Specimen Days, ostensibly inscribed by Whitman
Philadelphia: David McKay, 1882. First Printing. Hardcover. 8vo, mustard gold publisher's cloth stamped in gilt, very good, with inscription on flyleaf from Whitman: "Joseph Beck from his friend Walt Whitman," along with another later ownership inscription from 1941. We bought this several years ago online and the signature looks very authentic, but the seller proved to be an ingenius forger -- the more so because he would often also sell authentically signed books alongside his forgeries, which made it even more difficult to catch him. But eventually he was exposed, and one of the outcomes was that the forger's father committed him to a mental hospital in Texas. We don't know what happened to him after that. A well known autograph dealer in Connecticut called him one of the most sophisticated and gifted forgers he'd ever seen. We paid a hell of a lot of money for this, but now we're simply offering it as an example of a forgery -- although there remains a faint chance that it is the real thing. Slightest wear and minor restoration along inner hinges. Very good. Item #H29406
Price: $450.00