Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - June - 2006 Issue
Books About More Than Just Books From Oak Knoll
One of the many catalogues in the Thomas Nelson and Sons collection.
For those who collect a more serious type of fraud, item 235 is the auction catalogue for The Library of the Late H. Buxton Forman (3 volumes). Forman was master forger Thomas Wise's comrade in unarmed frauds. However, his forgeries would not be discovered until more than a decade after Forman's death. At the time Anderson Galleries auctioned Forman's library (1920), the revelation of Wise's fraud and Forman's complicity was still a long way off. In looking over the catalogue, Oak Knoll notes that "even a brief spot check using one of the standard lists reveals the presence of several forgeries in this sale." One of the books in this sale contained correspondence between Wise and Forman tucked inside the cover which clearly established their conspiracy, though the buyer, noted collector Carl Pforzheimer, kept it under wraps for many years. $120.
Speaking of these frauds, item 718 is a genuine Wise forgery, if that isn't an oxymoron. The book is The Devil's Due, A Letter to the Editor of "The Examiner." The pamphlet is dated 1875. Bound in is a letter to the original buyer, John Spoor, stating that "less than" six copies are known, and that it was suppressed, no copies being known until 1897. "It is still quite unknown to many collectors." Oak Knoll points out that the reason this "1875" work was unknown until 1897 was that Wise didn't create the forgery until 1896. $1,000.
After his death, the library of the duped Mr. Spoor went up for sale at Parke-Bernet in 1939. Spoor purchased some 50 Wise forgeries. His auction catalogue is titled First Editions of English XVIII-XIX Century and American XIX Century Authors. Item 866. $65.
One more Wise item. It is a 1930 edition of his Ashley Library, a Catalogue...Collected by Thomas James Wise. This one includes an inscription by Wise to legendary bookseller A.S.W. Rosenbach. Rosenbach later revealed that he had known Wise to be a forger fifteen years before he was exposed, but did not want to say anything which would damage the reputation of a friend. Rosenbach was indeed a good friend to Wise, but perhaps not so to the others who unwarily purchased his forgeries. Item 887. $750.
Item 618 is Lester Sobel's Pornography, Obscenity and the Law (1979). We know at least two of those topics are of great interest. $25.
Item 830 is a large collection of catalogues and other material from British publisher Thomas Nelson and Sons. Items run from 1878-1973. This will be a wonderful resource for anyone who handles many of Nelson's books. Among their specialties were religious, educational and children's books. There are over 170 items in the collection. $850.
Oak Knoll Books may be found at www.oakknoll.com, phone number 302-328-7232.
