Vermeer and Leeuwenhoek, Figments of the Imagination?

Abstract

As it is April 1st again, we would like to ask you about a publication in The FASEB Journal on April 1, 2006, by Dr. Robert Klitzman, entitled “Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek, FRS on Vermeer: a figment of the imagination.” Although the title of the paper states, “a figment of the imagination,” we must admit that we took it quite seriously when we came across it; first, because of the unimpeachable status of The FASEB Journal. Secondly, as the paper seems to fill a gap in our knowledge about Vermeer and van Leeuwenhoek and refers to a letter, which was filed more or less unnoticed at the Royal Society, we initially thought it was quite a plausible story. We checked whether the letter and the corresponding member Seebrun van Dekker were known at the Royal Society, but they were not. We first thought that it was a result of the fact that we are non-native speakers that we did not recognize the fake, but some American friends, to whom we gave the paper, took it seriously. As far as we can see, the paper went largely unnoticed; only a Chilean author referred to it in a serious fashion (1). We have not been able to find that The FASEB Journal has retracted the paper, as we feel ought to be done with a fake article.