Galileo's O. Volume III, A Galileo Forgery ; Unmasking the New York Sidereus Nuncius

The story of a book forgery Galileo’s O, Volume III, is perhaps without peer in the history of the book. In this work, historians in various fields revise the results they presented in the first two volumes, which focused on the New York copy of Sidereus Nuncius, written in 1610. The analysis of this book was conceived as a uniquely multidisciplinary and cooperative undertaking, and many of its findings remain valid. Yet the subject of analysis proved to be the work of an international group of forgers. Volume III describes the chronology and methods by which the discovery of forgery was made – a veritable watershed moment in the continuing struggle between the ever-more refined methods of forgers and new methods used to apprehend them. Ultimately, the work also provides insight into the psychology of specialists who “research themselves” in order to prevent similar errors in the future. * Sheds new light on the production of books in the early modern period * Engages in an interdisciplinary analysis of a unique forgery * Explores the psychology of the forgers Galileo's O, Band III, ist in der Buchgeschichte ohne Vorbild. Ein Kreis von Spezialisten der Kunst-, Buch-, Wissenschafts-, Material- und Restaurierungsgeschichte korrigiert in diesem Werk die eigenen Ergebnisse der ersten beiden Bände. In deren Zentrum stand das New Yorker Exemplar von Galileis "Sternenboten" (Sidereus Nuncius) von 1610. Die Analyse war als Beispiel einer umfassenden Kooperation gedacht, und zahlreiche Ergebnisse sind nach wie vor gültig, doch das zentrale Objekt hat sich als Produkt einer internationalen Gruppe von Fälschern erwiesen. Indem Band III die Chronologie und die Methoden dieser Entdeckung beschreibt, könnte er eine Art Wasserscheide im andauernden Wettstreit zwischen den immer feineren Methoden von Fälschern und den neuen Methoden darstellen, ihnen auf die Spur zu kommen. Das Buch ist schließlich auch ein Psychogramm von Spezialisten, die gleichsam gegen sich selbst forschen, um vergleichbare Irrtümer in Zukunft zu vermeiden.-- Provided by publisher V. 1 is a detailed analysis of a previously unknown proof copy of the first edition of Galileo's Sidereus nuncius (1610), in which watercolor drawings appear in place of the etchings of the published edition, consigned in 2005 to the antiquarian bookselling firm of Martayan Lan (New York, New York). V. 2 is an account of the composition and production of the edition, based on analysis of extant copies (a census of which is included) as well as the New York proof copy. V. 3 was written in response to the discovery, soon after the publication of v. 2, that the proof copy was in fact an elaborate forgery produced between 2003 and 2005 under the direction of Marino Massimo de Caro, as first reported in the article "A very rare book," by Nicholas Schmidle, in The New Yorker issue of 16 December 2013. V. 4, in German, is a heavily revised edition of Horst Bredekamp's Galilei der Künstler (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 2007), which had included a chapter on the then unrecognized forgery Galileo's O, Volume III, is perhaps without peer in the history of the book. In this work, historians in various fields revise the results they presented in the first two volumes, which focused on the New York copy of Sidereus Nuncius, written in 1610. The analysis of this book was conceived as a uniquely multidisciplinary and cooperative undertaking, and many of its findings remain valid. Yet the subject of analysis proved to be the work of an international group of forgers. Volume III describes the chronology and methods by which the discovery of forgery was made - a veritable watershed moment in the continuing struggle between the ever-more refined methods of forgers and new methods used to apprehend them. Ultimately, the work also provides insight into the psychology of specialists who "research themselves" in order to prevent similar errors in the future.-- Provided by publisher Fruitful Doubts, May-june 2012 / Paul Needham -- The Evidence Of The Forged Printing / Paul Needham -- The Evidence Of The Forged Paper / Irene Brückle, Theresa Smith, Manfred Mayer -- The Evidence Of The Forged Snml Sammelband Book Structure / Nicholas Pickwoad -- The Evidence Of The Forged Padua Compasso Book Structure / Irene Brückle, Manfred Mayer -- Results Of Non-destructive Instrumental Analysis : Xrf-, Ftir-spectroscopy And Microscopy / Oliver Hahn Assisted By Emanuel Kindzorra -- Towards A Psychology Of The Forger / Horst Bredekamp -- Final Thoughts / Paul Needham, Irene Brückle, Horst Bredekamp. Edited By Horst Bredekamp, Irene Brückle And Paul Needham. Includes Bibliographical References. In this work, historians in various fields revise the results presented in the first two volumes of the series, which analyzed the New York copy of Sidereus Nuncius. While many of their findings remain valid, the subject of analysis proved to be a forgery. Volume III describes how the discovery of forgery was made - a watershed moment in the continuing struggle between forgers and those who seek to apprehend them.