Forgery doesn't stop at paintings – literary classics, stamps, currency and even wine are in play. My final part of a three-part series on forgery and fraud concludes.
Paintings and drawings aren’t the only iconic pieces forged. The following group of master forgers duped the literati, the worlds of currency and philately, historical archivists and even wine experts. Sometimes, it’s about the thrill of the con, but more often, it’s about the money.
Read on for more cons.
The Literary Forger
1 : William Henry Ireland: British apprentice – confessed Shakespeare forger seeking paternal acceptance
In the late 1700s, 19-year-old apprentice William Henry Ireland began “discovering lost documents” in Shakespeare’s own handwriting in an old trunk. Ireland’s difficult father, Samuel, worshiped Shakespeare, so the scheme was the perfect way for son to connect with father.
As a prolific forger of the Bard, Ireland produced signatures, legal documents and manuscripts. He not only had his father’s attention, but the approval of experts as well. Essentially no documentation remained of anything relating to Shakespeare’s life or handwritten work, so experts and the public alike were ripe to accept Ireland’s fakes.
But when Ireland became bolder and wrote “a lost Shakespearean masterpiece” titled Vortigern and Rowena, the jig was up.
William Henry Ireland published An Authentic Account of the Shaksperian Manuscripts to clear his father’s name in 1800. In 1805, he published The Confessions of William Henry Ireland, but neither man could recover their reputations before their deaths. William Henry Ireland died in 1835 virtually penniless. (Note: these publications can be downloaded as PDFs.)
The Boy Who Would Be Shakespeare: A Tale of Forgery and Folly is a great read about Ireland’s antics.
The Currency Con
2 : Charles Ulrich: German engraver – convicted counterfeiter who lived large as a serial polygamist
Charles Ulrich made his name after he emigrated to New York City. In the 1860s, he became one of the greatest engravers of counterfeit US $100, $50 and $5 bill plates. Ulrich claimed that he produced more than $50,000 in fraudulent currency (about $850,000 via the Inflation Calculator), and more with his future partner, Henry C. Cole. But his weakness was not only money – Ulrich liked the ladies. So much so that he had a wife in several cities. And this would be his first downfall.
Ulrich had been incarcerated, but escaped many times over, and spent time on the run in Canada. In 1868, while in Cincinnati, all his women converged and gave him up to the police. Ulrich finally confessed and was sentenced to 12 years in a federal penitentiary.
Ulrich was pardoned in 1876 – shortly before he met Cole. In 1878, Ulrich was again captured, but became an informer to jail Cole. Testimony revealed that the counterfeit ring had made a fatal error. Some bills still bore the engraved signature of Register of the Treasury Lucius E. Chittenden. The problem was that Chittenden had been replaced before the genuine notes had been printed. Oops.
In 1907, Ulrich died at age 72 finishing his life as a legitimate engraver. His currency was said to be “unrivaled in delicacy of touch and matchless beauty of finish.”
The International Stamp Scam
3 : Jean de Sperati: Italian artist – convicted philatelic forger filling a need in the affordable art market
As a child in Italy in the late 1890s, Jean de Sperati was a stamp collector with an interest in printing and photography – his family printed postcards and owned a paper mill. A great foundation was in place for a future stamp counterfeiter.
When his first forgeries of San Marino stamps went over well, de Sperati fabricated 500 master-quality forgeries from more than 100 different issuing agencies. But in 1942, his shipment was intercepted. de Sperati managed to convince the officials that the stamps were not originals but forgeries for sale at a pittance of the actual value. How’s that for an argument?
de Sperati was charged with fraud instead of the more severe crime of exporting capital. In his 1948 trial, he proclaimed himself an artist and not a counterfeiter. However, he was sentenced to a year in jail and fined 310,00 francs. At 64 years old, he never served time. In 1954, he sold his collection for a bundle and died three years later.
Jean de Sperati is best known for his remarkable red 1913 £2 Kangaroo stamp. His forgeries are considered by many to be the best in the world, and sell at Sotheby’s and Christie’s for thousands.
The Great Wine Shams
4 : Various people – orchestrating massive wine fraud operations
There are several well-known fraud rings in the world of oenophiles.
When the investigation was ongoing in 2014, Tuscany was facing one of the biggest wine scams in its history. According to Decanter, Italian police have seized fake Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino wines, enough to fill more than 200,000 bottles. Cheap wine was switched out and falsely identified as two of Italy’s most famous brands. Fortunately the wine never left the distributors.
Wine Spectator reported that an unidentified wine consultant was – suspected of fraud, hacking and embezzlement. It’s still unclear whether the wineries were duped by the alleged fraudster, or complicit.
While the Italian scam was being discovered, Rudy Kurniawan, a wealthy Indonesian wine collector, was being sentenced to 10 years in jail for wine fraud by a New York court. Kurniawan’s specialty was Burgundies. By gaining the trust of auction houses, billionaires, and knowledgeable, fanatical collectors, Kurniawan spent millions of dollars on authentic wine while selling thousands of bottles of fake wine.
When the FBI raided the fraudster’s Los Angeles home, it found crates of empty bottles, corks, fake labels, and vintage printing paper. Kurniawan was refilling his empties with cheap wine, creating fake labels and vintages, then cosmetically aging the bottles for sale to his coteries. He was so convincing, and collectors wanted to believe the scam so badly, that Kurniawan racked up close to $35 million. Watch the wonderful documentary Sour Grapes to find how Rudy was finally brought down. Words of wisdom: Don’t screw over any of the Koch brothers.
This story continues after the 2016 documentary.
As recently as July of this year, another wine ring was uncovered across Europe and stretching into Moldova and Russia. Six arrests were made in Spain in mid-July after evidence was found that an international network was producing and marketing adulterated grape must – by substituting corn syrup to make the must – along with wine and spirit. The take was more than $100 million. Follow the money has never been more true.
On a final note: A captivating 2018 documentary about the art world is The Price of Everything. Aptly titled, taken from Oscar Wilde play Lady Windermere's Fan "There are a lot of people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing." The documentary reflects the often lack of passion for art, but the huge passion for the deal by gallery owners, collectors, auctioneers, investors, and some artists.
Images: William Henry Ireland confession and forgeries; forged currency by Charles Ulrich: $100 note, 1868 with Chittenden signature, other notes, 186; and fake stamps, et al from Jean de Sperati are all in public domain. Wine bottle montage: © 2020 Janet Giampietro; original photo by Lambros Lyrarakis on Unsplash.
