Famous Galileo manuscript in Michigan University turns out to be a forged one

The popular Galileo manuscript at the University of Michigan Library was found to be a forgery, as per an investigation by the University authorities, after a historian flagged it. Based on the watermarks, they realized that it was no more than a century old and not from 1609 as claimed.

“It was pretty gut-wrenching when we first learned our Galileo was not actually a Galileo,” admitted Donna L. Hayward, the interim dean of Michigan’s libraries.

Caption: A handwritten manuscript believed to be the original work of astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1609 turned out to be a modern forgery (Image credit: University of Michigan Library)

The university was donated the piece in 1938 by a trustee Tracy McGregor, purportedly authenticized by Cardinal Pietro Maffi (1858-1931), the Archbishop of Pisa.

The manuscript was a replica of a rough draft by Galileo about the telescope, his new invention as a letter to the Doge of Venice in 1609. The final version is available in the State Archive in Venezia, Italy. It talks about the moons of Jupiter that Galileo found and wrote in his letter.

Credit for discovering the forgery goes to historian Nick Wilding who found the watermark odd and sought a probe. The university found it a forgery three months later and admitted it to the public. They’re suspecting that it was done a notorious forger from Italy by name Tobia Nicotra.

Actually, the watermark on the paper belonged to a post-1770 paper mill company, while Galileo wrote the letter in 1609. “It just kind of jumps out as weird,” Wilding told the NY Times.