Introduction

Why have fakes, forgeries, and the multiplicity of deception techniques, along with the personalities of their authors, been an object of interest in so many fields, including modern science, while scientific forgeries of the early modern age have raised comparatively less discussion? The history of early modern fakes is likely to underline some of the most interesting and indeed crucial aspect of specific disciplines, bodies of knowledge, and practices. The main result of the essays in this volume is bringing to the forefront the many different constructive features of frauds, falsifications and deceptions, and showing how these have contributed, through serendipity and wonder, exposure and correction, daring experiments on unusual materials, the innovative exploitation of ancient fabulae and traditions, and the fabrication of fantastic creatures, to the “advancement of learning.”