Robert Spring, a 19th century forger1 , was as good at his profession that he was able to make his living for 15 years by selling false signatures of famous Americans. Spring was born in England in 1813 and arrived in Philadelphia in 1858 to open a bookstore. At first he make some money by selling his small but genuine of early U.S. autographs . Discovering his ability at copying handwriting, he began imitating signatures of George Washington and Ban Franklin and writing them on the title pages of old books. To make less the chance of detection , he sent his forgeries2 to England and Canada for sale and circulation .
Forgers have a hard time selling their products. A forger can't approach a respectable buyer but must deal with people who don't have much knowledge in the field. Forgers have many ways to make their work look real. For example, they buy old books to use the aged3 paper of the title page, and they can treat paper and ink with chemicals.
In Spring's time, right after the Civil War, Britain was still fond of the Southern states, so Spring invented a respectable maiden4 lady known as Miss Fanny Jackson, the only daughter of General Stonewall Jackson. For several years Miss Fanny's economic problems forced her to sell a great number of letters and manuscripts belonging to her famous father. Spring had to work very hard to satisfy the demand. All this activity did not prevent Spring from dying in poverty, leaving sharp-eye experts the difficult task of separating this forgeries from the originals.
1. Why did Spring sell his autographs in England and Canada?
A. There was a greater demand there than in America.
B. There was less chance of being detected there.
C. Britain was Spring's birthplace.
D. The price were higher in England and Canada.
2. After the Civil War, there was a great demand in Britain for ___.
A. Southern money
B. signatures of George Washington and Ben Franklin
C. Southern manuscripts and letters
D. Civil War battle plans
3. Robert Spring spent 15 years ___.
A. running a bookstore in Philadelphia
B. corresponding with Miss Fanny Jackson
C. as a forger
D. as a respectable dealer5
4. According to the passage, forgeries are usually sold to ___.
A. sharp-eyed experts
B. persons who aren't experts
C. book dealers6
D. owner of the old books
5. Who was Miss Fanny Jackson?
A. The only daughter of General Stonewall Jackson.
B. A little-known girl who sold her father's papers to Robert Spring.
C. Robert Spring's daughter.
D. An imaginary person created by Spring.
KEY: 1. B 2. C 3. C 4. B 5. D
