Forgery Collection

1689 Sir Isaac Newton portrait young
Sir Isaac Newton ( 4 January 1643 -31 March 1727). English physicist and mathematician. 18th Century Mezzotint portrait after the painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller 1689, with later colouring

Lochness Monster
A dramatic picture of the supposed giant water creature that lives in Loch Ness, Scotland and its small offspring, followed by divers holding underwater cameras

A discussion on the Piltdown skull by John Cooke
Portrait group of well-known British scientists examining the Piltdown skull. This topical painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1915

Piltdown Man memorial, 1938
The site of the discovery of the Piltdown skull: the monolith memorial unveiled by Sir Keith Arthur on 22nd July 1938. The memorial was placed in the grounds of Barkham Manor at Piltdown

Largest ear of corn grown in Canada
Humorous card depicting the Largest ear of corn grown in Canada !! 1910

Piltdown Man article- The most ancient inhabitant of England
The most ancient inhabitant of England: the newly found Sussex Man. A page from the Illustrated London News by W.P Pycraft, examining the parallels between the Piltdown Man skull and jaw

Piltdown forgery meeting
Meeting to present the extent of the forgery at the Geological Society of London at Burlington House on 30 June 1954

Piltdown man reconstructed
The Piltdown man sketched by A. Forestier after Professor Keiths reconstruction, and an inset showing an alterative reconstruction after Dr. A. Smith Woodward

Geologists at Piltdown
Geologists Association party visiting the pit at Piltdown on 12 July 1913

Exhibits at the British Museum including the fake Cerveteri Sarcophagus (b/w photo)
8664254 Exhibits at the British Museum including the fake Cerveteri Sarcophagus (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Museum pieces)

Copy of a forged passport with which a Vagabond travelled the length of England
3330166 Copy of a forged passport with which a Vagabond travelled the length of England; (add.info.: Copy of a forged passport with which a Vagabond travelled the length of England)

Chinese False Colours Flag, c.1926 (cotton)
7340523 Chinese False Colours Flag, c.1926 (cotton) by Chinese School (20th century) ; 119.4x106.7 cm; National Maritime Museum, London

A woodcut engraving depicting Bradford's hydrostatic instrument for measuring the specific gravity
5311321 A woodcut engraving depicting Bradford's hydrostatic instrument for measuring the specific gravity and therefore the purity, of a coin

Fake seal of King Henry II
3330382 Fake seal of King Henry II; (add.info.: Fake seal of King Henry II (1133-1189) King of England. Dated 12th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Fake seal of King Henry II
3330380 Fake seal of King Henry II; (add.info.: Fake seal of King Henry II (1133-1189) King of England. Dated 12th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

The capture of Moses Shapira
5616182 The capture of Moses Shapira; (add.info.: Cartoon depicting the capture of Moses Shapira (1830-1884) who traded in forged biblical artifacts. Dated 19th Century

Virgin and Child with saints, 20th-century painting on 14th-century antiphonary. Creator: Venetian Forger
Virgin and Child with saints, 20th-century painting on 14th-century antiphonary. Miniature - detail

The Celebrated Dealer Nishimura Exposing an Art Forger, 1875. Creator: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
The Celebrated Dealer Nishimura Exposing an Art Forger, 1875. Series: The Postal News, no. 466

Saints with attendants, 20th-century painting on 14th-century antiphonary. Creator: Venetian Forger
Saints with attendants, 20th-century painting on 14th-century antiphonary. Miniature - detail

Madonna of Humility, (falsification of), 1910-1930. Creator: Unknown
Madonna of Humility, (falsification of), 1910-1930. Alternative titles: Maria de umilitade; Madonna dell'humilta. Modern forgery in the style of the Florentine School of the 15th century

Portrait of a man, c.1910-c.1935. Creator: Unknown
Portrait of a man, c.1910-c.1935. Bust of a scholar, fake in the style of Melozzo da Forli 1438-1494). Manner of Melozzo da Forli

Hand Forged Adze, c. 1936. Creator: Donald Streeter
Hand Forged Adze, c. 1936

The Falsifier Fool, 1660-86 (brush and Indian ink on paper)
7308534 The Falsifier Fool, 1660-86 (brush and Indian ink on paper) by Stettler, Wilhelm (1643-1708); 11.5x10.5 cm; Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Wine counterfeiter disguised as excursionist caught at the Bavarian border near Kufstein, Germany
7278820 Wine counterfeiter disguised as excursionist caught at the Bavarian border near Kufstein, Germany by Unknown Artist

Forgery of coin adulteration at the time of the Thirty Years'War
7279939 Forgery of coin adulteration at the time of the Thirty Years War by Unknown Artist, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

David Colbreth Broderick of California, between 1855 and 1865. Creator: Unknown
Hon. David C. Broderick of Cal. between 1855 and 1865. [Lawyer and politician. Moved to San Francisco during the California Gold Rush of 1849

Landscape (album leaf), 18th century or later (ink on paper)
5931049 Landscape (album leaf), 18th century or later (ink on paper) by Son, Chong (1676-1759); 21.8x13.8 cm; Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution

Landscape (album leaf), 18th century or later (ink on paper)
5931048 Landscape (album leaf), 18th century or later (ink on paper) by Son, Chong (1676-1759); 21.8x15.1 cm; Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution

Landscape (album leaf), 18th century or later (ink on paper)
5931045 Landscape (album leaf), 18th century or later (ink on paper) by Son, Chong (1676-1759); 21.8x15.2 cm; Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution

Discovery of the Piltdown Man in 1911
BAL4279 Discovery of the Piltdown Man in 1911 by Cooke, Arthur Claude (1867-1951); Geological Society, London, UK; (add.info.: discovered in 1912 by Charles Dawson; )

The Great City Forgeries, Examination of Bidwell and Noyes at the Mansion House (engraving)
1052806 The Great City Forgeries, Examination of Bidwell and Noyes at the Mansion House (engraving) by Durand, Godefroy (1832-1896); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Great City Forgeries)

Landscape (album leaf), 18th century or later (ink on paper)
5931046 Landscape (album leaf), 18th century or later (ink on paper) by Son, Chong (1676-1759); 21.8x13.8 cm; Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution

Henry Fauntleroy, banker hanged for forgery in 1824 (engraving)
7200927 Henry Fauntleroy, banker hanged for forgery in 1824 (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Henry Fauntleroy)

Man examining a coin (colour litho)
7150205 Man examining a coin (colour litho) by Clarke, Joseph Clayton (Kyd) (1856-1937); Private Collection; (add.info.: Man examining a coin, humorous card)

Spoof of Rudyard Kiplings poem, The Vampire (litho)
7200524 Spoof of Rudyard Kiplings poem, The Vampire (litho) by English School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Spoof of Rudyard Kiplings poem, The Vampire)

Small soapstone tablet, with pierced relief of Manjusri on lion, Period of Division, dated 543

Buddhist tablet in the form of a miniature shrine, Period of Division, ca. 520

Imitation banknote etched by George Cruikshank in 1818, satirising the inflication of capital punishment for forgery
3635120 Imitation banknote etched by George Cruikshank in 1818, satirising the inflication of capital punishment for forgery (engraving) by English School

The Great City Forgeries, Trial of the Accused at the Central Criminal Court (engraving)
1048952 The Great City Forgeries, Trial of the Accused at the Central Criminal Court (engraving) by Corbould, Alfred Chantrey (1852-1920); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Great City Forgeries)

Arrest of a counterfeiter in Puteaux, France (colour litho)
2795638 Arrest of a counterfeiter in Puteaux, France (colour litho) by French School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Arrest of a counterfeiter in Puteaux, France)

Little Women - Mrs March and Jo read a letter
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - Mrs March and Jo read a letter, purporting to be a love letter to Meg from John Brooke, but actually a practical joke and forgery. 1880

Yugao vines and a poem, Hanging scroll (mounted on panel)
3741869 Yugao vines and a poem, Hanging scroll (mounted on panel), 18th-19th century (colour on paper) by Japanese School, (18th-19th century); 109.2x47.5 cm; Freer Gallery of Art

The Forgers Arrest (engraving)
3634812 The Forgers Arrest (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Forgers Arrest. Illustration for Chatterbox, 1888)

The Arrest Of Famous French Fraudster Teresa Humbert And Her Family In A Modest Apartment In Madrid (Colour Litho)
2798621 The Arrest Of Famous French Fraudster Teresa Humbert And Her Family In A Modest Apartment In Madrid (Colour Litho) by Beltrame

Discovery Of A Counterfeit Coin Factory In Rome, Police Officers, Transvestites, Struggling With... (colour litho)
2798492 Discovery Of A Counterfeit Coin Factory In Rome, Police Officers, Transvestites, Struggling With... (colour litho) by Beltrame

The Will Forgeries, Re-Examination of the Prisoners at the Mansion-House (engraving)
1101011 The Will Forgeries, Re-Examination of the Prisoners at the Mansion-House (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Will Forgeries)

Specimen of the siderographic plan for preventing the forgery of banknotes submitted to the bankers of the United
6032977 Specimen of the siderographic plan for preventing the forgery of banknotes submitted to the bankers of the United Kingdom by Perkins, Fairman & Heath (engraving) by English School

The Norton Forgeries (engraving)
1627318 The Norton Forgeries (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Norton Forgeries. Illustration for The Illustrated London News, 12 August 1893)

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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.