SOME FRAGILE HOPES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 137, 26 June 1937, Page 11

SOME FRAGILE HOPES

Old Books and Lost Fortunes

One of the things which struek John Gibbona when he-. used" to answer qucs1 tious for a popular paper was the vast number of people who were encouraged by reports of auctions to think that they possessed valuable old books or pictures. If . a rare edition of Eil-grim's-Progress were auctioned 'at £i090, -there would be floods of letters from people who also had very ancient bookp, and wanted 'to know how* they could get their £1000. * ' This has queer pictures in, ' 3 one let. ter ssid, "therefore is must be still more valuable." It was the same with pictures and coins, and Mr Gibbons often thought it was pathetic for hardup people- to waste stamps sending in ituff not worth twopence. Another class of letter-writer was eomposed of those who believed that they were heirs to lost fortunes. "I've

kPown people go literally mad, hunting for estates like that," said Mr Gibbons. "They give up their jobs and spend -their days Kaunting the Law Courts and searching old. papers in free libraries, and they get shabbier and shabbier, ' and- finally go insape, hunting for a fortune which 'isn't there. These are extreme cases, of course, but I know there must be thousands of deceal families believing themselves own?rs of some mysterious estate if only Micy had their rights! It's no secret. The Law Courts themselves periodically issue a statement warning the publie against lost fortunes, but because it's an official statement in a dryloolring paper, the nnbli* d^^sn't read it." Mr Gibbons admitted, that there is money left to people, and there aro old books and so forth worth big sums; but it is' not wise to set too much store on fragile hopes.