Deception Collection

Carbolic Smoke Ball / 1893
Advertisement for The Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. which claimed to offer a cure for a wide variety of ailments. This led to a court case on grounds of deception & a landmark ruling

Operation Mincemeat - naval ID card of Major Martin
Fake naval identity card of Major William Martin. His body was found washed up on shore in Spain on 30th April 1943 carrying sensitive documents

Orchid Mantis - On orchid showing camouflage Hymenopus coronatus IN000632
COS-2233 Orchid Mantis - on orchid showing camouflage Hymenopus coronatus Bill Coster Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only and may not be reproduced in any way

Lie detector test
MODEL RELEASED. Lie detector test. Pulse meters on a mans fingers during a lie detector, or polygraph, test. A polygraph records changes in a number of physiological processes

Illicit / Cuckold 1840
The hunter and his horns

Operation Mincemeat - site of grave of Major Martin
Site of the grave of Major William Martin in the Nuestra Senora cemetery in Huelva, Spain, whose body was found washed up on shore in Spain on 30th April 1943

Operation Mincemeat - gravestone of Major Martin
Gravestone of Major William Martin in the Nuestra Senora cemetery in Huelva, Spain, whose body was found washed up on shore in Spain on 30th April 1943

American advertisement for Clark Stanleys Snake Oil Liniment, c1895
PATENT MEDICINE AD, c1895. American advertisement for Clark Stanleys Snake Oil Liniment, c1895

Cuckoo - young in Reed Warbler nest being feed - UK
MAW-78 Cuckoo - young in nest being fed by Reed Warbler UK Cuculus canorus Cuckoos are brood parasites Maurice Walker Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only

Kittens Playing on Desk, (oil on canvas)
1197583 Kittens Playing on Desk, (oil on canvas) by Neuville, Alfred Brunel de (1852-1941); 55.8x66. cm; Private Collection; Photo eChristies Images; French, out of copyright

Bonzo palms the pill by George Studdy
Bonzo palms the pill -- he is given a pill, but only pretends to take it. George Ernest Studdy (1878-1948), was the creator of Bonzo

MAGIC BROADSIDE, c1925. Broadside, c1925, announcing a performance in Hungary in which Horace Goldin saws a girl in two in full view with a giant buzz saw

Stanislawa P
Polish psychic Stanislawa P. produces ectoplasm at Munchen in the presence of Schrenck- Notzing; in 1930 Osty accused her of systematic deception

The Fortune Teller, c. 1635 (oil on canvas)
3432875 The Fortune Teller, c.1635 (oil on canvas) by Tour, Georges de la (1593-1652); 102x123.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA; French, out of copyright

ISaC FAWKES (d. 1731). English conjurer. Isaac Fawkes performing his bag trick, producing eggs and birds. Woodcut from an 1726 advertisement

Picture No. 10854574
Gaboon VIPER - camouflaged on the forest floor (Bitis gabonica rhinocerus) Date:

Reynard the Fox 1572
Reynard the Fox, also known as Reynke de Vos and Reineke Fuchs, playing a trick on an unsuspecting cockerel

PREHISTORY: PILTDOWN MAN. A reconstruction of the head of the Piltdown Man (here called Man of Sussex) from the original publication in The Illustrated London News, 28 December 1912

Toadheaded Agamid Lizard - uses it's camouflage colouring to hide - presses itself into the sand - sand dunes of
ANZ-1424 Toadheaded Agamid Lizard - uses it's camouflage colouring to hide - presses itself into the sand sand dunes of Karakum desert - Turkmenistan - Spring - April Phrynocephalus mistaceus

Bee Fly - basking (note wig venation) UK
SPH-2770 Bee FLY - basking (note wing venation) UK Villa modesta Steve Hopkin Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only and may not be reproduced in any way

Praying Mantis - female
ASW-3240 Praying Mantis - female Phyllocrania paradoxa Alan J. S. Weaving Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only and may not be reproduced in any way

Hodge and Roaf accuse each other of leaving a pot of piss in place of a jug of ale
FLO4718072 Hodge and Roaf accuse each other of leaving a pot of piss in place of a jug of ale. Copperplate engraving by Thomas Sanders after a satirical illustration by Timothy Bobbin (John Collier)

"The cup of wine which she gives him each night contains a sleeping draught"
BAL4178 "The cup of wine which she gives him each night contains a sleeping draught", illustration to 'King of the Ebony Isles', 1911 (colour litho) by Dulac

Disappointed Bride: Kono Flees Upon Discovering That the Ugly Bridegroom Is Not Whom... 1879
Disappointed Bride: Kono Flees Upon Discovering That the Ugly Bridegroom Is Not Whom She Promised to Marry, 1879. Series: The Kanayomi Newspaper, no. 891

Judah and Tamar, c.1640-c.1650. Creator: Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn
Judah and Tamar, c.1640-c.1650

Les Joueurs de tric-trac (The Tric Trac players), c. 1655. Creator: Le Nain, Mathieu (1607-1677)
Les Joueurs de tric-trac (The Tric Trac players), c. 1655. Found in the collection of the Musee du Louvre, Paris

Delilah, after Alexandre Cabanel, c1880-83. Creator: Charles Theodore Deblois
'Delilah, after Alexandre Cabanel'. From "Modern Artists" by F.G.Dumas. [J.S.Virtue & Co Ltd, London, c1880]

'Une Lache Perfidie; Le Guet-Apens, 1914. Creator: Lucien Jonas
'Une Lache Perfidie; Le Guet-Apens, 1914. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919: Volume I". [L'Illustration, Paris, 1926]

The Christianity of the Head of the Greek Church, 1854. Creator: George Cruikshank
The Christianity of the Head of the Greek Church, 1854. From "Cassells Illustrated Family Paper; London Weekly 31/12/1853 - 30/12/1854"

Gentleman in the shop, after Frans van Mieris, c.1660. Creator: Unknown
Gentleman in the shop, after Frans van Mieris, c.1660

Wild Duck Shooting on the Potomac, 1850. Creator: Unknown
Wild Duck Shooting on the Potomac, 1850. American invention for duck-shooting:..one device attracted my notice especially [and] succeeds admirably

Marbled white (Melanargia galathea), on a marsh thistle (Cirsium palustre), Siegerland, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
adaption, adaptions, animals, asteracea, asteraceae, autumn aster, bloom, blossoms, brush-footed butterflies, brush-footed butterfly, butterflies, butterfly, camouflaged, camouflaging, cirsium

Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina), in flight, high-speed nature photo, Siegerland, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
adaption, adaptions, animals, brush-footed butterflies, brush-footed butterfly, butterflies, butterfly, camouflaged, camouflaging, copy, deception, deceptions, deserted, diurnal butterflies

Thomas Rowlandson, The Honeymoon - When the old fool has drunk his wine, and gone to rest - I will be thine. circa 1816

Camouflage
This painting shows a large war ship in dazzle camouflage, used as a form of deception for enemy aircraft, mainly during WW1, not necessarily to conceal

Camouflaged Ship
This painting shows a large war ship in dazzle camouflage, used as a form of deception for enemy aircraft, mainly during WW1, not necessarily to conceal

Corpse Deception World War Two 1943 Operation
corpse, deception, world, war, two, 1943, operation, mincemeat, body, major, william, martin, second, wwii, ww2, death, dead, hoax, british, intelligence, glyndwr, michael, the, of, and, a, to, in

3673820

The capture of Osceola, from The History of Our Country, published 1905 (litho)
2657621 The capture of Osceola, from The History of Our Country, published 1905 (litho) by American School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Osceola (1804-38), born as Billy Powel

Samson Betrayed, 1850 (oil on canvas)
940195 Samson Betrayed, 1850 (oil on canvas) by Pickersgill, Frederick Richard (1820-1900); 243.8x306 cm; Manchester Art Gallery, UK; © Manchester Art Gallery

The irradiation illusion of visual perception in which a light area of the visual field looks larger than an otherwise
955301 The irradiation illusion of visual perception in which a light area of the visual field looks larger than an otherwise identical dark area

The Zollner illusion. Parallel lines crossed by another short row of lines inclined at an angle will appear to slant in
955300 The Zollner illusion. Parallel lines crossed by another short row of lines inclined at an angle will appear to slant in the direction in which the lines are falling

The Laboratory, 1849 (pen & ink and w/c on paper)
BIR107257 The Laboratory, 1849 (pen & ink and w/c on paper) by Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Charles (1828-82); 19.3x24.4 cm; Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery; (add.info)

The Greeks Climb out of the Wooden Horse, illustration from Newnes Pictorial Book of Knowledge (litho)
IL281022 The Greeks Climb out of the Wooden Horse, illustration from Newnes Pictorial Book of Knowledge (litho) by Tennant, C. Dudley (1867-1952) (after); Private Collection

The Judas Kiss, 1911 (oil on canvas)
471405 The Judas Kiss, 1911 (oil on canvas) by Smits, Jacobs (1856-1928); 81x111 cm; Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, Belgium; © Art in Flanders

Gipsy (oil on copper)
471439 Gipsy (oil on copper) by Vos, Simon de (1603-76); 44x62 cm; Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, Belgium; © Art in Flanders

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"Unveiling the Art of Deception: From Carbolic Smoke Ball to Orchid Mantis" In 1893, the infamous Carbolic Smoke Ball deceived countless individuals with its false promises. Meanwhile, the cunning Orchid Mantis showcased its camouflage skills on an unsuspecting orchid, blending seamlessly into its surroundings as a master of deception. The invention of the lie detector test brought forth a new era in uncovering deceitful intentions. No longer could one easily hide behind falsehoods; this device exposed hidden truths and shattered deceptive facades. Delving further back in time, we encounter the scandalous world of illicit affairs and cuckolds in 1840. The very notion of betrayal and deception became intertwined with human relationships, leaving hearts broken and trust shattered. Operation Mincemeat took deception to another level during World War II. A gravestone bearing Major Martin's name misled enemy forces while his naval ID card played a crucial role in deceiving them further. This audacious plan proved that truth could be manipulated for strategic advantage. Nature itself is not immune to trickery either. The cuckoo bird cunningly places its young within Reed Warbler nests, fooling these unsuspecting parents into raising their impostor offspring as their own – a remarkable example of nature's artistry in deception. Even kittens engage in playful deceitfulness on occasion, as captured beautifully by an oil painting depicting mischievous felines frolicking on a desk. Their innocent antics serve as a reminder that even our beloved pets can indulge in harmless trickery from time to time. Returning once more to Operation Mincemeat, we find ourselves at the site where Major Martin was supposedly buried – yet another layer added to this intricate web of lies and subterfuge. Picture No. 10854574 captures this pivotal moment when reality blurred with fiction amidst wartime chaos. Lastly, we come across an American advertisement for Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Liniment from c1895.