Evening star., 1932-05-22

young EngliShman who did a f1ouriShing
business in ShakeSpearean autographs IN
the late years Of the eighteenth century.
Apprenticed to an attorney, it was part
Of his daily work to study ancient docu-
ments, such as leases, wills and land
grants. One day he came across some
unused parchment at the end of a rent
roll. Having studied Shakespeare-at
least enough to know the value of the
bard's manuscripts and autographs
promptly composed what purported to be
lease between Shakespeare and John
Heminge, with one Michael Fraser and
Elizabeth, his wife. When this was &C
cepted by experts as genuine, Ireland be-
gan to invent all sorts of Elizabethan
letters and poems. He even composed a
love letter from Shakespeare to his
Dearest Anna" Hathaway. He made an
almost complete transcription of Lear"
and did few leaves from Hamlet" or
"Hamblette," as he called it. He even
introduced variations in the text which
scholars of the day read and considered
authentic. But he finally overreached
verse tragedy which he called "Vorti-
germ and Rowena" and attributing it to
Shakespeare.
The great Richard BrinsIey Sheridan
produced this play, with John Kemble
and Mrs. Jordan in the leading roles, but
it was so badly written that critics in
sisted it couldn't have been the work of
Shakespeare. Ireland then confessed his
forgeries and fled to Paris, where he
continued to earn his living making for
gerieS and writing original penny bal
lads. Today some of his counterfeits
command good price from collectors,
who know they are counterfeits, but
value them, nevertheless, for their curl
GUS history.
Forged autographs of practically every
great person in history or literature have
been made, and successfully enough to
extract money from some collector.
Although most autograph forgers usu-
ally content themselves with manufac-
turing fragments, such as page or two
OF manuscript or a letter, occasionally
some great and monumental deception is
undertaken. Such was the case recently
the world that numerous original manu-
scripts written by Antonius Stradivarius,
the great violin maker, had been found
in Italy.
An antiquary of Bergamo, near Milan,
while repairing an ancient chest had dis
covered secret drawer containing
manuscript biography of Stradivarius,
written by his friend, Father Bonaven-
tura. With this was an old folio, once
used as q scrapbook by Stradivarius, in
which were pasted his shop accounts,
bills for woods and liquids and Sched-
ule Of wages. Most important Of all,
the scrapbook contained in Stradivarius'
own handwriting the formula for making
the finishing varnish on his fiddles-a
secret that passed with the death of his
sons.
EXPERTS, both in musical history and
in rare manuscripts studied the pa
pers and declared them genuine. The
handwriting by Stradivarius matched
other known examples of his penman-
ship. The writing in the biography cor
responded with samples of the handwrit-
ing OF the long deceased priest, and his
friendship with Stradivarius was a mat
ter of record. The papers were all found
to be Of the proper age, and the facts
set forth in the scrapbook such as the
prices paid for material and wages, were
found to correspond with the period in
which Stradivarius lived and worked.
Even the history of the chest in which
the documents were found was investi-
gated, and it was concluded that such a
chest had once been in the possession Of
Father Bonaventura
The announcement of this epic discov-
cry created a sensation, not only among