9 m 9 o > *5 6s 5\ *> m Lincoln Forgeries Joseph Cosey Excerpts from newspapers and other sources From the files of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection 7/- 2.oo? o'SS. o552.^ p The G^llccTbr: A Tylagazine for Autograph and «Hi;stoi?ie&l Collectors Vol. LX, No. 10 NEW YORK, OCTOBER, 1947 WHOLE No. 665 THE COLLECTOR advertise as widely as possible to all and sun- Established 1S87 dry a new influx of forgeries. The recent specimens which have been sent or brought in Walter enjamin to me bear a striking resemblance td known examples of Cosey's versatile work, examples Utographs which he admitted to be his some years ago. As it is a distinct possibility that he may be up to his old tricks again, I think it wise to MARY A. BENJAMIN, Director and Editor pass on the information given about him in ELLEN C. AHERN, Assistant Editor "Autographs : a Key to Collecting." 1 EAST 57th STREET Telephone: PLaza S-3287 "[Joseph] Cosey, the name by which he is NEW YORK 22, N. Y. Cable Address: Waltegraph generally referred to, according to an article in the New York Sun, November 13, 1941, COSEY AGAIN? has a career checkered with jail terms and convictions — nine in all, for grand larceny, Repeatedly this office has cautioned readers carrying concealed weapons, forging checks, of The Collector to be on their guard and various other crimes. He is known, like against forgeries. However, despite these Antique' Smith, for his great skill, and, in warnings and numerous articles in nationally addition, for the inordinate pride he took in circulated newspapers and magazines, noth- his forgeries. He began, as he admitted to ing seems to prevent individuals, whether col- Mr. G. William Bergquist, then Special In- lectors of autographs or not, from being vestigator of the New York Public Library, trapped into buying fakes when the opportu- whose tact and patience were largely respon- nity arises. The lure of a "possible" Lincoln, sible for the full exposure of both Cosey and a "probable" Franklin, or a "very authentic Weisberg, with stealing from the Congres- looking" Washington gets the better of them. sional Library a pay warrant signed by Ben- jamin Franklin. offered In my book, "Autographs : a Key to Collect- This he to a book ing" (R. R. Bowker Co., 1946), considerable dealer, who scornfully refused it as unauthen- space is devoted to the subject of forgeries tic. Cosey, he himself explained, was angered and to the careers of the best-known forgers, to the point of taking up diligent practice in such as Chatterton, Denis-Lucas, "Antique" handwriting imitations and succeeded so well Smith, Alberti, Gerstenbergk, Spring, Byron, that, to quote Mr. Bergquist's lecture before and, in recent years, Cosey and Weisberg. I the Bibliographical Society in January, 1943, particularly drew attention to the handiwork A year later, he had the satisfaction of sell- of Joseph Cosey, whose record * should be ing a forged Lincoln to the same store.' known to all, and whose career bears watch- "Soon he began a series of experiments in ing. Cosey was at his zenith in the last dec- the making of ink, at first using Waterman's ade, and at this time the market was flooded brown correspondence ink, and later one that with his spurious examples of Lincoln, Frank- was more accurate. He obtained paper from lin, Mary Baker Eddy—the latter, to the best various sources and was lucky in unearthing a of my knowledge, never having been attempt- supply bearing Moinier's 1851 water-mark ed by anyone but Cosey. Indeed, these be- and of a blue color identical with the paper came so common that even the dealers in re- on which many of Lincoln's authentic legal mote sections of the country caught on to the documents were written. He claimed he had fraud and were on the alert. But his produc- acquired this paper in an old ledger which he tions became progressively less authentic had bought in Peoria. Cosey's vanity led him looking, and gradually disappeared from the to boast untruthfully that he himself had market. manufactured another supply of long white The reason for the present article is to paper which bore the water-mark, 'T. Ed- 210 THE COLLECTOR monds, 1824/ but this stock Mr. Bergquist following item, dated Mount Vernon, June eventually traced to its right source. 12, 1779, which, were it genuine, would com- "Cosey, who had good reason to be proud mand a substantial price. Owned by the New of his Lincoln forgeries on the Moinier paper, York Public Library, it begins: had mastered Lincoln's writing in an aston- To the ishing manner. Once his supply of this paper Hon. P. Henry, gave out, and he could not obtain proper sub- House of Burgesses stitutes, his subsequent forgeries were more Dear Sir: easily detectable. For the most part, he did Thank you for submitting this map of not attempt' Lincoln A.L.S.s but rather de- ancient symbols. I am sure that John voted himself to the production of lengthy Marshall will find in it just what he legal manuscripts and pleadings of the Civil seeks for his new book. War President. With these he was singularly Cordially yours, generous for a forger. Many of them covered Richard Henry Lee three or four folio pages. Regardless of This was purportedly in the handwriting whether he wrote a one- or four-page item, he of Lee, the Virginia Signer, with his signa- sold each at a fairly uniform price. Origi- ture, and, below it, dated on the same day, nally, it is said, this ran as high as $20 to appears 'Endorsed by me Th. Jefferson,' pre- $50, but he later disposed of them at $2 each. sumably written by that patriot. Then fol- "The Lincoln forgeries were only a small lows : fraction of Cosey's output. Items of Francis My dear Mr. Henry: Bacon, John Marshall, Patrick Henry, Rich- There remains nothing for me to do ard Henry Lee, Thomas Lynch, Jr., Button but add my approval, since Mr. Lee and Gwinnett, Aaron Burr, John Adams, Samuel yourself have endorsed the drawings Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Rudyard Kip- therein. ling, Mark Twain, Mary Baker Eddy and As ever, others were believed to have been put on the G. Washington market by him at various times. And, sadly Next comes, dated June 16, 1779, from Wash- enough, a goodly number of them still appear ington City: at sales. His best work was with his Frank- Hon. John Marshall, lins, Poes and Lincolns, and, of the latter, the Richmond in Virginia most irritatingly acceptable of his forgeries Sir: are Lincoln endorsements, which he wrote on Here is a map which was kindly given authentic Civil War records. These he dock- to me by Doctor Priestly. If you will eted with three or four lines signed in the examine figures 1 to 9 and all of them President's hand. So perfectly were they ex- with the exception of 11, 12 & 13 you ecuted that only experts, by sharp examina- will see the various periods represented tion of the ink, which alone provided the of which we are speaking. I showed this clue, could detect them. to the Continental General, and he ex- "In his work Cosey resorted to many strat- pressed a desire to use it when you have agems. For example, knowing that a certain finished it. famous man used a particular color of sta- Mr. Adams of Boston has promised to tionery, he dyed his own paper with Tintex send me some maps showing old money to the required shade. This device was, how- and coins used in the period of which ever, among his less successful. Even more you are writing. These are very fine clever was his custom of composing a letter steel engravings, and I hope they will be on old paper and then writing a modern letter of some aid to you in your book. to authenticate the forgery. Again, a great Yours very sincerely, number of his forgeries carry endorsements in P. Henry blue or red pencil or in ink different in color "Cool craft also characterized Cosey's from that used in the body of the document. methods of marketing. For instance, he never Such endorsements, written obliquely across stated that he was offering a Lincoln, or a some portion of the paper, appear quite fre- Poe or a Franklin. He simply presented a quently on authentic manuscripts, and Cosey paper with the remark that he had found it was quick to catch on and use this subtle in an attic or cellar and knew nothing of its imitation. value, adding, 'Do you think it is anything "Nor was he averse to piling up his effects of interest?' His carefully chosen victim, see- through association, as is illustrated by the ing an excellently executed forgery and per- / 1 East 57th St, New York, 22 211 haps thinking he knew sufficient of the sign- ments, and these are frequently countersigned er's writing to judge properly, not unnatur- by John Nicholson, at right angles to the ally jumped to the conclusion intended. If main text, which appears in both written and he considered the letter authentic under the printed form. This countersignature the circumstances, Cosey unselfishly shunted the forger has noted and also imitated. Other responsibility over to him." Franklin forgeries (which seem at this time In the chapter on detection of forgeries, I to be the most numerous) are countersigned commented and repeat here: "Always there by Richard Henry Lee or other important or are certain danger signals which the collector, unimportant persons.