[Reference collection of 56 different fake Chinese propaganda posters]

n.p., n.d.. Poster. Fifty-six different Chinese propaganda posters, ostensibly issued from the beginning of the Cultural Revolution up through the late 1970s, but all of them actually recently produced counterfeits. Usually a giveaway on recent fakes is fuzziness or an anachronistic font used in the publisher's colophon at the bottom; this group is better than usual in this regard, and many of them could be deceptive to the uninformed if seen individually, but as a group, one obvious giveaway is the similar tan paper used consistently for posters that were supposedly printed over the span of more than a decade, and in various different cities. In a couple of instances, small wrinkles in the paper have interrupted the even printing of the tan color, proving that it has been applied, and is not the natural effect of age-toning (see the last photo for a close-up of one such printing error). Most appear to be reprints of genuine posters; the themes center around Mao veneration, with many appearances by Lin Biao. Almost all are in fine condition, with the exception of one with a torn and chipped edge. The group came from the estate of a deceased book dealer; we do not know how he obtained them or whether he knew they were fake. We offer the group as a cautionary tale and a possible reference collection.