Fakes
&
Forgeries...
Frauds & Hoaxes
INTRODUCTION
This collection began as simply a small collection of books on art fakes and fraud; from there is has expanded wildly, to include literary forgery, counterfeiting, exploration hoaxes, nefarious imposters with devious intent, and much, much more. There is a common thread running through most of these tales, a common denominator which Thomas Hoving terms the "greed - speed - need" factor. Most fraud and forgery succeeds because this factor exists. Simply put, it is:
Greed -The price is a steal, what a bargain!
Speed -If I don't get it now someone else will snap it up!
Need -I really want it!Thomas Hoving's book, "False Impressions", is a fascinating collection of tales of the fakes and forgers he encountered during his years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and throughout the book this same set of factors recurs time after time. Throughout the literature of fraud and hoaxing which we have assembled all the scams rely on these same elements.
Interestingly, even frauds which do not on the surface appear to fit the pattern do fit it if you look hard enough. Exploration hoaxes, for instance, basically succeed because of need -the wish to believe that humans can conquer the elements/distance/dangers, etc., and also greed, as when an entire nation supports a dubious claim on the grounds that "he's our guy" and we look better if he succeeds.
We have also included some materials relating to gentler hoaxes -that is hoaxes which were not intended to defraud, and which the hoaxers imagined seemed to be so silly that nobody should have been deceived... and of course, someone always ends up taking the whole thing seriously (for instance, The Old Librarian's Almanack). So where is the line drawn? We have choosen not to draw it. You can never, in the end, underestimate some people's desire to be fooled.
This has been an interesting catalog to assemble, we hope you enjoy it.
Bookcases-
One || Two || Three
