Forgery: References & Edit History
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Additional Reading
Literary forgery
J.A. Farrer, Literary Forgeries (1907, reprinted 1969), provides a good introduction, which may be supplemented by H.T.F. Rhodes, The Craft of Forgery (1934); and S. Cole, Counterfeit (1955). For individual forgers and forgeries, see E.H.W. Meyerstein, A Life of Thomas Chatterton (1930); T.G. Ehrsam, Major Byron (1951); A.N.L. Munby, Phillipps Studies, vol. 4 (1956), on Constantine Simonides; and B.A. Morrissette, The Great Rimbaud Forgery (1956). E.J. Goodspeed, Modern Apocrypha (1956), gives an authoritative account of modern forgeries of Christian writings. On medieval forgeries, see the classic essay by T.F. Tout, “Medieval Forgers and Forgeries,” John Rylands Library Bulletin, 5:208–234 (1919); and for an example of forged charters, R.W. Southern, “The Canterbury Forgeries,” English Historical Review, 73:193–226 (1958). On the detection of forgeries see W.R. Harrison, Suspect Documents: Their Scientific Examination (1958), and Forgery Detection: A Practical Guide (1964); and J.V.P. Conway, Evidential Documents (1959).
Forgery in the visual arts
Sepp Schuller, Fälscher, Händler und Experten (1959; Eng. trans., Forgers, Dealers, Experts, 1960); and Heinrich Schmitt (pseudonym Frank Arnau), Kunst der Fälscher, Fälscher der Kunst (1959; Eng. trans., Three Thousand Years of Deception in Arts and Antiques, 1961), are both standard anthologies. Dietrich Von Bothmer and Joseph V. Noble, An Inquiry into the Forgery of the Etruscan Terracotta Warriors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1961), is the exhaustive technical and art historical study of an important group of clever forgeries. A similar article is Joseph V. Noble, “The Forgery of Our Greek Bronze Horse,” Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 26:253–256 (1968). Stories of frauds told from the viewpoint of the forgers are given in Lawrence Jeppson, The Fabulous Frauds (1970).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
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Gerald Bonner
Emeritus Reader in Theology, University of Durham, England. Distinguished Professor of Early Christian Studies, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., 1991–94.
- Joseph Veach Noble
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
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Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article title updated for style. | Nov 08, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Michigan - Notes on Imitation and Forgery. | May 22, 2020 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 21, 2016 | ||
| Added video. | Dec 14, 2015 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Oct 13, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Feb 15, 2008 | ||
| Article revised. | Apr 22, 2004 | ||
| Article revised. | Jan 18, 2002 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Oct 01, 1998 |