Charles Weisberg
Encyclopedia
"Baron" Charles Weisberg (died 1945) was a US
document forger who forged manuscripts, letters and signatures of celebrities and historical figures.
Weisberg forged autograph
s and letters of celebrities like Francis Hopkinson
and manuscript
s of Walt Whitman
and Stephen Collins Foster. He also expanded to alleged works of George Washington
and Abraham Lincoln
and created surveys of Mount Vernon
.
Weisberg learned to duplicate the autograph of Lincoln. Sometimes he used original US Civil War letters and wrote an "extension" of the original. However, Weisberg created long letters when Lincoln had usually written shorter, punctual missives. Robert Spring
also forged letters from Washington but tended to drop the beginning of the G in Washington's name and omit the "g" in "go". He also used modern inks.
Weisberg was first arrested 1935 in New York
for forgery. He was later charged with mail fraud in Pennsylvania
for selling forged documents and autographs through mail. His last forgery was a Katherine Mansfield
inscription in a copy of The Dove's Nest - a book that had been published posthumously.
Weisberg served two contiguous prison sentences in the 1940s and died on May 4, 1945 in Lewisburg Prison in Pennsylvania
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
document forger who forged manuscripts, letters and signatures of celebrities and historical figures.
Weisberg forged autograph
Autograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
s and letters of celebrities like Francis Hopkinson
Francis Hopkinson
Francis Hopkinson , an American author, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey. He later served as a federal judge in Pennsylvania...
and manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s of Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
and Stephen Collins Foster. He also expanded to alleged works of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and created surveys of Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon (plantation)
Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Virginia, was the plantation home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style, and the estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River.Mount Vernon was designated...
.
Weisberg learned to duplicate the autograph of Lincoln. Sometimes he used original US Civil War letters and wrote an "extension" of the original. However, Weisberg created long letters when Lincoln had usually written shorter, punctual missives. Robert Spring
Robert Spring
Robert Spring was an English-born forger who forged letters from luminaries like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Horatio Nelson.Robert Spring was born in England but there is no information about his life prior to his emigration to USA...
also forged letters from Washington but tended to drop the beginning of the G in Washington's name and omit the "g" in "go". He also used modern inks.
Weisberg was first arrested 1935 in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
for forgery. He was later charged with mail fraud in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
for selling forged documents and autographs through mail. His last forgery was a Katherine Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield
Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp Murry was a prominent modernist writer of short fiction who was born and brought up in colonial New Zealand and wrote under the pen name of Katherine Mansfield. Mansfield left for Great Britain in 1908 where she encountered Modernist writers such as D.H. Lawrence and...
inscription in a copy of The Dove's Nest - a book that had been published posthumously.
Weisberg served two contiguous prison sentences in the 1940s and died on May 4, 1945 in Lewisburg Prison in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.