<<As far as hoaxes go, I don't think you'd get a lot of
points for winding up us collector types. We're just too easy
as targets - we really want to believe.>>
Indeed. The main purpose of certain rare books seems be to
annoy those collectors that don't have them. This hoax was
elaborate. Pasting Loftus's name on the cover of an Edison
Bolonsky paperback is a nice touch. A collector eager to get
his hands on an unknown Loftus isn't going to think of the
cover art.
Years ago, I perpetrated a similar hoax on classical record
collectors. I started praising the work virtually unknown
pianist Igor Ardaevich Popov, several of whose concert
performances at TraktorFest (circa 1936) had miraculously
been preserved on fragile acetates. You would not believe how
many inquiries (and even offers of cold cash) I got. I told
them they needed to negotiate directly with Vladimir
Ardaevich Popov, the brother of the long-dead pianistic
genius...
Best, and are we infantile or what?
MrT
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