New-York tribune., 1909-06-06
WASHINGTON, d. G.
SGT and 529 18th St.

lr1ay figures,
vested 600 in the Messiah" although that
famous Stradivarus not bought at auction
the "Messiar' produced at least twenty
eight wears after lie MercUre," when the mas
ter had improved his processes and perfected
every detail o. his craft and could defy the COM
petition Of coming generations in such lnstru-
ments as Sarasate's "BOissier" and the incom-
parable "AIard." Yet the hammer has never
! fallen upon higher price for a violin than the
bid Just cited. and, with the exquisite precision
Of carving in scrolls and purfling and with The
transparent varnish a memory Of the lost art OF
the Cremona school. it worth what was
paid for it
| Art collecting is not safe hobby when the
rider has become senile and credulOus. That
| has been proved by the melancholy experience
! Of the late Charles John Dckins. who had a
mania for buying antique Dresden and Sevres
china after retiring from business as a draper
| After his death the collection was cataIogued
and sold at Christie's but the bidding was slow,
| and many of the lots could not be worked off at
any price. The executors. after an investigation
| of the invoices and detailed reports from ex-
| perts. brought suit against Old Bond street
| dealer for damages for breach of warranty and
fraudulent representation. and obtained a YER
| dict against him for f1O.342 This was only a
| fraction Of the aggregate amount expended by
the credulous and infatuated old merchant in
purchases of china; but the details of the trans
actions. as explained by experts have thoroughly
discredited the dealers trade Of supplying col
| lectOrs with genuine antique china Spurious
| limitations, which could be bought in Paris at
something over a guinea apiece. were forced
/ upon Mr. Dicbins at exOrbitant prices as the
finest eighteenth century work when sight and
touch were failing and mental balance had been
upset Mr. Justice Grantham IN summing UP
the case was unable to restrain his indignation
| In describing the victim Of senile decay with
! Inercenary dealers fairly tumbling over one an
other in their efforts to palm of upon him their
worthless trash
| In addition TO many interesting details OF the
manufacture of imitation antiques and Of por-
| ceain countesses and pugdOgs with forged ped
igrees there were at this sensational trial start
ling revelations of auction room practices and
dealers combinations What was described as
Knockout" was a secret combination by
which dealers pledged themselves not to bid
| against one another. and were entitled to re-
ceive share of the profits from the representa-
| tive of the ultimate purchaser In this way the
auction price largely increased before the
| collector obtained his wares. Moreover there
were organized "run-ups." by which prices were
artifcialy raised so that broker dependent
upon commissions could make a larger per-
| centage on aggregate sales; and there were
/
ulent character of purchases Altogether there
was cumulative proof of the facility with which
/ the values of spurious curiOs and antiques can
! be inflated and creduIOus collectors imposed
/ upon. Incidentally much light was thrown on
shrinkages of prices in china, antique furniture
and other treasure trOVe when sold repeatedly
at auction CapriceS of fashion do not explain
these variations Genuine antiques when mar
kereu always fetch good prices and rise rather
/ than fall in value. The forgeries and fakes and
/ the artiicially inflated subject to
amazing fluctuations
/ There is no evidence that the managementS Of
/ Christies and the other auction houses are re-
/ sponsible for any of these rascalites of the
| trade. Catalogues are always prefaced with dis
/ Chalmers of accountability for the genuineueSS
OF the articles TO be sold or for the correctness
/ of the descriptions. Purchasers expected
satisfy themselves at private view respecting
these points and to obtain expert advice if they
need Ii. When the sale comes on values settle
themselves and Illusions dispelled What
happened when the old draper's china collection
dispersed at Christie's is constantly going
on, although without suspicion OF fraud. Art
collections from country houses with bad copies
of old masters ratified off at bottom prices
because the expert bidders know that the works
are not genuine whatever may be the printed
descriptions Hypothetical RaphaelS and III