467 
MR. W. O. CLARKE ON “ FLINT JACK.” 
At St. Albans he found a good customer, and sold him spurious 
flint knives and arrowheads. lie also made an ancient silver coin 
to order, out of the handle of a German silver tea spoon. In after 
life, “Flint Jack” related with evident glee how a Roman urn 
(calcined bones, earth, and all), which a cannv sceptic had refused 
to accept for live shillings, was afterwards bought up for £3. 
In 1854 Wiltshire was the scene of his operations, and at 
Devizes (where he sold both forged fossils and implements to the 
Museum) he sat for his first portrait, which sold freely as a photo- 
graph of “ The Old Antiquarian.” The same year he thoroughly 
worked the West of England, and during the next three years he 
also visited Scotland and most of the English counties, doing 
a flourishing trade. Many and many a time did he chuckle at 
having deceived the very elect of antiquarians. After further 
wanderings, Edward Simpson again came to the Eastern Counties 
by way of Boston, Spalding, and Lvnn, visiting Norwich, Brandon, 
Yarmouth, and Ipswich. This was in 1860. Concerning this 
visit, Major Fitch has kindly informed me that “Flint Jack” 
lodged at the “Half Moon,” a public-house which then stood in 
Norwich Market Place. He made implements with a sort of tool 
that kept old-fashioned windows open, and carried with him a 
plan, about twelve inches square, of specimens of Paleolithic and 
Neolithic implements, which he imitated with great success. 
I)r. C. B. Plowright was informed bv the keeper of the Black more 
Museum at Salisbury, that “Flint Jack” could make obsidian 
arrowheads out of the bottom of a black glass wine bottle. He 
also told this lady that he used a round pebble for working flints; 
but, at another time, he told an uncle of Dr. Plowright that he 
used the hasp of a gate for this purpose. It is furthermore 
recorded that he used a small round-faced hammer of soft iron, 
so that his tools were very varied. Perhaps this was one of the 
two old flaking hammers that Mr. Fred Snare of Brandon tells 
me “ Flint Jack ” begged of his father, Mr. W. E. Snare. The 
former gentleman also possesses one of the Salisbury photographs 
of “ Flint Jack,” mentioned hereafter. Previous to this visit 
“Flint Jack” had been charged by Mr. Tennant of London with 
making spurious implements, and had confessed the imposture. 
From that time his trade became very precarious, and he gave way 
more and more to dissipated habits. On January 6th, 1862, there 
