Houston’s Museum of Printing History is one of my favorite local haunts. I’ve attended meetings there, visited exhibits, and shown off the museum to friends. Writers get a kick out of the miniature book collection. Artists embrace the working galleries and paper making classes. History buffs revel in the recreated printing shops and Early Texas news. This summer the halls are full of stories that brim with deception. Houston hoaxes. Surely I can find a free hour or two between now and the end of September to check this out:
Forgers, Frauds, & Pirates:
Faking the Book
May 10 – September 30, 2007Exposing the dark side of the literary world, this exhibition gathers many of the most infamous examples of published deception to appear over the past four hundred years. Visitors to the exhibition will see copies of the Texas Declaration of Independence and a newspaper account of the death of George Washington, as well as other works. All are fraudulent. Behind these fake objects stand the fascinating stories of their forgers, depicting the wide range of motives and personalities behind these frauds — which sometimes led to other crimes, including murder. Be sure not to miss our cases devoted to forgeries and hoaxes perpetrated in Houston.
