W. Thomas Taylor

𝘛𝘦𝘹𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 chronicles the Texan ephemera forgery scandal that blew apart the Texana collectors' market in the late 1980s, from bogus copies of the Texas Declaration of Independence up and down. Author Tommy Taylor, an Austin printer, bookmaker, and dealer himself, clearly documents the ways in which a small gang of crooks (supposed to include previously-reputable dealer and publisher Johnny Jenkins) cooked up a ridiculous number of VERY GOOD forged documents, many of them show more based on originals stolen and looted from Texas institutional libraries and universities. No one was ever prosecuted in the scandal, though ringleader Dorman David's reputation was forever ruined; John Jenkins was found dead with a gunshot to the back of his head in 1989 (maybe related to this, maybe related to his Las Vegas gambling debts; no one can now say). And how many faked documents are still out and floating around the market? Your guess is as good as anyone's, because whatever else the forgeries were, they were GOOD ones. For true-crime fans with a taste for literary rarity, this is a helluva good read and quite worth its price. show less

An excellent "keepsake" from S.M.U.'s DeGolyer Library about the little-known plot of Bartolomé Pagés to rescue Antonio López de Santa Anna from confinement by the Texians after the Battle of San Jacinto. But, further, about the forgery of the only known wanted poster for Mr. Pagés. This latter is related to the skullduggery described in Texfake: An Account of the Theft and Forgery of Early Texas Printed Documents. Interesting if you like bibliography and Texas history, and rarities show more to boot. show less

W. Thomas Taylor's extended discourse on discovering and uncovering the forgeries and sales of forgeries by C. Dorman David and John H. Jenkins. Minute, detailed, and illustrated. Interesting, especially if you like the history of books, documents, and Texas.