Palmer of the Morgan Library said in an interview that he accepted Wilding’s findings that the 1607 letter was not an authentic Galileo, and that the library would update its inventory to note that it was “previously attributed to Galileo.” rice field.
The exposure of forgery does not fundamentally change Galileo’s well-documented findings. But it does rule out what was supposed to be an interesting and obvious first draft of the discovery, which seemed to show the scientist wrestling with his observations in real time. Scholars have had trouble figuring out exactly what Galileo was sketching in the Michigan document. Now that it’s been declared fake, it seems likely that the mystery stems from the confusion of the counterfeiter rather than the scientist. “I’m not distracted by having to explain that this argument is not going well.”
Michigan State Library staff are currently exploring ways to use this object to examine the methods and motives behind the forgery, and it could be the centerpiece of future exhibits and symposiums.
“Counterfeiting is a really good thing,” Hayward said. “In some ways, this discovery makes this a more attractive item.”
During his investigation into Nicotra, Mr. Wilding learned that an Italian allegedly began selling fake letters and musical manuscripts to support his seven mistresses. investigation led to police raiding his Milan apartment in 1934 and finding a virtual “counterfeit factory,” Wilding says. There were torn endpapers from old books and fakes of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Christopher Columbus and other historical figures. .
Scholars have warned that there are likely other false documents in the collection waiting to be discovered.
Hannah Marcus, an associate professor in the history of science at Harvard University who has written a book about Galileo’s correspondence with Paula Findlen at Stanford University, said: She credits Wilding with exposing the fake. “You don’t have to read everything with suspicion, but you do have to read everything carefully,” she said.