Counterfeits & Forgeries

Records of Deception

Rendell, Kenneth W. Forging History: The Detection of Fake Letters & Documents. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.

Writing in 1938 Condit observed:

If the compilation of reference tools for bibliographical use in connection with early English imprints and Americana could be under way at this time, results might be achieved that would be much appreciated by our survivors and descendants. ¹

The problem of counterfeit rare books and manuscripts has long been with us. ²

In Records of Deception: Forgeries and the Integrity of the Historical Record held June 30, 2020 Rare Book School faculty spoke about various aspects of forgery, as well as bibliographical techniques and other strategies they use to authenticate historical documents. ³

1. Lester Condit. "Reprints, Counterfeits, and Reproductions." The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy 8, no. 3 (1938): 391-99. 

2. Berger, Sidney E. "Forgeries and Their Detection in the Rare Book World." Libraries & Culture 27, no. 1 (1992): 59-69. 

3. Records of Deception: Forgeries and the Integrity of the Historical Record. June 30, 2020. Rare book faculty members: Brian Cassidy (Type Punch Matrix), Julie Nelson Davis (University of Pennsylvania), Nick Wilding (Georgia State University), and Kevin Young (The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture).