A 19th-century German goldsmith famous for his forgeries of Renaissance objects, including jewelry and vessels. His fakery was discovered after his death, during a major archive by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casby Bias See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
"Done to death by slanderous tongues," wrote William Shakespeare in his play, 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Shakespeare may be a renowned English playwright, poet, and actor, but, he has a bit of a credibility problem among some circles, and he has for quite a long time. It's known as the 'Shakespeare Authorship Question', and we're going to talk about some theories that suggest Shakespeare was a fake -- before we talk about a man who wrote a five-act play pretending to be the Bard. That could not h...
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. has a fake crystal skull. And so does the British Museum in London, as does Paris's Quai Branly Museum. As of 2019, it was estimated there are more than a dozen crystal skulls known to exist. Long considered pre-Columbian relics, they've also inspired theories about the occult, aliens, and psychic abilities. But the reality is, none of it's true. Meet Eugène Boban, the real provenance of crystal skulls. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...
Sculptor Alceo Dossena was an impactful figure in the art world of the early 20th century because he created forged masterpieces capable of fooling even the most expert of experts. Critics attributed his pieces to famous classical and Renaissance artists, and his works were sold through dealers and purchased by museums and collectors. But in an unexpected turn of events, the forger sued the dealers who sold his work. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casb...
Virtuoso Fritz Kreisler was known and is remembered for his artistry as a violinist and composer -- and, also, as an unashamed showman. He was one of the most beloved and best known of the early recording-era artists, and a household name in his day. In fact, he was so adored by his audiences that when he revealed some of the pieces he'd performed and attributed to composers such as Vivaldi, Pugnani, and Couperin were, actually, his own compositions, the critics were irate, but his fans continue...
Things are a little different on today's episode of our show. Today we're talking to Lisa Perrin, an award-winning illustrator, designer and entrepreneur. Lisa stops by to chat about her new book, “League of Lady Poisoners.” Enjoy! Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casby Bias See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Millions of people around the world collect, preserve, and trade or sell postage stamps; the hobby, or investment, is known as, philately. The first stamp forgeries began to show up, well, when the first stamps showed up. The Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive stamp, was issued in 1840, and the world’s first forged stamps followed later that year. Stamp collecting has been called, quote, "the hobby of kings and the king of hobbies." And for a time in the early 20th century, a man named Jean...
Some historians believe Italian forger Tobia Nicotra may have produced hundreds of document and signature forgeries attributed to names like Mozart and Galileo, before he was caught in the 1930s. He faded into obscurity, but his forgeries didn't. And for more than 80 years the University of Michigan housed a Galileo manuscript they didn't know was fake -- until a historian named Nick Wilding called its bluff. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casby Bias S...
Wilma Minor's 'Lincoln the Lover' forgery has been called one of the most audacious literary hoaxes of all time, and involves an alleged love story between a young Abraham Lincoln and a woman named Ann Rutledge. There was never any conclusive evidence the two had a romantic relationship; there was nothing in the historical record – no letters or notes between them, for instance -- that showed any indication of their love. Until 1928. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer &...
It's said his own handwriting was a neat and graceful script, not unlike Abraham Lincoln’s. He could fake the hand of Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Baker Eddy, and dozens of other historical figures. In fact, experts believe that a large number of the documents he produced in the early 20th century are still circulating today -- and inaccurately regarded as genuine. This is the story of Martin Coneely, alias, Joseph Cosey, who could sign Benjamin Franklin's name perhaps better than Ben, himself. Executi...
On Valentine's Day of 1961, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York had to, for the very first time, announce they were housing a fake. Three fakes, actually. After nearly three decades as a prized exhibit, their Etruscan Terracotta Warriors, as they'd become known, were determined to be inauthentic -- but here's the story of how and why The Met should have know that fact before they ever put them on display. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casby Bia...
Dutch painter Han van Meegeren has often been described as a dapper man, with, quote, “a small, birdlike frame constantly aflutter, and irreverent sense of humor.” His life story is anything but small. It's not just about art; it's about deception, fortune, Bakelite, and … Nazis. And, it has an unexpected twist at the end. Welcome to a new season of forgery and forgers, here on Criminalia. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casby Bias See omnystudio.com/li...
Some estimates suggest that as much as 50 percent of all artwork on the market today is likely forged or misattributed. It can be difficult to verify what is authentic and what is counterfeit, from art to music to archaelogical findings. In this new season, we'll talk about who makes these fakes. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casby Bias See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Welcome to the final episode of Firebugs season, where we've been telling the stories of some of the most destructive blazes and those who set them throughout history. But it wasn't all about fires. There were plenty of cocktails and mocktails to go around, too. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casby Bias See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In Old Icelandic,'hús-brenna' means 'house burning', and it was a form of homicide by arson used to settle a vendetta, and sometimes used during political conflicts in medieval Scandinavia. Its sole purpose, make no mistake, was assassination. And it's terrifying. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casby Bias See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Opposition to the British crown began years before the battles of the American Revolutionary War broke out in the Thirteen Colonies, and that opposition took many forms, like riots and boycotts. A Scotsman named James Aitken sympathized with the rebels, and stood by them by setting British dockyards on fire – if the Royal Navy didn't have any ships, then England couldn't go to war with the colonies, he believed. Let's talk about who James was, and how he wanted to be an American hero. Executive ...
Rose Butler was a teenager performing domestic services for the Morris family of Manhattan when early one morning a small fire broke out. Though no one was injured, and the fire was quickly extinguished, the family accused Rose of intentionally setting it. A capital crime in New York, she was executed, making her the last person hanged for arson in the state. But her story involves something much deeper than a book of matches. Let's talk about what really brought Rose to the gallows. Executive P...
Between 1849 and 1851, peak years of the Gold Rush, San Francisco was almost entirely destroyed by fire seven times. And there was something about these fires, at least the majority of them, that seemed somehow not accidental. Some were suspicious because they seemed to start at odd times, or when someone's temper was flaring, or they seemed to break out when, what locals reported as "odd people" were hanging around. Seven's a lot of fires, and we'll talk about some additional smaller blazes, to...
Firefighters who set fires, officially called 'firefighter arsonists', may be small in number, but they definitely make an impact. While things like insurance fraud and covering up another crime are common motives for arson outside the firefighting community, experts say those aren't what drive firefighter arsonists. So how does this happen? How does a firefighter turn into arsonist? Well. Let's take a look. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casby Bias Se...
The Bronx in the 1970s was a perfect storm of things going wrong in New York City: poor urban planning, white flight, budget cuts to municipal and social services, and discriminatory practices coverged into a pressure cooker -- and the outcome was fiery and devastating. But we can't talk about the Bronx burning without ending on the phoenix that emerged from the rubble: the birth of hip-hop. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey Producer & Editor: Casby Bias See omnystudio.com/...
Alexander the Great burned Persepolis to the ground during a night of drunken revelry, after being encouraged to do so by a Greek courtesan named Thaïs. It's said she told Alexander torching the royal palace would be among his crowning achievements, and it's said she inspired his soldiers and followers to take up torches. That is, at least, according to legend. Let's talk about the downfall of the Persian Empire and why anyone would have wanted to torch Persepolis. Executive Producers: Maria Tri...
On the night of July 21, in 356 BCE, a man named Herostratus took a walk to the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus … and burned it down. "First," he said of his crime, "I was very scared, then it all went away once I imagined the fame I would have … ." In this episode we're shining the spotlight on the ancient Greek who burned one of the Seven Wonders of the World to the ground. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
"Michael Marin couldn't pay his mortgage, so he burned down his house," began Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Chris Rapp in the prosecution's opening statements at Mr. Marin's arson trial. In this episode about firebugs, Holly and Maria talk about a convicted arsonist who used arson with the intention of committing insurance fraud. But when the case went to court, things took an unexpected turn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Join Holly and Maria for a new season of Criminalia, one that's all about arson. In this episode, get introduced to a creature known as the 'pétroleuse', and why according to the rumors around Paris in May of 1871, these 'unruly' female incendiaries were to blame for burning down much of the city. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Welcome to the final episode of our season on grifts and grafts here on Criminalia, where we've been exploring the stories of some of the most notorious swindles and swindlers throughout history. And, of course there were plenty of cocktails and mocktails to go around, too. Listen as Holly and Maria continue their tradition, highlighting their Top 3 shows and favorite drinks of the season. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
They're called arsonists, torchers, pyromaniacs, and firebugs – and each of their stories is unique, in technique, in damage, and in motivation to set things aflame. Welcome to a new season of Criminalia, where we're talking about arson and the firebugs responsible for igniting illegal blazes throughout history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The phrase, "There's a sucker born every minute," is attributed to P.T. Barnum, but it could be about this episode: We're talking about con artists who swindled people into buying some really famous landmarks. George C. Parker sold the Brooklyn Bridge. Among Victor Lustig's most audacious scams was when he sold the Eiffel Tower. And a man known as Natwarlal made a name for himself selling the Taj Mahal among other famous landmarks in India. Let's look at what happened when each of these guys dip...
Those who considered themselves financially savvy in Chicago in the early 1920s wanted in on one investment: the Bayano River Syndicate. It was an exclusive investment, and centered around oil-rich lands in Panama. And a mild-mannered, balding, and bespectacled lawyer named Leo Koretz was the guy who held the key to investing in it. But Koretz wasn't who he seemed, and neither were his oil fields in Panama. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
In this 2-for-1 inheritance scam special, Holly and Maria talk about William Cameron Morrow Smith and Oscar Hartzell, who, separately, bilked thousands of people out of millions of dollars, just by telling them they might be in line to receive a huge fortune. Spoiler alert on that: There was no fortune. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There was something about Mary, but despite her claims, it wasn't an inheritance, prestigious titles, peerage, or any aristocratic honors. Mary Carelton became famous-for-being-famous when the paparazzi and media of her day caught wind of a scandal involving her. It wasn't about her penchant for pretending to be a princess -- as it turns out, it was for bigamy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
