Forgery Collection (page 4)

Piltdown flake implement
Piltdown, Sussex item E.612 held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown flints
Collection of Piltdown flints held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown Eolithic flint
Piltdown, Sussex item E.614 held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown rolled flake
Piltdown, Sussex item E.613 held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown flint implement
Piltdown, Sussex item E.605 held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown Palaeolith flint
Piltdown, Sussex item E.685 held at The Natural History Museum, London

Equus sp. horse
Upper molar tooth from a species of the Equus genus. Item E. 602 of the animal fossil specimens found at Piltdown, Sussex, 1912-15, held at the Natural History Museum, London

Castor fiber, Eurasian beaver
Lower molar tooth of a Eurasian beaver. Item E. 603 of the animal fossil specimens found at Piltdown, Sussex, 1912-15, held at the Natural History Museum, London

Echinocarys, echinoid hoax
A hoax fossil echinoid found at Piltdown, Sussex. Specimen now held at the Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown memorial
July 1938, Sir Arthur Smith Woodward next to the memorial marking the site of the discovery of the Piltdown skull by Charles Dawson. Photograph loaned to Museum by Charles Taylor Trechmann

Professor J. S. Weiner
Pretoria born scientist who became Reader in Physical Anthropology at Oxford. In 1953 he famously exposed the Piltdown Man as a fraud

Piltdown 1 jaw
Left lateral view of Piltdown 1 jaw. Held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown 1 jaw and Piltdown 2 left molar
Occlusal view of Piltdown 1 jaw with Piltdown 2 left molar. Held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown 1 cranium
Five pieces that represent the Piltdown 1 cranium (not including jaw). Held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown 1 molar
Scanning electron microscope view of molar surface showing scratch marks

Piltdown skull
Three-quarter view of model reconstruction of the Piltdown skull

Excavations at Piltdown c. 1913
Arthur Smith Woodward and the Abbe Henri Breuil at Piltdown

Homo sapiens molars (Piltdown 1)
Examination of the Piltdown dentition revealed that the molars which had been claimed to have been discovered in 1913 were abraded to make them appear older. They were in fact molars from an Orangutan

Piltdown 1 molars
Examination of the Piltdown dentition revealed that the molars which had been claimed to have been discovered in 1913 were abraded to make them appear older. They were in fact molars from an Orangutan

Arthur Keith (1866-1955)
Portrait of Arthur Keith, a Scottish anatomist and anthropologist, in 1912. In 1935 he re-evaluated his 1914 interpretation of the Piltdown fossil

Piltdown Man (Model based on Piltdown 1 & 2)

Piltdown cricket bat
Side view of sharpened piece of elephant thighbone, presented as a digging implement. Commonly referred to as the Piltdown cricket bat. Held at The Natural History Museum, London

Barkham Manor, Piltdown
The Barkham Manor Piltdown I site, c. 1912, from vantage point due east of the manor house

Preliminary flourine test of the Piltdown remains in 1949
Dr Kenneth Oakley discussing with Mr L. E. Parsons (right) where the mandible of Piltdown man could be sampled with the least risk of damage

Piltdown 1 jaw with Piltdown 2 molar

Still Searching At Piltdown
A general impression of the Piltdown Gravel Pit, East Sussex c. 1913, with the goose Chipper, and from left to right, Venus Hargreaves, Arthur Smith Woodward, Charles Dawson

Piltdown bone implement (cricket bat)
Several views of a single specimen. Plate XIV, Dawson & Woodward, 1915

Sir Arthur Keith at the Piltdown memorial
July 22 1938, Sir Arthur Keith unveiling the memorial marking the site of the discovery of the Piltdown skull by Charles Dawson. Photograph loaned to Museum by Charles Taylor Trechmann

GEORGE BIDWELL (c1837-1899). George Bidwell and Edwin Noyes Hills examined in front of the Lord Mayor before their trial for forgery at London, England, 1873

GEORGE BIDWELL (c1837-1899). American confidence man. The trial of George and Austin Bidwell, George MacDonald, and Edwin Noyes Hills for forgery at the Central Criminal Court in Old Bailey, London

GEORGE BIDWELL (c1837-1899). American con man. Bidwell in chains during his fourteen years imprisonment in England for forgery

A profitable crop of Onions grown in Canada! I think a certain amount of photo trickery has been employed here.... 1910

Landing record pike at Winneconne, Wisconsin
Landing some record pike at Winneconne (a village in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States). It is possible a little bit of photographic trickery was employed in obtaining this picture

Fantasy Fishing
Two groups of fishermen make a couple of record catches on a North American river! These have to be the largest perch ever seen! 1903

Frontispiece to Dodds Discourses
The frontispiece to a publication by William Dodd, an English forger and cleric. Date: 19th Century

Charles Price
The notorious swindler and bank-note forger, Charles Price, who committed suicide in 1786. Date: 18th Century

L Abbe de la Coste
The French forger, L Abbe de la Coste, looks rather disgruntled, having been tied to a post, hands bound, a dog relieving itself on him

Coiners detected
Police apprehend a gang of counterfeiters forging money, while their children play innocently in the foreground. Date: 1838

The Pigott forgery
Richard Pigott, (1835-1889), an Irish journalist who is best know for forging a number of letters. He later admitted his crime, fled to Spain and committed suicide in 1889. Date: 1887

Wills forgery trial
Defendants take the stand during the Wills forgery trial in 1844: Sanders and Mrs Sanders. Date: April 1844

Joseph Hunton at the bar of the Old Bailey, tried for forgery on 28th October 1828. Date: 1828

Magnifying glass on sheet of real Dali signatures
Art forgery detection. Magnifying glass on a sheet of authenticated Salvador Dali (1904-1989) signatures. They show all of the different ways he signed his name throughout his life

Cheque fraud. Image showing how ultra violet (UV) light is used to detect cheque fraud. The upper and lower image show the same cheque (from 1965)

X-ray images of a suspected art forgery
Art forgery detection. Dr Andreas Burmester attaches X-ray plates of a suspected forged painting to a light box for examination. Together the four plates provide complete coverage of the painting

Forged painting seen under ultraviolet light

Technician uses infra-red scanner on forged art
Art forgery detection. Technician operating an infra-red scanner as it illuminates a section of a forged painting. This is a copy of a painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)

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"Unraveling the Threads of Deception: The Enigmatic World of Forgery" In 1689, a young Sir Isaac Newton sat for a portrait, unaware that his image would later become entangled in a web of deceit. Little did he know that centuries later, this innocent painting would pale in comparison to the infamous Loch Ness Monster sightings. But it was not mythical creatures alone that captured public imagination; rather, it was the Piltdown Man memorial erected in 1938. A discussion on the Piltdown skull by John Cooke shed light on its dubious origins and sparked controversy among scholars. As headlines blared "Piltdown Man: The Most Ancient Inhabitant of England, " doubts began to creep into scientific circles. A clandestine forgery meeting ensued, where experts dissected every detail surrounding this supposed ancient ancestor. The Piltdown man reconstructed with meticulous precision fooled even seasoned geologists at Piltdown. They were unwittingly drawn into an elaborate hoax that shook the foundations of evolutionary theory. Yet forgery is not confined to historical artifacts alone. From art to agriculture, deception knows no bounds. Just as Canada celebrated its largest ear of corn grown within its borders, a wine counterfeiter disguised as an excursionist met his downfall near Kufstein's Bavarian border in Germany. Throughout history, individuals like "The Falsifier Fool" have sought personal gain through their crafty manipulations – brush and Indian ink on paper serving as their tools of choice during times when authenticity mattered most. Forgery serves as a stark reminder that truth can be elusive and appearances deceiving. It challenges our notions of trust and forces us to question what we hold dear – whether it be portraits or prehistoric remains. So let us delve into these tales woven by masterful impostors and learn from them. For only through understanding past deceptions can we hope to safeguard against future forgeries lurking beneath seemingly genuine facades.