Artist Who Faked Rare Stamps Dies In Paris

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28265, 1 May 1957, Page 13

Artist Who Faked Rare Stamps Dies In Paris

(Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, April 30 Stamp collectors everywhere may heave a sigh of relief —the world’s greatest stamp forger, Jean de Sperati, has died in Paris, says the Paris correspondent of the “News Chronicle. De Sperati was such a headache to British stamp dealers that in 1P53 the British Philatelic Association gave him £ 10,000 for his collection of more than 500 perfect fakes—and a promise that he would make no more and would keep his processes secret. He became known in 1942 when he mailed 18 rare stamps to Portugal for valuation. Customs officers opened the letter and fined him £3OO. He protested that he could not be fined for worthless stamps he had made himself. Experts could not decide whether the stamps were fakes or not, so the customs cut the fine to £2O. From then on de Sperati called himself a “philatelic artist.*’ He often said: “I am a philanthropist. I supply small collectors with perfect imitations of the world’s rarest stamps at cheap prices.’’ The “Daily Telegraph says that- de Sperati was so proud of his work that he signed each

stamp on the back in pencil, but the signature was often removed by unscrupulous persons wanting to sell them as genuine. As far as is known, he produced 558 different stamps, some of them as many as a dozen times. It is estimated that during his career he made enough material to have realised £1,700,000, if genuine. When the British Philatelic Association announced the acquisition of his entire stock and equipment, the action created the biggest controversy in the stamp trade for many years. Many were afraid that stamps which the association was to sell t 0 specialists, after marking them indelibly as forgeries, would later have the marks removed and be sold as genuine. Others felt it better to control the material rather than let unscrupulous perS °The^association published a reference work in three parts giving the whole story of the affair, including de Sperati s life history and various legal complications which he faced in France. They issued details showing how his forgeries could be recognised, illustrations of his reproductions, and examples of his work.