Indiana daily times., 1922-06-05
AMERICANS IN
PARISEASY FOR
AN OLD SWINDLE
Satirists Devote Space To
Gullibility of Yankee
Furniture Buyers

IaIelot uue ~ In hHleTlcd tHefc dTo
moro than thres thousand beds and
10000 harpsichords which belonged to
Marie Antotnette," writes Clement yau-
tel In LIE Journal.
1T has been estimated he continues,
that 10000 Corot landscapes have prom
inent places there In public or private
collections
'zAtout fifty times year master
piece of Rembrandt or Murtllo, or of
NelasqueZ is discovered In garret and
estimated at two or three millions.
This condition VauteI and other Paris
ian newspaper satirists who have recently
dwelt heavily on the theme ascribe TO an
amount Of fake antique selling IN Paris
shops and at Paris auctions that in
creases in volume and profit as years
50 by.
Much Of the c1everest work Of antique
swindlers Is put over on American
tuycrs, who, according to the satirists,
viii pay any price for something "his
torical,' even If the history" was ac-
quired by strong-arm methods IN the
workshops of the swindling dealers.
From year to year there are auc-
toned off at the Hotel Drouot,' Yautel
continues, thousands and thousands Of
chairs re covered by antique tapestry. and
a formidable quantity OF candelabra and
graHdfather's clocks.
For q while this commerce in bric-a-
brac went on smoothly, but at lest a
check
GUARANTEE
Is REFUSED.
"The other day at the Hotel Drouot
there was sold for 5000 francs a little
table OF the eighteenth century, when
some one demanded Of the auctioneer:
There are tables said to be Of the eight
eenth ceneury that not Of the eight
eenth century at all. Do you guarantee
the antiquity Of this object?'
'The expert guaranteed It without
guaranteeing It. What are we coming TO
If we have TO guarantee everything we
sell?" he asked.
The incident closed with the luyer
taking the table. but threatening to prove
In court that It was modern and that
an attempt had been made to swindle
him
As a result of this case. In which some
writer's see only an amusing incident,
others see the chance for complete
Investigation Of the entire business Of
selling ant!qities and curios 10 the end
that auctfoneers and alleged experts"
must produce written guarantees for
their customers
ne buyer of the table, NJ. Tdouard
Jonas. president Of the Syndicate de Ia
Curiosite ct des Reaux." who was de-
ltbcrately trying to make a test case In
order to expose the dealers, was inter
viewed by the Matin.
Il sought occasion TO shed light on
certain conditions" he said. which are
affecting unfayorably the attitude Of art
lovers and, above all, OF foreign collect
lovers This is scrions matter. because
Paris still is and must remain the cen
ter Of the curiosity business TOO many
times have I noticed the errors OF auc-
tioneers, for example, IN the course OF
recent sale. a case IN which sors
Of Iamy cover Of Chinese porcelain. cata
loguad at 100 francs was valued at q oot
francs by one Of these merchant spe-
ciaIists'"
SOME MAY
BE EXFERTS."
NJ, Jonas told the Matin the sales
were made without any real guarantee
often the catalogue carries on the
first page. in tiny letters. notice that
the sale is without guarantee" he said.
'.As for the so-ca!led experts, some may
he experts, all right. but they are Sc
lected without any rule or regulation
IS 70 their a'.flcat!ons-simply chosen
by the 1Ecti0aegr''
VI. Jonas pointed ont that the French
law governing the responsibility Of aue.
tioneers has not been changed since 1910
According TO this law, Itself an an.
ttquity, the individual auctioneer. the
association Of auctioneers and the group
o