Encyclopedia of Exploration: Spoof Article

 

The spoof article in part 1 was found

With the publication of the first volume we announced in A NOTICE TO THE READER

Students of this encyclopedia must be warned that one of the articles in Part 1 is devoted entirely to a traveller of the author's invention. Such a ploy has for many years been incorporated not only into works of this nature, but also into maps and illustrations, as a means of protecting copyright. But rarely is the student made aware of it, and even less often is a reward, other than that of the type given in heaven, offered for its identification.

The offending article is of reasonable length and blends seamlessly with the names of other, legitimate travellers. The associated bibliography is also a fabrication. The spoof article is known only to the author; it has eluded the publisher, the copyeditor and the several learned authorities who perused the book prior to publication; but sufficient clues have been written into the text to allow recognition by the informed scholar without reference to other sources. A reward of a case of champagne is being offered by the publisher to the person who, armed with what the author considers incontrovertible justification, is the first to identify the impostor.