Page:Chats on old prints (IA chatsonoldprints00haydiala).pdf/66

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his attention to less valuable prints he may browse among thousands that are the most unlikely ever to have been fabricated. The nearer the collector goes to fashionable collecting the closer he comes to the limited area in which the forger works. Throughout this volume a great number of practical hints are given which should assist the collector to pursue his hobby in fields unattended by the dangers which assail the moneyed amateur who lifteth up his head and boasteth.

Where to Collect is the difficulty with the beginner. In London and in most of the big towns there are printsellers who have a miscellaneous stock to suit the requirements of their various customers. In the more fashionable quarters the shop begins to assume the title of "gallery," and the prices go up accordingly. But in less fashionable localities second-hand booksellers have a varied assortment of prints in portfolios for collectors to make their selection. Some firms make a specialty of portraits arranged alphabetically. It is obviously impossible here to mention names, although we should like to do so. Some printsellers are always willing to assist their clients in forming a collection, and readily impart knowledge acquired during many years of experience. The printseller nowadays is what the bookseller used to be before modern competition made his business into a mere commercial concern buffeted by discounts and advertisement. In the country there are frequently sales of furniture in which portfolios of engravings appear in the catalogue. In towns, especially in London, there are regular sales in