Markings on a faked medical Chest for 'Norman Smith' A medical chest came up for sale at an auction house in the Northeast (Mass.) during 2008 and again on eBay, then at Ruby Lane.  It is sold over and over as being authentic, but it is a total fake.  Because it was marked as belonging to Mass. 6th surgeon Norman Smith, it was of great interest to this collector since Smith's personal surgical amputation set is a part of this collection.  A lot of additional photos were requested and obtained from the seller and the markings were determined to be a fake due to the modern font of the markings, the darkness of the black printing, the lack of cut tags one would expect with a paper or foil stencil, and above all... the information contained in the following article published in 1861 regarding the correct 'Mass. 6th Vol.' markings for the medical chests belonging to Norman Smith at the Battle of Baltimore.  As can be clearly seen below in the 1861 article, the correct marking would be 'Massachusetts Regiment medicine chest'.  The chest was not withdrawn from the auction and was apparently sold 'as is' by the auction house. Daily National Intelligencer, (Washington, DC) Monday, April 22, 1861; Issue 15,194; col A      The Excitement at Baltimore John W. Garrett, President.   Note the "Massachusetts Regiment medicine chest" at the bottom of the article, vs. what is printed on the inside of the chest.