W.J. Elvin III - The Art of the Prank

March 13, 2009December 15, 2023

LiteratEye #5: A Case of Cooked Books?

Here’s the fifth installment of LiteratEye, a series found only on The Art of the Prank Blog, by W.J. Elvin III, editor and publisher of FIONA: Mysteries & Curiosities of Literary Fraud & Folly and the LitFraud blog.

LiteratEye #5: A Case of Cooked Books?
By W.J. Elvin III
March 13, 2009

A Rock and a Hard Place Scanning the big picture – a controversial book plus all the investigations and commentary over the years – well, looks to me like more red flags than at a Stalin-era May Day parade in Moscow. The book in question is the excellently written tragic autobiography of Anthony Godby Johnson, age, at the time he wrote it, 14.

“Tony” suffered from AIDS, TB, syphilis, loss of a leg, loss of a testicle, fifty or so broken bones that healed badly, and a host of other serious traumas such as forced prostitution to a celebrity sex ring. He is now reported by his adoptive father to be a happy and healthy young man in his 30s, or maybe late 20s. His story inspired a novel, TV specials and a film – mostly, it should added, from a somewhat doubting perspective.

A big problem was, and is, only one reporter of the many who have questioned the truth of the book actually saw Tony, and even that one reporter now has doubts about the glimpse she got. On the other hand, several people have signed affidavits swearing they know Tony, and still others have made the claim informally.

The book, A Rock and a Hard Place came out about fifteen years ago but has re-appeared in recent news stories due to problems faced by psychologist Marc Zackheim, the adoptive father who recently cited his experience raising Tony as a credential in applying to run a home for troubled boys on the island of Guam. He was awarded the contract, but then a government auditor on the island raised questions resulting in cancellation.

The questions come easy, the answers are another story. Continue reading “LiteratEye #5: A Case of Cooked Books?”

March 6, 2009December 15, 2023

LiteratEye #4: The Fix Is In: Planted Documents

Here’s the fourth installment of LiteratEye, a new series, only on The Art of the Prank Blog, by W.J. Elvin III, editor and publisher of FIONA: Mysteries & Curiosities of Literary Fraud & Folly and the LitFraud blog.

LiteratEye #4: The Fix Is In: Planted Documents
By W.J. Elvin III
March 6, 2009

Monk Transcribing Scriptures The recent fuss about President Obama”s birth certificate started me thinking about the broader topic of “planted” documents. Three modern cases, involving murder, fraud and theft came to mind.

The first case features a brilliant fellow, for a time a highly respected document dealer, who concluded his career as an expert forger by committing two murders.

It is the dream of every “picker” to be rummaging through the bargain bin of a second hand bookstore only to discover a real rarity. That actually happened for Mark Hofmann. The twist was that Hofmann had planted this particular document in the bin in the first place. Continue reading “LiteratEye #4: The Fix Is In: Planted Documents”

March 4, 2009December 15, 2023

LiteratEye Extra: China”s Prank Thwarts “˜Theft of Culture”

Editor’s Note: W.J. Elvin III’s LiteratEye column about literary hoaxes is featured here, and only here, every Friday. This is a LiteratEye Extra:

News Analysis: China”s Prank Thwarts “˜Theft of Culture”
by W.J. Elvin III, March 3, 2009

artchinanewsafpgi-200 Do pranks have a role in repairing theft of culture? Apparently the Chinese think so. Quite often, theft of culture refers to items captured by a conquering army, so-called “spoils of war,” sometimes excused as “war souvenirs.” There are many other ways items of cultural significance are liberated from their proper homes including outright theft, sale by someone who has no right to sell, and treasure hunting (sometimes in the respectable guise of archaeology), to name a few.

Examples could be drawn from the world over (see More nations demanding return of relics, from Business Inquirer) but this particular case is from China, formerly a huge shopping mart for collectors and now trying to reclaim some historic cultural items it considers plundered. When two extraordinarily valuable Chinese bronzes went up for auction the other day, the high bidder at nearly $40-million, a Chinese government official, then refused to pay. Continue reading “LiteratEye Extra: China”s Prank Thwarts “˜Theft of Culture””

February 27, 2009January 15, 2019

LiteratEye #3: Really Great Sermon, Sir; Could I Have Your Autograph?

Here’s the third installment of LiteratEye, a new series, only on The Art of the Prank Blog, by W.J. Elvin III, editor and publisher of FIONA: Mysteries & Curiosities of Literary Fraud & Folly and the LitFraud blog.

And, as an added treat, here’s an article about author, W.J. Elvin III, from the Cumberland Times-News that appeared this week.

LiteratEye #3: Really Great Sermon, Sir; Could I Have Your Autograph?
By W.J. Elvin III
February 27, 2009

jesus-autograph-200

It began with an innocent question posed on one of the “ask the expert” sites. Someone wanted to know the value of a Superman autograph. The kindly expert explained that Superman was a fictitious character, and that there might be some value to autographs of persons who had played the role.

That got me thinking about fictitious autographs. Not fake autographs of real people but those of, say, Sherlock Holmes or Paul Bunyon or Nancy Drew. I wondered if anyone had tried to sell such a thing.

I asked around. Oddly, the name that came up most often from dealers was “Jesus.”

Now, that poses a dilemma. Continue reading “LiteratEye #3: Really Great Sermon, Sir; Could I Have Your Autograph?”

February 20, 2009January 15, 2019

LiteratEye #2: Author Keven McQueen Recalls A Master Prankster of Yesteryear

Here’s the second installment of LiteratEye, a new series, only on The Art of the Prank Blog, by W.J. Elvin III, editor and publisher of FIONA: Mysteries & Curiosities of Literary Fraud & Folly and the LitFraud blog.

LiteratEye #2: Author Keven McQueen Recalls A Master Prankster of Yesteryear
By W.J. Elvin III
February 20, 2009

It is quite possible that the name “Joseph Mulhattan” does not set bells ringing and lights flashing in the minds of modern readers, even if those readers seriously appreciate pranks and hoaxes. Keven McQueen may correct that regrettable state of affairs one day, when he finalizes his book on one of the master pranksters in journalism history.

Mulhattan’s bizarre news articles – perhaps hundreds – were often swallowed whole by the press and public of his era. “Mulhattan convinced our ancestors that a lost race of Aztecs had lived in Kentucky, that a meteor had demolished a sizable portion of Texas, that trained monkeys were a threat to American labor and that two moons orbited the earth. The last two hoaxes even fooled some scientists,” McQueen told me, adding: “Some of his tall tales survive today in the form of what we now call urban legends.”

Mulhattan was a very successful traveling salesman by trade but it was his sensational “news” that secured a position in the national spotlight. According to McQueen, Mulhattan was as well known in his day as Mark Twain or Jules Verne. He convinced many readers that the bodies of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were to be exhumed and put on display, viewable for a fee, in celebration of the Centennial in 1876. A story attributed to him about David Lang, a Kentuckian who disappeared in thin air before witnesses, still appears today as a “strange but true” report. His tale of trained monkeys replacing farm laborers provoked angry editorials and brought hate mail to the innocent farmer whom Mulhattan mischievously credited with the innovation. Continue reading “LiteratEye #2: Author Keven McQueen Recalls A Master Prankster of Yesteryear”