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Show r ; Fake Antiques Are Many j There Is such a demand for antlquo furnlturo nowadays that tho demand Is far In excess of tho supply. But It is certain that tho supply will never bo nllowed to fall so long as tho demand de-mand exists. Of course, there Is very little genulno antique furnlturo to bo plckqd up, nnd tho dealer must either turn away good customers or clso fab-rlcato fab-rlcato tho furniture. For example, a man will pick up an antique bedstead In a romoto country place which costs him only n Uollar or less, and from It will fashion an nntlquo cabinet which will deceive any one oxcopt n connoisseur, nnd quickly And a purchaser pur-chaser who will bo willing to pay him from $150 to $300 for It. With tho aid of sulphuric acid and French polish pol-ish ho will mnko it as black as ebony, and a tow minutes with a shotgun will rlddlo It with worm holes In tho most realistic, and ifalstl- manner. -! ' In tho 8aiye"wuyjMfc?td chost f drawers .or n wardro. tho 'designs of which nro not suIMently artistic to find a purchaser In that form, can be converted Into a coftly pleco of furnlturo, furnl-turo, which has overrappenrnnco of a well-preserved oxamplo of slxteonth or seventeenth century work. And llkowlso a genulno antique can bo converted con-verted into a number of pieces, nny ono of which will bring tho prlco which tho original would havo sold for. An Ingenious wny of disposing of this bogus furnlturo is to send it to somo romoto country cottngo, whoro tho custodlnn, coached for tho purpose, pur-pose, will explain to tho unsuspecting purchaser that "It has been In tho family for centuries." Tho collector has no reason to suspect this statement, state-ment, and he adds tho bogus treasures treas-ures to his collection with joy in hl3 It occasionally happens that a dealer chances upon a. treasuro house of real ancient turnlturo in Bomo out ot tho way corner of the world, Tho owner knowB little of tho real value of tho what ho calls "rubbish," and as a rulo It has been relegated to tho attic years boforo. IIo regards thp ilonler who pays wbnt to 111 in noemsn fabulous sum for tho old furnlturo as a rich man with a hobby, and, taking tho money, proceods to refurnish his houso'wlth furnlturo ot tho most modern mod-ern design spring plush rockers, box couches and enameled beds. Now York Herald. |
