24 
you with extreme sincerity, that he is nearly sure to overreach 
you. His word is utterly unworthy of credit, although he may 
possibly now and then speak the truth by accident. His forgeries 
do not consist of flint and stone implements only, for, in his own 
words, he is 44 good at mediaeval seals or British urns ” As may 
be supposed, “ Flint Jack” comes at times within reach of the arm 
of the law, and so lately as in August, 1863, he was committed to 
Beverley House of Correction for stealing jet belonging to Mr. 
Major, of Church Gre^n, Bridlington. 
44 Flint Jack” possesses no secret for imparting an aged ap¬ 
pearance to his forgeries. He scoffs at boiling them in mud ; he 
thinks that baking them in a slow oven is the most eflicaceous 
mode, but his ordinary clumsy method is to smear them with dirt, 
and in the case of porous stone (which is incorrect to work at all), 
he uses soot, which he rubs in with a cabbage or any other leaf. 
Some of the forgeries in this Case are just as they were finished, 
others are coloured, but all such are badly done, and could not 
deceive the experienced eye. In fact, forgeries in flint are easily 
detected ; but it is far more difficult to pronounce upon those made 
in other varieties of stone. 
It is hoped that an inspection of the contents of this Case may 
put collectors upon their guard in purchasing specimens, whilst it 
must be encouraging to them to find that even the best forgeries of 
the best forger in England (for such 44 Flint Jack” undoubtedly is) 
are after all so easily detected, and are in themselves so inferior m 
point of finish to genuine specimens. 
All deposited by Mr. E. T. Stevens. 
Forgeries of flint and stone implements, the greater part made 
by 44 Flint Jack,” in Salisbury, in 1863 ; all such are indicated by 
the letters F. J. 
1 to 8. Stone hatchets, F. J. 
9. Stone hatchet. 
10 and 11. Perforated stone hatchets, F. J. 
12. Ditto. 
13. Stone hammer, said to have been found in an old lead-mine 
near Ambleside. 
14 to 20. Flint hatchets, drift type, F. J. 
21. Ditto, Celtic type, F. J. This forgery was made some months 
before No. 24, in Case T, was found; it is instructive to com¬ 
pare the two. 
22 to 24. Flint flakes. 
25 to 27. Ditto, F. J. 
28 to 45. Flint arrow-points, F. J. 
46 to 56. Ditto. 
57 to 76. Ditto, F. J. 
77 to 83. Ditto. 
