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 Fournier Forgery Album. No. 183, containing
approximately 3,000 items comprising unused and used singles, multiples and many surcharges and cancels, appears to be complete except for six empty spaces, pages in blue binder with "Album De Fac-Similés Edité Par L'Union Philatélique de Genève"
embossed in gold on front cover, slight cover wear mostly along edges, but this does not affect the spine or the integrity of the pages, also incl. purchase letter to Mr. Grandvoinnet dated 1929 and a few extra pieces mounted in the back of the
albumVERY FINE. A DESIRABLE EXAMPLE OF THE FOURNIER FORGERY ALBUM. ONLY 480 ALBUMS WERE MADE. According to Varro Tyler's Philatelic Forgers, Their Lives and Works, Fournier, unlike many of his contemporary forgers, did not seek to
defraud the public. He described his material as facsimiles and promoted it to collectors who could not afford to purchase genuine items and to uneducated collectors as a preventive measure against being deceived by dishonest stamp dealers. When
Fournier died in 1917, one of his employees, Charles Hirschburger, unsuccessfully tried to continue the business. When Hirschburger died in 1927, L'Union Philatélique de Genève purchased the Fournier stock, which weighed over 800 pounds, from
Hirschburger's widow. The Union then marked the forgeries with "FAUX" handstamps on the front and/or "Facsimile" on the reverse, and employed students from the Geneva School of Arts and Crafts to mount representative selections of the forgeries in
480 albums. Whatever was not placed into one of the books was burned to ashes. Because Fournier made forgeries from such a wide variety of countries, many of the 480 books have either been divided into country references or have had many items
removed. Very few remain intact or have the degree of completeness of this book. (Image) Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com |
E. $ 4,000-5,000
SOLD for $2,600.00
Will close during Public Auction |
