Michael Vinson

I am interested in rare books and in Texas history; I collect the former and teach the latter. I have some books printed by Jenkins, including the inestimably important Basic Texas Books, important as a reference bibliography for teaching and writing Texas history, and important as a reference bibliography for book collectors. The story of Jenkins shady dealings and his mysterious demise has already been handled ably, in short form, in the Texas Monthly magazine. Here, rare book dealer Michael Vinson digs deep in the archives, including Jenkins's own, and interviews all the living major characters who worked with, against, and alongside Jenkins to present an interesting, engaging biography of a character. My only quibbles is that I would like more precise, technical, and illustrated evidence of the forgeries he sold (for that, see the Texas Monthly and a book called TexFake; I wish there were more photographs overall; and I wish there was a bibliography of the works Jenkins wrote and Jenkins published (along, perhaps, with a list of things he is suspected of stealing or forged). But, overall, it's a neat book. Pages 29-32, offering proof that the twentysomething Jenkins was stealing things from the Texas State Archives already is a gut-punch, a shameful travesty, and a fine bit of archival work and writing on Vinson's part.… (más)

I am a rare book librarian, and I found this a fascinating account of Johnny Jenkins, about whom I had heard rumors and a few stories from members of the generation right before me. The book is meticulously researched and well written- the author has clearly dug deep into archives, spoken to contemporaries, and even collected his own materials about this colorful character. He's right that this story has a strong Texas flavor, in which a good old boy with some brains and a charismatic personality was able to bluff his way into million dollar deals and garner international publicity while pulling off schemes on anyone who wasn't paying close enough attention. I learned quite a bit that is helpful to my trade about older forgery techniques as well as the back stories of a number of important book dealers (Wm. Reese and H.P. Kraus), institutions (like the Harry Ransom Center at UT-Austin), and Texas printing history. There are also stories about a number of wealthy oil men who took up collecting Texana who were often a little too trusting of Jenkins. But the whole thing is very well-documented, so I don't feel that it is mere gossip. Recommended for those in the field, and those interested in recent and distant Texas history.… (más)