The 'Flying Cloud Boston' and 'Agamemnon' reproductions are so well known, why do I keep on blogging about them? About four years ago, our friend Edmund the faker, sold a 'Flying Cloud Boston' on eBay as a 19th century original. I've described this as a 'double whammy', because not only is the plaque late 20th century, it's also covered in fake overpainting. The plaque resurfaced on eBay a couple of months ago (see left below), and I contacted the seller. He said he'd bought it on eBay a few years ago, from Edmund he thought, and promptly removed the listing. But unless you take a hammer to an object like this, it never really dies. So here it is again, like the proverbial bad penny, back on eBay, and listed as a 19th century original, along with an unpainted 'Agamemnon'.
Of course the seller might have bought the items in good faith, and why should he/she be out of pocket? I contacted them a couple of days ago, and despite a polite assurance they'd look into it, both plaques are still listed as 19th century. Bizarrely, the plaque now has some value as an item of curiosity, being vintage 'Edmund' and produced at the nadir of his powers. Whatever the outcome of the eBay auction, I doubt it will be the last we see of it.
P.S.
Sold for £31.61. A high price for a piece of modern junk!