Raoul de Thuin
Encyclopedia
Raoul Charles de Thuin was a prolific stamp forger and dealer who was originally a citizen of Belgium but who operated from Merida, Yucatan in Mexico
, of which country he eventually became a naturalised citizen. De Thuin's work was considered so dangerous to philately that his tools and stock were purchased by the American Philatelic Society
in 1966 in order to curtail his activities.
In 1927 he had a shop Maison de Thuin, at 35 Boulevard Lambermont in Brussels, Belgium. Services included the removal of fiscal cancellations from British stamps and the application of forged oeverprints to Siamese stamps.
In a 1969 letter to Carl Walske, de Thuin stated that he was a good friend of Angelo Panelli, who was closely associated with the forger Erasmo Oneglia
. A photograph of de Thuin from 1927 may be found in the work on Oneglia by Robson Lowe & Carl Walske.
According to contemporary Mexican newspaper reports, found by the American Philatelic Society, he first entered Mexico in 1931 as a 'journalist', on the run from French and Belgian police who wanted him for forgery. He was then expelled from Mexico for setting up a forgery ring involving public officials, moved to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, who jailed and then expelled him in 1936, and back to Mexico by the early 1940s. He then appears to have settled in Mexico permanently.
Robson Lowe
compared de Thuin unfavourably with Jean de Sperati
whom Lowe regarded as a superior craftsman. He noted that long before the true identity of de Thuin was known, his work had been identified by British philatelists who had named him George. Lowe reported that de Thuin had been quoted as saying that "I have no conscience at all at having deceived all those foolish people. They are just fanatics who neglect their families for their passion." De Thuin had also been reported as saying that although he had only three wives, he had four hundred mistresses and that they had borne him twenty-five children.
De Thuin's method of sale was to use one of his aliases to send sheets of approvals to collectors, mainly in the United States, which mixed a few genuine common stamps with forgeries of rarer items. Many collectors were duped and in 1962 a London sale of 498 lots of classic Mexico belonging to Prof. Hormer Lizama was cancelled when the sale was revealed to consist mainly of de Thuin fakes.
Gilda Rivero Mendoza was de Thuin's wife and one complainant in 1947 asserted that R.G. Knapen was de Thuin's real name.
The numerous aliases were to circumvent fraud orders which prevented the US Post Office from forwarding mail addressed to particular persons or firms.
As late as 1974 he was still in business in Guayaquil, Ecuador, though it appears old age and bad eyesight had severely curtailed his activities. In private correspondence of 1974 he stated that he had bought a villa there and was married to an Ecuadorian woman. Although almost blind he was still able to conduct business and to travel, saying that he had recently visited his family in Rio de Janeiro.
He died on 23 April 1975.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, of which country he eventually became a naturalised citizen. De Thuin's work was considered so dangerous to philately that his tools and stock were purchased by the American Philatelic Society
American Philatelic Society
The American Philatelic Society is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting and organization of philately in the world, with almost 44,000 members from 110 countries...
in 1966 in order to curtail his activities.
Origins and travels
De Thuin stated that he was engaged in philatelic "work" as early as 1916 and the philatelic world began to be aware of him between the two World Wars.In 1927 he had a shop Maison de Thuin, at 35 Boulevard Lambermont in Brussels, Belgium. Services included the removal of fiscal cancellations from British stamps and the application of forged oeverprints to Siamese stamps.
In a 1969 letter to Carl Walske, de Thuin stated that he was a good friend of Angelo Panelli, who was closely associated with the forger Erasmo Oneglia
Erasmo Oneglia
Erasmo Oneglia was an Italian printer, born in Turin, who was also a successful stamp forger in the 1890s and early 1900s.Oneglia's first forgeries are believed to have been of the early stamps of Newfoundland and they are included in the second edition of Robert Brisco Earee's Album Weeds in...
. A photograph of de Thuin from 1927 may be found in the work on Oneglia by Robson Lowe & Carl Walske.
According to contemporary Mexican newspaper reports, found by the American Philatelic Society, he first entered Mexico in 1931 as a 'journalist', on the run from French and Belgian police who wanted him for forgery. He was then expelled from Mexico for setting up a forgery ring involving public officials, moved to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, who jailed and then expelled him in 1936, and back to Mexico by the early 1940s. He then appears to have settled in Mexico permanently.
Work as a forger
De Thuin specialised in forging overprints of Central and South American countries, especially Mexico, thus turning common stamps into rarities. He also copied illustrations that he had seen in magazines, sometimes repeating the mistakes of the original illustrator where he had no original to refer to. He is thought not to have produced whole stamps apart from the classic issues of Mexico.Robson Lowe
Robson Lowe
John Harry Robson Lowe , Robbie to his friends, was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer.- Life and career :...
compared de Thuin unfavourably with Jean de Sperati
Jean de Sperati
Jean de Sperati was among the most noted stamp forgers of the world. Even professional stamp authenticators of his time attested to the genuineness of his stamps...
whom Lowe regarded as a superior craftsman. He noted that long before the true identity of de Thuin was known, his work had been identified by British philatelists who had named him George. Lowe reported that de Thuin had been quoted as saying that "I have no conscience at all at having deceived all those foolish people. They are just fanatics who neglect their families for their passion." De Thuin had also been reported as saying that although he had only three wives, he had four hundred mistresses and that they had borne him twenty-five children.
De Thuin's method of sale was to use one of his aliases to send sheets of approvals to collectors, mainly in the United States, which mixed a few genuine common stamps with forgeries of rarer items. Many collectors were duped and in 1962 a London sale of 498 lots of classic Mexico belonging to Prof. Hormer Lizama was cancelled when the sale was revealed to consist mainly of de Thuin fakes.
Aliases
De Thuin operated using various aliases and accomplices, including:- The Maya Shop
- Raoul Ch. de Thuin
- Gilda Rivero Mendoza
- Gilda Rivero de Thuin
- Gilda Rivero Mendoza de Thuin
- Thelma Salazar
- Blanca Soberanis
- Socorro Duran M.
- Belgian Export Company
- French Philatelic Agency
- Free French Philatelic Agency
- Merida Philatelic Agency
- R.G. Knapen
Gilda Rivero Mendoza was de Thuin's wife and one complainant in 1947 asserted that R.G. Knapen was de Thuin's real name.
The numerous aliases were to circumvent fraud orders which prevented the US Post Office from forwarding mail addressed to particular persons or firms.
The end
In the 1960s the American Philatelic Society began a campaign to drive de Thuin out of business through their 'Committee of Five' and after prolonged negotiations most of de Thuin's stock and equipment was bought by the APS in December 1966 in order to remove it from the market. The APS subsequently produced a reference guide to his work of over 500 pages, however, there is evidence that de Thuin continued to produce forgeries, or at least to sell them from stock, long after then.As late as 1974 he was still in business in Guayaquil, Ecuador, though it appears old age and bad eyesight had severely curtailed his activities. In private correspondence of 1974 he stated that he had bought a villa there and was married to an Ecuadorian woman. Although almost blind he was still able to conduct business and to travel, saying that he had recently visited his family in Rio de Janeiro.
He died on 23 April 1975.
Further reading
- Chemi, James M., ed. The Yucatan Affair: The Work Of Raoul Ch. de Thuin, Philatelic Counterfeiter. State College, Pennsylvania: The American Philatelic Society Inc., 1974.
- Tyler, Varro E. Philatelic Forgers: Their Lives and Works. London: Robson Lowe Ltd., 1976. ISBN 0853970521
External links
- Transcripts of de Thuin's correspondence.
- Linns refresher course on fakes and forgeries by Rick Miller.
See also
- Philatelic fakes and forgeriesPhilatelic fakes and forgeriesIn general, philatelic fakes and forgeries refers to labels that look like postage stamps but are not. Most have been produced to deceive or defraud...
- List of stamp forgers