Jean de Sperati
Hi, people in Incredible India.
Here´s another story of a forger.
Jean de Sperati
Giovanni Speratti was born in the Tuscan town of Pistoia on October 14, 1884, the youngest son of a retired colonel.
Even as a child, he showed a talent for calligraphy and drawing, perfectly imitating his parents' handwriting. At school, his classmates would ask him to forge the teachers' signatures and change his grades to avoid punishment, always in exchange for marbles, slingshots, candy, and all those things children value.
According to Speratti himself, he said that his brothers were important in deciding what he would do as an adult.
At fifteen, he was living in Bologna, studying at the local technical institute to become an accountant, a career he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about. One day, while strolling through the city, he found a twelve-volume chemistry textbook at a good price in a bookstore. Once he had it, Speratti began experimenting with the preparations shown in it.
On one occasion, while handling carbon sulfate and phosphorus, he almost set the house on fire. Once the house was safe, the colonel ordered him to stop his experiments inside.
Speratti found refuge in a photographic studio owned by one of his brothers in Turin, which also housed a graphic arts workshop. There he learned heliography and photo developing while observing engraving, lithography, and reproduction and printing processes.
He was also fortunate that another brother owned a paper mill in Guarcino. During that time, Speratti learned about all types of paper, their characteristics, and how to treat them. Before long, the young man knew how to replicate and copy any kind of illustration; he just didn't know what to do with that skill.
Once again, another brother, who worked as a commission agent in the stamp market, admired his brother's talents and asked him to imitate the stamps of the Republic of San Marino. According to Speratti, the result was "passable," and the mastermind behind the crime was tried and acquitted.
Like Elmyr de Hory, Speratti had to endure the Nazis and all their expropriations. On one occasion, he was arrested and brought to trial for smuggling stamps out of France. To avoid punishment, he claimed they were artistic copies. The judges noted how easily the supposed proofs of authenticity could be erased and only imposed a fine. They then published news of his arrest, which alarmed philatelists and prompted them to seek better methods for verifying the authenticity of all the stamps they examined.
At that point, a climate of confusion arose, and they stopped dealing with Speratti, but new markets opened up for him, primarily in England. The BPA decided to intervene. This agency forced him to abandon his criminal activities in exchange for money, which earned him the title of "King of the Imitators."
To make matters worse, the press covered the story and ran headlines with phrases like "genius of fraud" or "misunderstood artist." Soon, a parallel market emerged where his stamps and prints sold for more than the original works.
In 1956, Speratti fell ill and died the following year. The philatelic world mourned, and many prominent figures attended his funeral. In their eulogies, they repeatedly mentioned how a con artist who had repeatedly deceived them was being honored.
Today, Speratti's stamps continue to fetch high prices.
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