“COMPLEAT ANGLER.”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21266, 21 February 1931, Page 24

“COMPLEAT ANGLER.”

BRITISH MUSEUM DUPED.' FIRST TIME IN HISTORY. INGENIOUS DISGUISE OF DIRT. For the first time, it is believed, the British Museum- —recognised as the authority on rare books and first editions —lias been deceived into certifying a forgery as a genuine work. Not until the book, reputed to be the rare first edition of Izaak Walton’s “ The Compleat Angler,” published in 1053, and valued at more than £IOOO, was sent to a famous firm of literary auctioneers to be sold, was the discovery made that the volume is one of the cleverest of fakes, and that it was printed two years ago. The book was bought under unusual circumstances by Mr Arthur Carlton, the comic conjuror, while appearing at Collin’s Music Halit Islington. EXPERT ADVICE. “ I met an acquaintance who had an old book which, Tie said, he had bought for a few coppers,” Carlton said. “He said he knew nothing about books, he was hard up and would take £4 for it, providing that if it turned out to be valuable I would see him all right. “It was ostensibly a copy of the first edition of ‘The Compleat Angler,’ and I recalled that one had been sold some time ago for well over £IOOO, also that I had seen one at the British Museum. “ The next day at my club I met an old friend, Mr G. A. P. Rawlings, to whom I showed the book. He suggested we should get the opinion of the British Museum upon it. - “We took the book to the Museum, where a high official examined it minutely and took us down to compare it with theirs.

“ The Museum expert advised us to exercise our option and bring the book back to him, and he would get it repaired and cleaned. ; We purchased the book and took it back to the Museum the next day. After it had been there several days, we received a receipt for it, which we took to Sotheby’s to arrange for the sale by auction. “We were told that it might fetch £2OOO, so we gave them a letter of authority to view the book at the bookbinder’s. “ In the meantime I had refused an offer of £IOO and a percentage for my share, so imagine my complete surprise when Messrs Sotheby wrote us that it was a complete and ingenious fraud, which had undoubtedly deceived the British Museum and the bookbinders to the Museum.” THAT AGED LOOK. ; The fake was discovered by Messrs Sotheby’s expert holding the title-page dp to the light and revealing the erasure of a few words of modern print on the verso (back) of the page, denoting that the book was a fascimile issued in 1928. i “ Only the complete disguise of dirt could have thrown me so off my guard,” admitted the British Museum official later. Mr Carlton is puzzled what to do with his book. It has been suggested that he should present it to the Museum, together with the letter certifying its genuineness. This document reads: Received from Mr G. A. P. Rawlings, a copy of the first (1053) edition of Walton’s “ Compleat Angler,” which I have placed in the hands of Messrs Zaehnsdorf for repair.