Lawrence of Arabia relics: obvious fakes?

Followup on a story reported here a few weeks back:

It was described as the pocket compass used by Lawrence of Arabia during his First World War desert adventures when it was sold by Christie's for more than £250,000.

But now the auction house is facing embarrassing claims from experts that it has been duped - and the successful bidder walked away with a £50 fake. . .

Christie's claimed the three items were given by Lawrence to Corporal Albert "Taffy' Evans, who they said was his unofficial chauffeur at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.

An inscription on the cigarette case reads: "I leave to my dear friend Taffy my compass which saw me safely across a wilderness so that he may occasionally know where he is going!'

But Lawrence's authorised biographer Jeremy Wilson says that during more than 30 years research on the British hero he has never come across any reference to a "Taffy' Evans working for Lawrence at the conference - or indeed any other driver.

And that's not the only problem with the pieces. Full article here.

Posted by David on October 21, 2006 8:45 PM