Stafford-the other isn't. Can
you tell the difference?"
used u pocket sagnifying glass this
time; but at the end of several min