I just received a great report from Gregory Henryabout last night’s event at The Strand.

Là

“It was at a standing room-only book reading last night at Strand Book Store for HUBERT’S FREAKS: The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus, a true story about a man named Bob Langmuir who buys the archives of Hubert’s Freak Show (the old Times Square institution) and much to his astonishment, finds previously unknown photos by Diane Arbus inside.

Much like the book, the event was insane. It started nicely enough, with Gibson reading from the book and taking questions. But at one point, he called on a man who began to try to hijack the reading. The man in reality is Bayo Ogunsanya, and he’s suing Bob Langmuir, saying that he sold him some of the Arbus photos without knowing what they were, and now Langmuir will be getting rich off of them (they will be auctioned off today at Phillips de Pury auction house).

Ogunsanya began demanding to be thanked in the book, insisting that he had been lied to, and had to be heckled down by Gibson and booed down by the audience. (Seriously, shouldn’t Ogunsanya’s lawyer have advised him not to attend the reading, since the lawsuit is still ongoing?)

Then, a self-described “magician and escape artist” jumped up and started to harass Gibson and Langmuir, saying that “Presto” the Magician (another Hubert’s freak) was dying in a rest home, and could use some of the money from the auction and the book.

A third character, a Hasidic man, announced to the crowd that he had sold Langmuir the photos. In my humble opinion, it’s insane how this world (of art and book collectors) contains so many characters who all come out of the woodwork when it seems like there’s money to be had.

Jack Dracula, who amazed and entertained tens of thousands at Hubert’s Museum and sideshows around the country, is a now diabetic double-amputee living in a rehab facility in Philadelphia. We know he’d appreciate your cards, letters or gifts, and even more importantly, your monetary support, in whatever amount. His address is:

Jack Baker
4712 Chester Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19132

Everett Johnson, aka Presto the Magician, another Hubert’s alum, is currently in the hospital in New Jersey.

Un collectionneur abusé / Découverte d’inédits de Diane Arbus /

Collectionneur africano-américain de Brooklyn, Bayo Ogunsanya accuse un autre collectionneur, Robert Langmuir, de l’avoir escroqué. Il reproche à ce dernier de ne pas avoir proposé un prix adéquat pour l’achat d’images inédites de la photographe Diane Arbus. Bayo Ogunsanya, 50 ans, avait acheté lors d’une vente d’objets non-réclamés une malle de photographies qui aurait appartenu à un homme d’affaires, manager du musée de l’excentrisme à Manhattan (fermé depuis 1965). Ignorant alors qu’il s’agit d’images jusqu’à ce jour inconnues de la célèbre photographe Diane Arbus, ce dernier a vendu une partie des images à Robert Langmuir pour la somme de 1 500 $. Quelques semaines plus tard, Robert Langmuir se serait porté acquéreur du reste des photographies, offrant à Bayo Ogunsanya la somme de 2 000 $. Il lui aurait alors fait la promesse d’une prime s’il s’avérait que les photographies étaient d’une grande valeur. Car en effet, les images représentant des personnages excentriques et insolites du Huberts’Dime Museum et du marché au puces de Times square dans les années 50 pourraient bien rapporter à son propriétaire plusieurs centaines de milliers de dollars. Bayo Ogunsanya se dit trompé par le collectionneur : “il était moralement tenu de m’offrir un prix équitable au moment où il en a su plus que moi sur ces photos”, a-t-il déclaré. Si la cour fédérale de Brooklyn pourrait convenir de bloquer la vente aux enchères prévue le mois prochain à Manhattan, le porte-parole de Robert Langmuir rejette catégoriquement la plainte. “M. Ogunsanya est un professionnel qui semble avoir des remords et qui essaie d’extorquer quelques dollars à mon client”, a déclaré Maître Peter Maltzer, avocat de Robert Langmuir. Affaire à suivre.