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

Description

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 Introduction I Fruitful Doubts 15 May–June 2012 II The Evidence of the Forged Printing III The Evidence of the Forged Paper IV The Evidence of the Forged SNML Sammelband Book Structure V The Evidence of the Forged Padua Compasso Book Structure VI Results of non-destructive Instrumental Analysis. XRF-, FTIR-Spectroscopy and Microscopy VII Towards a Psychology of the Forger VIII Final Thoughts Photo Credits