Title page of Beringer's book on 'fossils', 1767

Title page of Beringer's book on 'fossils', 1767. Title page from the second edition of 'Lithographiae Wirceburgensis' ('Wurzburg Lithography') by Joannes Bartholomaeus Beringer (d 1740) published in Frankfurt in 1767. In 1726, Beringer, a professor at the University of Wurzburg in Germany, was fooled by two colleagues who had fake fossils carved and planted near the town. They hated his pompous arrogance and wanted to humiliate him. Beringer believed the 'fossils' to be genuine, and it was only after the publication of the first edition of this work in 1726 that he discovered the hoax. When the trick was exposed the hoaxers were disgraced. The false fossils were known thereafter as Lugensteine, or 'lying stones'. Beringer evidently recovered from the embarrassment and went on to write several more books. ©SSPL/Science Museum