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<h1><span class="fsm">THE</span><br />
<span class="smcap"><big>Detection of Forgery</big></span>.</h1>

<p class="hd1"><big>A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK</big><br />
<span class="fsxs">FOR THE USE OF</span><br />
BANKERS, SOLICITORS, MAGISTRATES' CLERKS,<br />
<small>AND ALL HANDLING SUSPECTED DOCUMENTS.</small></p>

<p class="hd1"><span class="fsxs">BY</span><br />
<big>DOUGLAS BLACKBURN</big><br />
<span class="fsxxs">(<i>Late Expert to the Natal Criminal Investigation Department, and the Transvaal Republic</i>)</span><br />
<span class="fsxs">AND</span><br />
<big><span class="smcap">Captain</span> WAITHMAN CADDELL.</big></p>

<p class="hd1"><small>LONDON:</small><br />
CHARLES &amp; EDWIN LAYTON,<br />
<small>FARRINGDON STREET, E.C.</small></p>
<p class="center"><small>1909.</small></p>

<hr />
<div class="blockquot"><p class="center"><b>ERRATUM. (<i>Page <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</i>)</b></p>

<p>Owing to the averages given in the table on page 15
being printed from some incomplete manuscript they are
incorrect. It is obvious that the proper averages are&mdash;</p></div>

<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr class="tr3"><td class="td3">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">6&frac12;</td><td class="td3">5&frac34;</td><td class="td5">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">16&frac14;</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">20&frac34;</td><td class="center">20&frac34;</td></tr>
</table></div>

<hr />
<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>

<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr><td class="td2"><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td class="td2" colspan="2"><span class="smcap"><small>Page</small></span></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">&nbsp;</td><td class="td1">Introduction</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">I.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">The Principles of Handwriting Analysis</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">II.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Measurement and its Appliances</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">III.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Terminology</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">IV.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Classes of Handwriting</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">V.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">How to Examine a Writing</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">VI.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">The Alphabet in Detail</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">VII.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">The Capitals</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">VIII.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Punctuation</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">IX.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Paper and Watermarks</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">X.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Inks</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">XI.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Erasures</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">XII.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Pencils and Stylographs</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">XIII.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Anonymous Letters and Disguised Hands</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">XIV.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Forged Literary Autographs</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">XV.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Forged Signatures</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">XVI.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">The Expert in the Witness-box</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">XVII.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Handwriting and Expression</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td></tr>
<tr class="tr1"><td class="td2">XVIII.&mdash;</td><td class="td1">Bibliography of Handwriting</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td></tr>
</table></div>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> object of this little work is to assist those who may
occasionally be called upon to form an opinion as to the
genuineness of signatures, alterations in cheques, and the
varied doubtful documents that demand the serious consideration
of business men by way of a preliminary to
"taking further steps."</p>

<p>It is the first attempt published in England to explain
the principles upon which the comparison and examination
of handwriting are conducted by experts. It is, and can
only be, an outline of suggestions how to begin, for no two
experts follow precisely the same methods, any more than
two painters work on the same lines. Both agree in recognising
certain rules and general principles, but each strives
for his objective point by the employment of those means
which experience, temperament, taste and opportunity
suggest. The study of the elementary rules of their art
puts them upon the road for perfecting it, after which
success can only be attained by rightly reading the signs
that lead to the ultimate goal.</p>

<p>In reading these chapters the student should begin by
practising that self-help which is essential to success.
<i>He must read with pen and notebook.</i> It is with the
object of compelling this valuable habit that no illustrative
examples are given in the text. It would have been easy
to fill many pages with script illustrations, but experience
shows that a much greater impression is made upon the
memory by the hand forming the outlines described than if
they were provided in pictorial form. In other words, the
student should supply this purposeful omission by himself
constructing the illustrations from the description. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
trifling extra time and trouble thus demanded will be amply
repaid by the ease and rapidity with which the various
points will be fixed in the memory. Nor is this the only
advantage to be gained. The act of reproducing the illustration
cited will emphasise and render clear technical and
mechanical features that would require many words to
explain, with the attendant risk of confusing the mind by
mere verbiage.</p>

<p>The material and opportunity for practising and studying
the comparison of handwritings are abundant. Every letter
written or read affords a subject, and in a surprisingly short
space of time the student will find himself instinctively noting
and analysing peculiarities in handwriting that probably
never arrested his attention before. The principles of the
art are exceedingly simple and free from complexity, and
many a person who takes up the study will find that he
possesses powers of analysis and observation unguessed
before. The most successful expert is he who observes
most closely and accurately, and the faculty needs only the
spur of an objective point for it to be developed.</p>

<p>After a little practice, experience will suggest many
methods of examination and test not dealt with here. For
example, photographic enlargements can be and are utilised
with great advantage by bringing out minute details,
especially in signatures, erasures and alterations. Interesting
experiments can be made with a view to discovering the
effect of different kinds of ink&mdash;important in settling the
question whether the whole of a particular writing was done
with one fluid, and at the same time, or at intervals.</p>

<p>The study of erasures and alterations of figures or
characters also comes within the scope of developments of
the art which it is not deemed necessary to deal with at
length in these pages, for after experience will suggest their
use and the best methods of procedure. For the beginner
the instructions given in the chapters that follow will be
found amply sufficient to direct him how to take up a
fascinating and practical accomplishment, and this, with
no further aid than his own judgment, perseverance and
powers of observation and deduction.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2>

<h3>The Principles of Handwriting Analysis.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> principle on which experts claim to be able to detect
variations and to differentiate between handwritings is based
on the well-established axiom that there is no such thing as
a perfect pair in nature; that, however close the apparent
similarity between two things, a careful examination and
comparison will reveal marked differences to those trained to
detect them.</p>

<p>This is especially true of everything that is produced by
human agency. Everyone knows how difficult it is to keep
check upon and eradicate certain physical habits, such as
gestures, style of walking, moving the hands, arms, &amp;c.,
tricks of speech, or tone of voice. These mannerisms, being
mechanical and automatic, or the result of long habit, are
performed unconsciously, and there is probably no person
who is entirely free from some marked peculiarity of manner,
which he is ignorant of possessing. It is a well-known fact
that the subject of caricature or mimicry rarely admits the
accuracy or justness of the imitation, although the peculiarities
so emphasised are plainly apparent to others. Even
actors, who are supposed to make a careful study of their
every tone and gesture, are constantly criticised for faults
or mannerisms plain to the observer, but undetected by
themselves.</p>

<p>It is easy, therefore, to understand how a trick or a
gesture may become a fixed and unconscious habit through
long custom, especially when, as in the case of a peculiarity
of style in handwriting, there has been neither criticism on
it, nor special reason for abandoning it.</p>

<p>Every person whose handwriting is developed and permanently
formed has adopted certain more or less distinctive<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
peculiarities in the formation of letters of which he is
generally unaware.</p>

<p>The act of writing is much less a matter of control than
may be supposed. The pen follows the thoughts mechanically,
and few ready and habitual writers could, if suddenly called
upon to do so, say what peculiarities their writing possessed.
For example, how many could say off-hand how they dotted
an <i>i</i>&mdash;whether with a round dot, a tick or a dash&mdash;whether
the tick was vertical, horizontal or sloping; what was the
proportional distance of the dot from the top of the <i>i</i>.
Again, ask a practised writer how he crosses the letter <i>t</i>&mdash;whether
with a horizontal, up or down stroke? It is safe to
assume that not one in a thousand could give an accurate
answer, for the reason that the dotting of an <i>i</i> and crossing
of a <i>t</i> have become mechanical acts, done without thought or
premeditation, but as the result of a long-formed habit.</p>

<p>It is these unconscious hand-gestures and mechanical
tricks of style that the handwriting expert learns to distinguish
and recognise,&mdash;the unconsidered trifles that the writer
has probably never devoted a minute's thought to, and which
come upon him as a surprise when they are pointed out to him.
Their detection is rendered the more easy when one knows
what to look for from the fact that they are, unlike gestures
and tricks of voice, permanent. A mannerism may not strike
two observers in the same way, nor is it easy to compare, for
it is fleeting, and the memory has to be relied upon to recall a
former gesture in order to compare it with the last. It is not
so with a hand-gesture in writing. The sign remains side by
side with its repetition, for careful and deliberate comparison;
and if the writing be a long one, the expert has the
advantage of being in possession of ample material on which
to base his judgment.</p>

<p><i>A Popular Fallacy.</i>&mdash;One of the most frequent objections
offered by the casual critic when the subject of expert
testimony is discussed is to the effect that people write
different hands with different pens, and he probably believes
this to be true. A very slight acquaintance with the
principles on which the expert works would satisfy this
spontaneous critic of the fallacy of his objection. A person
who habitually writes a fine, small hand, sloping from right<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
to left, may believe that he has altered the character of his
hand by using a thick, soft quill, reversing the slope to what
is called a backhand, and doubling the size of the letters.
All he has done is to put on a different suit of clothes; the
same man is in them. The use of a thick pen does not make
him put a dot over the <i>i</i> where before he made an horizontal
dash; it does not turn a straight, barred <i>t</i> into a curved loop,
neither does it alter the proportionate distance between the
letters and lines. It does not make him form loops where
before he habitually made bars, or <i>vice vers&acirc;</i>, and if he
formerly made a <i>u</i> with an angle like a <i>v</i> he will not write
the <i>u</i> with a rounded hook. Neither will it cause him to drop
his habit of adding a spur to his initial letters or curtail the
ends and tails that he was wont to make long. In short, the
points to which the expert devotes his investigation are those
least affected by any variation in the character of the pen
used and the hand-gestures which have, by constant usage,
become as much part of the writer's style as his walk and the
tone of his voice.</p>

<p>It follows, therefore, that the work of the handwriting
experts consists in learning how to detect and recognize
those unconscious or mechanical signs, characteristics or hand-gestures
that are a feature in the handwriting of every
person, no matter how closely any two hands may approximate
in general appearance. However similar two hands may
seem to the casual and untrained observer, very distinct and
unmistakable differences become apparent when the student
has been taught what to look for. There is no more certain
thing than the fact that there has not yet been discovered
two handwritings by separate persons so closely allied that
a difference cannot be detected by the trained observer.
Every schoolmaster knows that in a class of pupils taught
writing from the same model, and kept strictly to it, no two
hands are alike, although in the early and rudimentary stage,
before the hand has attained freedom and approached a
settled character, the differences are less marked. So soon
as the child has been freed from the restraint of the set copy
and the criticism of the teacher, he begins to manifest distinct
characteristics, which become more marked and fixed with
practice and usage.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p>

<p>There is no writing so uniform as the regulation hand
used, and wisely insisted upon, in the Civil Service, and
familiar to the general public in telegrams and official letters.
Yet it is safe to say that there is not a telegraph or post office
clerk in England who would not be able to pick out the
writing of any colleague with which he was at all acquainted.</p>

<p><i>Duplicates non-existent.</i>&mdash;But the best and most decisive
answer to the objection that writings may be exactly similar
lies in the notorious fact that during half a century experts
have failed to discover two complete writings by different
hands, so much alike that a difference could not be detected.
Had such existed, they would long ere this have been produced
for the confuting of the expert in the witness-box;
particularly when we bear in mind that the liberty, and even
the life of a person, have depended upon the identification of
handwriting. That there are many cases of extraordinary
similarity between different handwritings is a fact; if there
were not, there would be very little occasion for the services
of the expert, but it is equally a fact that the fancied
resemblance becomes less apparent as soon as the writing is
examined by a capable and painstaking expert. It should
not be forgotten that it is not every person who undertakes
the comparison of handwritings who is qualified for the task,
any more than every doctor who diagnoses a case can be
depended upon to arrive at an accurate conclusion. But if
the tried and accepted principles of the art be acted upon,
there should be no possibility of error, always assuming that
the person undertaking the examination has a sufficiency of
material for comparison. An expert who valued his reputation
would, for example, be very cautious about giving an
emphatic opinion if the only material at his disposal were
two or three words or letters. It is quite possible that a
clever mimic might reproduce the voice of another person so
accurately as to deceive those who knew the subject of the
imitation; but let him carry on a conversation in the assumed
voice for a few minutes, and detection is certain. In like
manner, while a few characters and tricks of style in writing
may be fairly well imitated, it is impossible to carry the
deception over a number of words. Sooner or later the
forger lapses into some trick of his own, and it is here<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
the trained observer catches him. The expert, like the
caricaturist, lays himself out to note the peculiarities of his
subject, knowing that these are practically beyond the control
of the writer, and that the probabilities are that he is not
even aware of them. Peculiarities in handwriting, like
unchecked habits in children, become, in time, crystallised
into a mannerism so fixed as to be part of the nature, and
consequently are difficult of eradication. As a matter of fact
a peculiarity in handwriting is more often cultivated than
controlled, many writers regarding a departure from orthodox
copybook form as an evidence of an "educated hand."</p>

<p><i>The Law of Probabilities.</i>&mdash;In examining a writing for
comparison with another the expert notes all peculiarities,
which he labels, for distinctive reference, "tricks." When
he has recorded as many as possible he looks for them in the
writing which he has to compare. Suppose that he has
taken note of a dozen tricks, and finds them all repeated in
the suspected writing. The law of probabilities points to a
common authorship for both writings, for it is asking too
much to expect one to believe that there should exist two
different persons, probably strangers, who possess precisely
the same peculiarities in penmanship.</p>

<p>This principle of the law of probabilities is applied in the
case of the identification of persons "wanted" by the police.
For example, the official description of an absconding forger
runs as follows:&mdash;"He has a habit of rubbing his right
thumb against the middle finger as if turning a ring. He
frequently strokes his right eyebrow with right forefinger
when engaged in writing; when perplexed, he bites his
lower lip and clenches and unclenches his fingers."</p>

<p>Now there are, probably, thousands of people who do
every one of these things singly, but the chances are millions
to one against there being two people who do them all as
described in the official placard. In like manner there may
be a multitude of writers who form an <i>f</i> or <i>k</i> with a peculiar
exaggerated buckle. Thousands more may make certain
letters in the same way, but to assume that there are two
persons who possess equally the whole twelve characteristics
noted by the expert is to strain coincidence to the breaking-point
of absurdity.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p>

<p>Therefore, it follows that it is the weight of cumulative
evidence of similarity in the production of unusual tricks of
style that proclaims a common authorship for two apparently
different writings.</p>

<p>It may be, and often is, the case that the peculiarities or
tricks in the original have been imitated in the suspected
writing. As the result of his experience in knowing what to
look for in a copied document, the expert is not deceived.
However good the copy, there are always apparent to the
trained eye evidences that prove another and stranger hand,
plain as the difference between the firm, clear line of the
drawing master and the broken saw-edged effort of the pupil.
Habitual observation trains the eye to an extent that would
scarcely be credited unless proved by experiment. The art
of observation cannot be taught; it must be the outcome of
practice. The most the teacher can do is to indicate the
lines on which the study should be carried out, and offer hints
and suggestions as to what to look for. The rest is in the
hands of the student.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2>

<h3>Measurement and its Appliances.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> appliances necessary for the work of examination are,
a good magnifying or reading glass of the greatest power
obtainable, a pair of fine compasses or dividers, a horn or
celluloid protractor for measuring angles of slope, and a
clearly marked scale rule. Suitable articles will generally be
found in an ordinary case of mathematical instruments.</p>

<p>A simpler and equally accurate method of taking
measurements of handwriting is by the aid of the transparent
paper known as foreign letter paper. It is usually of quarto
size, very thin and transparent, and is ruled horizontally and
vertically, dividing the sheet into tiny squares. It is laid
over the writing to be examined, and the various measurement
marks are made with a finely pointed lead pencil. The
lines and squares are used for measurement as the parallels
of latitude and longitude are used on a chart. For example,
a letter is said to be so many lines high, so many lines wide.
One of the tiny squares should be carefully divided into two,
or, if possible, four parts, so as to ensure finer and more
accurate measurement. A letter may then be measured in
parts of a line, being described, for example, as, height 6&frac34;
lines, breadth 2&frac12; lines. It is of course important that the
same gauge of ruled paper be used uniformly, otherwise the
measurements will vary. If the student has had practice in
the use of the dividers and scale rule, he may prefer to
employ these, but the ruled paper and a finely pointed lead
pencil will be found sufficient for most purposes. A paper
specially prepared for surveyors, ruled in squares of one-eighth
of an inch may be obtained. For measuring the
slopes of letters a transparent protractor is necessary. The
letters measured are all topped and tailed small letters, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
all capitals having a shank. Letters like <i>O</i>, <i>C</i>, <i>Q</i>, <i>S</i>, and <i>X</i>
can only be measured approximately.</p>

<p>The method of applying the measurements of heights and
angles of slope is shown in the case illustrated by the table
on page <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</p>

<p>The subject of enquiry was a signature containing the
letters <i>B</i>, <i>l</i>, <i>k</i>, <i>b</i>.</p>

<p>The measurements of these letters in the forgery are
given at the top of the table, and show the height in lines and
angle of slope in degrees.</p>

<p>The measurements of the corresponding letters in twelve
genuine signatures are shown in the table as Examples 1 to
12.</p>

<p>The total is averaged by dividing by twelve.</p>

<p>The presumption in favour of the suspected signature
being a forgery is strongly supported by the arithmetical
result.</p>

<p>A difference of more than 2 per cent. in angle of slope,
and 3 per cent. in height may be safely relied upon as
ground for suspicion, for it is rarely that a man's signature
varies so greatly within a brief period. In the absence of
the explanation provided by illness, intentional change in
style or other abnormal circumstances, such a difference as is
shown in this example will justify a belief that the suspected
signature is by another hand.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p>

<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr class="tr2"><td class="td4" style="border-left: solid black 1px;" rowspan="2" colspan="2">&nbsp;</td><td class="td6" colspan="4">Height in lines.</td><td class="td7" colspan="4">Angle of slope.</td></tr>
<tr class="tr2"><td class="td3"><i>B.</i></td><td class="td3"><i>l.</i></td><td class="td3"><i>k.</i></td><td class="td5"><i>b.</i></td>
<td class="td3"><i>B.</i></td><td class="td3"><i>l.</i></td><td class="td3"><i>k.</i></td><td class="td3"><i>b.</i></td></tr>
<tr class="tr2"><td class="td9">Forgery</td><td class="td4">...</td><td class="td3">7</td><td class="td3">7</td><td class="td3">6</td>
<td class="td5">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">15</td><td class="td3">20</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">21</td></tr>
<tr class="tr2"><td class="td9">Example</td><td class="td4">1</td><td class="td3">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">6&frac12;</td><td class="td3">5&frac12;</td>
<td class="td5">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">16</td><td class="td3">22</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">20</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">2</td><td class="td3">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">6&frac14;</td>
<td class="td3">6</td><td class="td5">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">17</td>
<td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">20</td><td class="td3">20</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">3</td><td class="td3">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">6</td>
<td class="td3">5&frac34;</td><td class="td5">7&frac34;</td><td class="td3">16</td>
<td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">20</td><td class="td3">21</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">4</td><td class="td3">7</td><td class="td3">6&frac14;</td><td class="td3">5&frac34;</td><td class="td5">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">16</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">20</td><td class="td3">21</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">5</td><td class="td3">7</td><td class="td3">6&frac34;</td><td class="td3">5&frac34;</td><td class="td5">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">17</td><td class="td3">22</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">20</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">6</td><td class="td3">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">6&frac34;</td><td class="td3">5</td><td class="td5">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">16</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">20</td><td class="td3">21</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">7</td><td class="td3">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">6</td><td class="td3">6</td><td class="td5">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">17</td><td class="td3">20</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">21</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">8</td><td class="td3">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">6&frac12;</td><td class="td3">5&frac34;</td><td class="td5">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">16</td><td class="td3">22</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">21</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">9</td><td class="td3">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">6&frac12;</td><td class="td3">5&frac12;</td><td class="td5">7</td><td class="td3">16</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">21</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">10</td><td class="td3">6&frac34;</td><td class="td3">6&frac12;</td><td class="td3">5&frac34;</td><td class="td5">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">16</td><td class="td3">20</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">21</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">11</td><td class="td3">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">6&frac34;</td><td class="td3">5&frac34;</td><td class="td5">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">16</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">22</td></tr>
<tr><td class="td8">"</td><td class="td4">12</td><td class="td3">7</td><td class="td3">6&frac14;</td><td class="td3">5&frac34;</td><td class="td5">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">16</td><td class="td3">20</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">21</td></tr>
<tr class="tr3"><td class="td9">Average</td><td class="td4">...</td><td class="td3">7&frac14;</td><td class="td3">6&frac12;</td><td class="td3">5&frac34;</td><td class="td5">7&frac12;</td><td class="td3">16&frac14;</td><td class="td3">21</td><td class="td3">20&frac34;</td><td class="td3">20&frac34;</td></tr>
</table></div>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>

<h3>Terminology.</h3>

<div class="figright">
<img src="https://brian.carnell.com/wiki/_media/etext:d:douglas-blackburn-the-detection-of-forgery-001.png" width="296" height="500" alt="TERMINOLOGY" title="" />
</div>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">In</span> order to render the description of a writing perfectly
clear, a system of terminology is adopted which is invariable.
That is, the same terms are always employed in indicating
the same parts of a letter. These are simple, and for the
most part self-explanatory, so that no effort is required to
commit them to memory.</p>

<p>Every part of a letter has a distinctive name, so that it
would be possible to reproduce a script character very closely
by a verbal description.</p>

<p>The following are the terms used in describing a letter:&mdash;</p>

<p><i>Letter</i> means the whole of any script character, capital
or small. For the sake of brevity in notes and reports capital
is written Cp.; small, Sm.</p>

<p><i>Arc.</i>&mdash;An arc is the curve formed <i>inside</i> the top loop or
curve, as in <i>f</i>, <i>m</i>, <i>h</i>, <i>o</i>. In <i>o</i>, the inside top half of the letter
is the arc; the inside bottom half is the hook.</p>

<p><i>Buckle.</i>&mdash;The buckle is the separate stroke added to such
letters as <i>k</i>, <i>f</i>, and capitals <i>A</i>, <i>F</i>, <i>H</i>.</p>

<p><i>Beard.</i>&mdash;The beard is the preliminary stroke that often
appears in capital letters.</p>

<p><i>Body.</i>&mdash;The body of a letter is that portion of it which
rests on the line and could be contained in a small circle.
For example, in a small <i>d</i> the body consists of the circle and
the final upward curve or toe. In a small <i>g</i> the body is the
circle minus the tail.</p>

<p><i>Eye</i> is the small circle formed by the continuation of a
stroke as in the shoulder <i>r</i>.</p>

<p><i>Finals.</i>&mdash;A final is the finishing stroke not carried beyond
the shank in capitals, and in a few smalls like <i>y</i>, <i>g</i>, <i>z</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p>

<p><i>Foot.</i>&mdash;The foot of a letter is that portion of it that rests
on the line. Small <i>m</i> has three feet, <i>h</i> has two, etc.</p>

<p><i>Hook.</i>&mdash;The hook is the inside of a bottom curve. It is
the opposite of the arc.</p>

<p><i>Link.</i>&mdash;The link is that portion of the stroke which
connects two letters.</p>

<p><i>Broken link.</i>&mdash;A broken link is a disconnection in the link
joining two letters.</p>

<p><i>Loop.</i>&mdash;A loop is that portion of a letter which forms the
top or tail. Unlooped tops and tails are called "barred."
For example, small <i>f</i> has two loops, top and bottom; <i>f</i>, <i>h</i>, <i>l</i>
have one top loop; <i>g</i>, <i>y</i>, <i>z</i> have one bottom loop.</p>

<p><i>Shank.</i>&mdash;The shank of a letter is the principal long downstroke
that forms the backbone.</p>

<p><i>Shoulder.</i>&mdash;The shoulder is the outside of the top of the
curve as seen in small <i>m</i>, <i>n</i>, <i>o</i>, <i>h</i>. Small <i>m</i> has three shoulders,
<i>n</i> two, <i>h</i> one.</p>

<p><i>Spur.</i>&mdash;The spur is to the small letter what the beard is to
the capital. It is the initial stroke.</p>

<p><i>Tick.</i>&mdash;A tick is a small stroke generally at the beginning
of a letter, sometimes at the end.</p>

<p><i>Toe.</i>&mdash;The toe is the concluding upward stroke of a letter,
as seen in small <i>e</i>, <i>n</i>, <i>h</i>, &amp;c.</p>

<p><i>Whirl.</i>&mdash;The whirl is the upstroke in all looped letters.
It is a continuation of the spur in <i>b</i>, <i>h</i>, <i>f</i>, <i>l</i>, and is always an
upstroke.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2>

<h3>Classes of Handwriting.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">For</span> convenience in differentiation, handwritings are divided
into the following classes. Practically every type of writing
can be placed in one of them.</p>

<p><i>Vertical Hand.</i>&mdash;A vertical hand is one in which the tops
and tails of letters form as nearly as possible a perpendicular
with the horizontal line. The best example of this class of
handwriting is that known as the Civil Service hand, familiar
to the general public through telegrams and official
documents.</p>

<p><i>Back Hand</i> is a hand in which the general slope of the
characters is from right to left.</p>

<p><i>Italian Hand</i> is the reverse of a back hand, the slope
being at an acute angle from left to right. It is a style fast
going out of fashion, and is almost invariably the handwriting
used by elderly ladies. Its most pronounced characteristic is
its sharp angles and absence of curves.</p>

<p><i>Open Hand.</i>&mdash;An open hand is one that generally
approximates to the vertical, its distinguishing feature being
the wide space between the letters. The best example of it
is that known as the Cusack style of writing.</p>

<p><i>Closed Hand.</i>&mdash;A closed hand is the opposite of an open
hand, the letters being crowded together and generally long
and narrow, with the slope from left to right.</p>

<p><i>Greek Hand.</i>&mdash;This is the name given to a type of writing
that closely approximates to the printed character. Many
letters, both capital and small, are formed to imitate print,
particularly the capitals <i>T</i>, <i>X</i>, <i>Y</i>, <i>R</i>, <i>B</i>, <i>D</i>, and the smalls
<i>e</i>, <i>f</i>, <i>g</i>, <i>h</i>, <i>j</i>, <i>k</i>, <i>p</i>, <i>r</i>, <i>t</i>, <i>v</i>, <i>w</i>, <i>x</i>, <i>y</i>, <i>z</i>. It is a hand frequently
found in the writings of classical scholars, literary men
engaged in work entailing careful research, and often is an
evidence of short sight.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>

<p>The <i>Wavy Hand</i> is generally vertical. Its characteristic
is an undulating serpentine waviness. Little or no distinction
is made between barred or looped letters. There are no
rounded shoulders to the <i>m</i> and <i>n</i> and the word minnie would
be written by five small <i>u</i>'s. In round-bodied letters like
<i>a</i>, <i>d</i>, <i>g</i>, the circle is rarely completed, but is left open, so that
small <i>a</i> becomes <i>u</i>, and small <i>d</i> may be mistaken for <i>it</i>, with
the <i>i</i> undotted and <i>t</i> uncrossed. Despite its geometrical and
caligraphic inaccuracy in detail, this hand is generally
written with great regularity, that is, the characters, though
incomplete, are always uniform in their irregularity. The <i>e</i>
is never open, but is an undotted <i>i</i>, and <i>n</i> is <i>u</i>, but when the
peculiarities of the writer become familiar this hand is often
very legible.</p>

<p><i>Flat Hand.</i>&mdash;A flat hand is a type of handwriting in
which the characters have an oblate or flattened appearance,
the <i>o</i>, <i>a</i>, <i>g</i>, &amp;c., being horizontal ovals, like the minim and
breve in music. The tails and tops are generally short, with
wide loops. It is nearly always a vertical hand.</p>

<p>An <i>Eccentric Hand</i> is one that presents various marked
peculiarities and departures from standard rules in the
formation of certain letters, and cannot be placed in any
recognised class, though it may approximate to one more than
to another.</p>

<p>The <i>Round</i> or <i>Clerical Hand</i> is a writing that preserves a
close affinity for the round regular hand of the average
school-boy, with the difference that while the characters are
formed on regular copybook model, the hand is written with
considerable fluency and firmness. It is generally only a
little out of the perpendicular, sloping slightly towards the
right.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2>

<h3>How to Examine a Writing.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> examination of a writing generally consists in making
a careful comparison between it and another or others, the
object being to determine whether all are by the same hand.</p>

<p>The writing which is in a known hand or as to the authorship
of which there is no doubt, is usually called the Original,
and is always referred to by this name. The writing which
has to be compared with it, and which practically forms the
subject of the enquiry, is called the Suspect. The Suspects
should be marked A, B, C, D, &amp;c., and put away without
examination until the Original has been thoroughly mastered.
This is more important than may appear at first sight, for the
confusing effect of having the two types of writing in the
eye and mind before one type is made familiar is highly
prejudicial. Any inclination to look at the Suspects first
should be firmly resisted.</p>

<p>Let us assume that the object of the examination is to
discover the writer of an anonymous letter&mdash;one of the
most frequent tasks of the handwriting expert. The
material in hand is the anonymous letter, which in such a
case may be called the Original, and half-a-dozen specimens
of the writing of suspected persons. These Suspects are
numbered from 1 to 6, or marked A, B, C, &amp;c., and put aside
until the Original has been thoroughly studied.</p>

<p>The first thing is to examine the paper and envelope, noting
its quality, watermark, size, and any feature that may afford
a clue. It is always safe to presume that the paper is in
every respect unlike that commonly used by the writer, just
as it is equally safe to take it for granted that the writing it
contains will, so far as its general appearance goes, be the
reverse of the normal hand of the author. That is, if it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
be a heavy back hand, the writer probably uses a hand
approximating to the Italian, though too much weight must
not be attached to this theory.</p>

<p>Next, note the general style of the document as a whole,
whether the margin between top, bottom, and sides is large
or small. A writer who habitually begins at the top left-hand
corner very near to the edge of the paper will often
betray himself by repeating the habit. It is a very common
sign of an economical disposition. Note whether he crowds
his words and letters near the ends of lines or leaves a good
margin. Clerks and those engaged in official work rarely
crowd their final words, preferring rather to leave a wide
space and go on to the next line.</p>

<p>Note whether the hyphen is used to divide words. Many
writers never divide a word, others do it frequently, with or
without the hyphen.</p>

<p>Measure the average distance between lines, if unruled
paper be used, and make a note of the average distance.</p>

<p>Measure the distance between words and strike an average,
noting if words are connected without lifting the pen. It
may be found that this joining is only done when certain
letters form the final of the first word joined and the initial
of the word connected. Look carefully for such.</p>

<p>Note particularly the slope of the topped and tailed
letters.</p>

<p>Note the punctuation, whether frequent and accurate or
otherwise.</p>

<p>Determine the class to which the writing belongs.</p>

<p>Read the document carefully, noting any peculiarities
of language, errors, or Americanisms in spelling, such as
"favor" for "favour," "color" for "colour," &amp;c.; the
substitution of "<i>z</i>" for "<i>s</i>" in such words as "advertise,"
&amp;c. Examine with the glass any words that may have been
crossed out or rewritten, noting particularly letters that have
been mended or touched up.</p>

<p>Note whether the horizontal lines have a tendency to
slope up or down.</p>

<p>Note particularly letters with two or more feet, like <i>a</i>, <i>d</i>,
<i>h</i>, <i>k</i>, <i>m</i>, <i>n</i>, &amp;c. It will be found that a certain regularity in
formation exists in most writings. If the <i>a</i> be formed like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
an <i>o</i>, the toe not touching the line, or an <i>n</i> with the second
foot high up like a bearded <i>r</i>, these peculiarities should be
carefully noted. Some writers go to the other extreme, and
carry the second foot below the line, so that <i>a</i> becomes a
small <i>q</i>. Too much time cannot be devoted to this aspect of
handwriting, as it presents features of which the writer is
probably quite unconscious, and, therefore, affords valuable
evidence.</p>

<p>Next study the topped and tailed letters, noting whether
they are looped or barred, that is, formed by a single stroke.
It will be often found that certain letters are always looped,
others barred. Take careful note of such. If both barred
and looped letters appear to be used indiscriminately, count
and average them. In any case, a characteristic will be
revealed. Examine and classify the loops. Note whether
they are long or short, rounded or angular, wide or narrow.
Devote special attention to the arc, shoulder and hook. Note,
also, any difference of thickness between the up and down
stroke; test the degree of clearness and sharpness of stroke
by means of the glass, and carefully look for the serrated or
ragged edge, which will assist in determining the angle at
which the pen is held.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2>

<h3>The Alphabet in Detail.</h3>

<div class="figright">
<img src="https://brian.carnell.com/wiki/_media/etext:d:douglas-blackburn-the-detection-of-forgery-002.png" width="296" height="500" alt="ALPHABET VARIANTS." title="" />
</div>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">If</span> the instructions so far given have been acted upon, the
student will have familiarised himself with the general
character of the writing under examination. He should now
proceed with a detailed examination of each letter, beginning
with the smalls, and taking them in alphabetical order.</p>

<p>Take a sheet of tracing paper and trace each small <i>a</i>,
letting them follow each other on the line, with about a
quarter inch of space between each letter. During the
process of tracing, the eye must be on the alert for
peculiarities, notably the roundness or otherwise of the
circle as a whole, the curve or angle of the arc and hook,
the relative position of the toe. Note the shank, whether
looped or barred, whether the top of it is above or below the
body of the circle, whether it is vertical or sloping from right
or left. Having compared all the <i>a</i>'s, count them, and decide
which form most frequently recurs. This may be taken as
the normal <i>a</i> of the writer.</p>

<p>The following are the principal points to be considered in
examining succeeding letters.</p>

<p><i>b.</i>&mdash;Note the spur, its length, how far up the shank it
meets it; whether the shank is barred or looped; the
character of the loop. Note particularly the toe, which also
forms the link. This is a very significant hand-gesture. It
may be low down, making the <i>b</i> literally <i>li</i>, or it may be a
horizontal bar, an angle, or a neat semicircle. Its formation
offers large scope for variation, and should be very carefully
studied. Compare the toe with the corresponding stroke in
<i>f</i>, <i>o</i>, <i>v</i>, <i>w</i>. Note whether it is joined with an eye, and observe
its average distance from the bottom on base line.</p>

<p><i>c.</i>&mdash;This letter, when an initial, is frequently begun with
a spur, often with a dot or tick. When connected with a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
preceding letter, the link may make the <i>c</i> into an <i>e</i>. It is
sometimes disconnected from the preceding letter. Note
whether this is characteristic.</p>

<p><i>d.</i>&mdash;Apply the same tests as in examining small <i>a</i>, noting
whether the shank is barred or looped.</p>

<p><i>e.</i>&mdash;Examine the spur in initials; closely observe the loop.
Look for any recurrence of the Greek &#949;. Examine and
compare the specimens given in the examples. Many writers
have a habit of forming an <i>e</i> as an <i>i</i> and adding the loop.
Look out for this with assistance of the glass.</p>

<p><i>f.</i>&mdash;This is an important letter, giving scope for numerous
varieties of form. Examine and classify the loops, noting
which is the longer&mdash;the top or bottom; whether one or both
are barred. The eye and toe are pregnant with material for
observation. Examine the various forms of this letter given
in the examples.</p>

<p><i>g.</i>&mdash;Like the preceding letter, this one has many varieties
of form, and will repay careful study.</p>

<p><i>h.</i>&mdash;The characteristic portion of this letter is the hook
forming its body. Note how it is joined to the shank&mdash;whether
it starts from the line or high up; whether the
shoulder is rounded or angular, whether the foot touches the
line or remains above it; whether the shank is looped or
barred.</p>

<p><i>i.</i>&mdash;This is an important letter because of the dot, which
is made mechanically. After noting whether the shank is
spurred as an initial, special attention must be devoted to the
dot. Dots are of various forms. They may be a wedge-shaped
stroke sloping in any direction, a horizontal dash, a
tiny circle or semicircle, a small <i>v</i>, or a perfect dot. Examine
them all through the glass, and compare them with the
comma, which often partakes of the same character as the
dot. Note also its relative position to the shank, whether
vertical, to the right or left, and its average height and
distance from the shank. Much may be learned from a
careful examination of the dot, and its every variation and
characteristic should be most carefully noted and classified.</p>

<p><i>j</i> is important for the same reason that makes the <i>i</i>
significant. There are several forms of it, but the dotting
offers the most valuable evidence.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p>

<p><i>k.</i>&mdash;This is the most significant and valuable of the small
letters, as it offers scope for so much originality and
irregularity in its formation. The characteristic features of
the small <i>k</i> lie mainly in the body. Few writers form a <i>k</i>
alike. Although it may belong to the same class, the number
of variations that can be rung on the body is surprisingly
large, ranging from the regulation copybook model to the
eccentric patterns shown in the examples. Special attention
should be devoted to the eye and buckle, for it is at this
junction of the two strokes forming the body that most
writers exhibit their peculiarities.</p>

<p><i>l.</i>&mdash;The same principles of examination apply to this letter
as to the small <i>e</i>. Note carefully the character of the loop
and examine the position of the spur.</p>

<p><i>m</i> and <i>n</i> offer ample material for examination. As an
initial the first stroke is sometimes exaggerated, approximating
the letter to the capital <i>M</i> or <i>N</i>. Note the formation of the
shoulders and their relative heights and width; also, by
means of a line touching the tops of the shoulders, note carefully
and compare the last shoulder with the first. This
letter presents great extremes in formation. The shoulders
may be high and well rounded, or even horizontal, or they
may be sharp angles, turning the <i>m</i> into <i>in</i>, and the <i>n</i> into <i>u</i>.
Note the distance between the shanks and observe whether it
is uniform.</p>

<p><i>o.</i>&mdash;This letter owes its main importance to its connecting
link. Note whether it is carried low down, making the letter
like an <i>a</i>, whether it is joined to the body by an eye, and if the
toe is curved or angular. Note, also, the general conformation
of the circular body and compare the toe with that in <i>b</i>, <i>f</i>, <i>v</i>,
and <i>w</i>.</p>

<p><i>p.</i>&mdash;There are several forms of this letter, and a writer
who affects one of them generally repeats it often. The
shank may be barred or looped, wholly or in part, especially
when used as an initial. The body generally offers ample
material for examination.</p>

<p><i>q</i> is also a letter with which great liberties are taken, and
is the subject of several variations. Some writers make no
distinction between <i>g</i> and <i>q</i>, and the final stroke often supplies
the main characteristic of this letter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p>

<p><i>r.</i>&mdash;This important letter has two forms&mdash;the square, or
eyed, and the hooked. Many variants are employed in
forming it, as the specimens in the examples show. Many
writers unconsciously form a habit of using both <i>r</i>'s, but with
a certain degree of system. For example, one may use the
hook <i>r</i> always as a final, and the eyed <i>r</i> as an initial. The
formation of the eye should be specially studied, with the
shoulder, which may be formed as a semicircle, an arc, a
straight bar or an angular <i>v</i>. The hooked <i>r</i> is equally
rich in varying forms, and the letter forms an interesting
study.</p>

<p><i>s.</i>&mdash;This is a letter of such frequent recurrence in the
English language that it not unnaturally has become the
subject of a variety of forms, and this despite the fact that its
regulation shape is exceedingly simple and rudimentary.
The majority of writers have one favourite form of the letter,
which, like the <i>k</i>, becomes characteristic.</p>

<p><i>t.</i>&mdash;This letter is important because of its frequent recurrence,
and on account of the variations of form, the bar or
crossing being the most fruitful in material for observation.
There are two usual forms of the <i>t</i>, the hooked and
crossed, and the barred, and they are equally valuable and
characteristic. The crossing of a hooked <i>t</i>, like the dotting
of an <i>i</i>, is so mechanical an act that it often reveals important
evidence. The cross stroke when closely examined will be
found to present many variations. It may be a fine horizontal
line, a curve, a heavy short dash; it may be ticked or dotted
at either end or both&mdash;in short, there is scarcely an end
to the numerous forms this important hand-gesture may
assume. Then its relative position to the shank tells much.
It may be high up, not touching the shank; low down, neatly
struck at right angles to the shank, or it may be omitted
altogether. In some circumstances a <i>t</i> is crossed, in others
left uncrossed; for example, the <i>t</i> at the beginning of a word
may be invariably uncrossed, but the final <i>t</i> never. These
are the peculiarities and characteristics the student has to
keep a watchful eye for. The other form of the <i>t</i> is known
as the bar <i>t</i>. It is generally uncrossed, and often the buckle
is an important feature. A careful examination of the
examples will suggest the lines on which the analysis of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
letter <i>t</i> should be conducted and at the same time reveal the
richness of material at the disposal of the student.</p>

<p><i>u.</i>&mdash;Note whether the two shanks are uniform, whether
the letter is spurred as an initial. Average the distance
between the shanks, and observe the conformation of the
hook, whether rounded or <i>v</i>-shaped.</p>

<p><i>v.</i>&mdash;The important feature of this letter is the toe. Its
formation must be carefully noted as in <i>f</i>, <i>o</i>, hooked <i>r</i> and <i>w</i>.</p>

<p><i>w.</i>&mdash;Apply the same test as to <i>u</i> and <i>v</i>. Note the uniformity
or otherwise of the shanks and hooks, and study the varied
forms given in the examples.</p>

<p><i>x.</i>&mdash;This letter lends itself to tricks and variations, and
few letters depart more from the orthodox copybook form in
actual practice, as is shown in the examples.</p>

<p><i>y.</i>&mdash;Note the spur and its relative position to the shank.
Note the tail and its average length.</p>

<p><i>z.</i>&mdash;This letter offers good material for study and the
detection of mannerisms. Its body is the most significant
part, as it is capable of so many variations. It may be
angular or well curved; the eye may be large or exaggerated
or merely suggested. Like <i>k</i> and <i>x</i>, the form once adopted
by a writer is not usually departed from to any great extent.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2>

<h3>The Capitals.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Owing</span> to their large size and more complex form the
capital letters offer much more material for tests than the
smalls. They yield more scope for tricks and eccentricity,
though, at the same time, their extra prominence, and the
clearness with which their outlines strike the eye of the writer
render it more likely that he will detect glaring departures from
the orthodox model. In other words, a writer would probably
pay more attention to accuracy in forming, and particularly
in copying, a capital than a small letter. This is generally
found to be the case in signature forgeries, the capitals being,
as a rule, much nearer the original than the small letters.
But there is this great advantage in favour of the student in
examining capitals&mdash;the strokes being more expansive supply
a larger field and material for examination. For example, a
ragged or diamond stroke in a much flourished capital like
<i>M</i>, <i>W</i>, <i>R</i> or <i>B</i> would be more apparent than the same kind of
stroke in a small letter.</p>

<p>There is no need to take the capital letters seriatim, as
was the case with the smalls, for the same principles and
rules for examination apply in both cases. The same care is
necessary in examining the arcs, hooks and shoulders of
loops, with their general conformation. The angle of slope
is more noticeable in capitals, and they reveal the characteristics
of the writer more than small letters. Persons who
profess to delineate character from handwriting always pay
great attention to the capitals, doubtless with good reason,
and as the result of long experience.</p>

<p>An examination will show that about ten capitals can be
formed with two disconnected strokes. They are <i>A</i>, <i>B</i>, <i>F</i>, <i>H</i>,
<i>K</i>, <i>P</i>, <i>Q</i>, <i>R</i>, <i>T</i> and <i>X</i>. These are known as double capitals.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
These doubles should be carefully looked for, and the
frequency, or otherwise, of their recurrence noted, as it is
probable they will be found to be nearly always used under
the same circumstances; that is, a writer may have a habit of
beginning with a double capital when possible, but revert to
the single form of the same letter in the body of the writing.
Another writer will almost invariably disconnect the capitals
from the rest of the word, while a third as regularly connects
them. Some writers affect the more simple form, approximating
to the printed character. Others again indulge in
inordinate flourishes, particularly in their signatures. Such
writers prove easy prey to the forger.</p>

<p>A feature very easy of detection in capitals is the "diamond."
It is formed by a sudden thickening of the downstroke. It is
particularly noticeable in the writing of those who have been
instructed in the old-fashioned school, where a distinction
between the heavy downstroke and the light upstroke was
insisted upon. The diamond habit once formed is very
difficult to eradicate, and traces of it always remain in the
writing of persons thus taught.</p>

<p>An important and significant part of a capital letter is the
beard. It is an automatic trick, and always repays careful
examination. It may be a spurred, ticked or dotted beard,
but in any case the initial stroke must be carefully examined,
whatever form it may assume, for the oft-emphasized reason
that it belongs so essentially to the clue-providing class of
unguarded and unpremeditated automatic strokes that are
overlooked by the writer.</p>

<p>Variations in the form of a capital must be noted, and a
record kept, for, however great the variety, it will be found
that one particular form is more used than another, and may
be regarded as the normal type of the writer.</p>

<p>A peculiarity of some writers is the use of an enlarged
form of the small letter for a capital. The letters so made
to serve a double purpose are generally <i>A</i>, <i>C</i>, <i>E</i>, <i>G</i>, <i>M</i>, <i>N</i>, <i>O</i>,
<i>P</i>, <i>Q</i>, <i>S</i>, <i>U</i>, <i>V</i> and <i>W</i>. They are referred to as small
capitals.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>

<h3>Punctuation.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> ampersand (&amp;) is a symbol that provides excellent
material for clues to tricks and mannerisms. It varies in
form from a mere <i>v</i>-shaped tick of almost indeterminate
character to an ornate thing of loops and flourishes. It is
very sparingly employed by illiterate persons, and some
educated writers avoid its use under the impression that, like
the abbreviation of words, it is vulgar. In a few high-class
ladies' schools its use is sternly repressed, and there are many
fluent and habitual writers who never employ this sign. This
in itself supplies a useful clue to characterisation. Others,
again, only employ it in such combinations as "&amp; Co.," "&amp;c.,"
though this latter abbreviation is, as often as not, written
"etc." by many persons.</p>

<p>The dash (&mdash;) occurs very largely in many writings, and
particularly in those of ladies, who regard it as a universal
punctuation mark, and employ it indiscriminately as comma
and full stop. Many persons of both sexes invariably make
a dash below the address on an envelope, using it as a kind
of final flourish. A close examination of the samples provided
in such a writing will reveal many valuable idiosyncrasies.
It may be a bold, firm horizontal line, a curve with a tick at
either end, or both; a wavy line or even an upward or
downward line. Note, also, the ragged edge, as it affords an
important clue to the style of holding the pen. The dash is
so essentially an unpremeditated and mechanically-formed
hand-gesture that it often betrays more of the character of
the writer than any other letter. Cases have been known in
which the writer of an anonymous letter has successfully<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
concealed all his characteristics, but in putting the final
stroke in the form of a dash he has so far forgotten himself
as to produce, quite unconsciously, what was probably one of
his most pronounced hand-gestures, thus providing a clue
which led to ultimate conviction.</p>

<p>Punctuation is rarely a marked feature of English handwriting.
It is said that many of our leading literary men
practically leave this important phase of their work to the
printer's proof-reader. An examination of a hundred private
letters by different hands will show a marvellous scarcity of
punctuation marks, and few correspondents use or appear to
know the use of any stop other than the comma and full
point, the dash being made to do service for all else. The
mark of interrogation is fairly often used, and its formation
gives scope and material for careful examination. The
examples offer suggestions of the form and direction
eccentricity sometimes takes.</p>

<p>The colon and semicolon are very little used by average
writers, and when they are, it is generally inaccurately, but
nearly always under the same circumstances, which should be
carefully noted. The quotation marks ("&nbsp;") are still more
rarely employed, and it will be found on examination that
most people form them wrongly. The accurate style is this,
&#8220;&nbsp;&#8221;, but as often as not the initial quotation has the dot at
the top instead of the bottom.</p>

<p>Another almost universal omission is that of the full point
after initials to a name, after "Esq.," and in the initials of
postal districts, as E.C., W.C. The addressing of an envelope
affords interesting and valuable material for clues, for it will
generally be found that a writer who uses punctuation marks
at all will do so with automatic regularity under the same
circumstances.</p>

<p>The shape and general formation of stops and marks must
be carefully examined and classified, for they belong to the
significant unpremeditated class of hand-gestures, and are,
therefore, valuable as clues to peculiarities.</p>

<p>The "Esq." that generally follows a man's name on a
letter addressed to him partakes much of the character of a
symbol like the "?" or "!", and, being automatic through
usage, is therefore valuable. Most writers use a uniform style<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
in shaping it, and the three letters that go to make up the
abbreviation are fortunately of a kind that lend themselves
to characterisation.</p>

<p>Notice, also, the position of the possessive sign in such
words as "men's," "writer's." If accurately placed, the
writer may be presumed to understand punctuation, and
will give evidence of it in a long writing.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2>

<h3>Paper and Watermarks.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> brownish tint of old age which paper needs to help
out a fraud is obtained in various ways&mdash;sometimes by
steeping in a weak solution of coffee, but in other cases by
holding it before a bright hot fire. This latter device is,
fortunately, not easy of accomplishment, considerable care,
judgment and even luck being needed to ensure a satisfactory
result. In our own case we have failed persistently
in the attempt, the paper becoming tinted so unequally as to
excite remark at first sight.</p>

<p>All the old pattern of letter paper was almost uniform in
size&mdash;post quarto, and the watermark is invariably very
distinct, explainable by the fact that the art of close weaving
the wire mould was not then brought to its present state of
perfection.</p>

<p>The watermarks are very fairly imitated by means of a
pointed stick dipped in a solution of spermaceti and linseed
oil melted in water and stirred till cold; or, equal quantities
of turpentine and Canada balsam shaken together. The
same result may be obtained by the use of megilp, a mixture
employed by artists.</p>

<p>The detection of this watermark fraud is simple and
infallible. If the suspected document be moistened with
lukewarm water the spurious watermark disappears
immediately, but if genuine, it becomes plainer.</p>

<p>The worn and dingy appearance inseparable from age in
a letter is accentuated by rubbing it lightly with a dirty
duster. The effect is usually obvious under a strong glass,
the passage of the dirty cloth revealing itself in minute
parallel lines.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p>

<p>Very little care is needed to distinguish between paper
that has been taken from books and the genuine letter paper
of the period. To begin with, such letters are always on
single sheets. In genuine cases, the sheet is as often as not
a folio of four pages. In the majority of cases the bogus
sheet is of no recognised size. If taken from a book larger
than post quarto, it has had to be cut to conceal the tear.
This operation has made an irregular sized sheet&mdash;too small
for post quarto, too large for the next size. In the genuine
writing paper, all four edges are usually rough like those
of a bank note. If the sheet has been abstracted from a
book, one edge must have been cut or trimmed.</p>

<p>Again, such paper is of unequal thickness, the writing
paper of the period being much smoother and finer than the
printing paper, while in parts it is almost certain the ink has
run, as it does on a coarse, absorbent paper. This is a sure
sign that the paper is printing and not writing.</p>

<p>Further, such paper is certain to show signs of wear at
the bottom edges where they have been handled and exposed,
while that part of the page which has been closest to the
inside edge of the cover is generally cleaner, and shows less
sign of wear. In many cases the impression of the book
binding is plainly visible.</p>

<p>A careful examination and comparison of a few sheets of
genuine letter paper of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries with the blank leaves found in printed books will
reveal differences so marked that mistake is scarcely possible
afterwards.</p>

<p>It often occurs that grease marks interrupt the forger.
Knowing that he cannot write over them, and that they are
hardly likely to have existed on the paper when it was new,
and when the letter was supposed to be written, he avoids
them. The result becomes apparent in unequal spacing of
words and even letters.</p>

<p>On one occasion a really excellent forgery, which had
successfully withstood all the tests we had applied, had its
real character revealed by a curious oversight on the part of
the forger.</p>

<p>It was an early seventeenth century document, and our
attention was arrested by a peculiar uniform smudgy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
appearance, such as results from blotting with a hard,
unabsorbent, much-worn sheet of blotting paper. At the
period of the presumed date of this document blotting paper
was unknown, writings being dried by means of a specially
prepared fine powder called pounce, sand, or a powder
containing fine crystals of metal intended to give an
ornamental gloss to the ink. Close examination under the
microscope revealed the truth. There were no signs of
pounce or any other drying powder, the crystals of which
are usually plain to the unassisted eye, but there were
distinct signs of the fibre of the blotting paper left in
the ink.</p>

<p>Another forgery we discovered through the presence in
the centre of the sheet of paper of a very faint square outline
which enclosed a slight discolouration. The sheet had, as
usual, been removed from a book, and the square outline was
a faint impression of a book-plate which had been affixed to
the opposite page. The discolouration was caused by the ink
on the book-plate.</p>

<p>It should be superfluous to have to remind intelligent and
educated persons that it is necessary for a collector of old
documents to make himself familiar with the peculiarities,
habits and customs of the period in whose literary curiosities
he is dealing. Yet fact compels the admission that extraordinary
laxity and even ignorance exist on these points.
We are acquainted with a collector, by no means uneducated,
who gave a good price for a letter purporting to be by
Sir Humphrey Davy, the inventor of the miners' safety lamp,
enclosed in an envelope. He was ignorant of the fact that
envelopes were unknown until 1840, thirty years later than
the date of this particular letter. Envelopes supposed to
have been addressed by Dickens have been offered for sale
and purchased, bearing postage stamps not in circulation at
the period.</p>

<p>One would imagine that a forger would pay sufficient
attention to his materials to be on his guard against the
blunder which earned the perpetrator of the Whalley Will
Forgery penal servitude. He put forward a will dated 1862,
written on paper bearing in a plain watermark the date
1870! Another indiscreet person asked the Court to accept<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
a will written and signed with an aniline copying pencil,
but dated years before that instrument had been invented.</p>

<p>Both the works by Dr. Scott and Mr. Davies, given in the
list, show samples of watermarks of the various periods
affected by forgers of literary documents.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2>

<h3>Inks.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Examination</span> for determining whether a writing has
been done at one time, or added to later, necessitates some
acquaintance with the nature and qualities of ink. In the
ordinary case the assistance of a chemist is necessary, but an
enlarged photograph shows up minute differences with
amazing accuracy.</p>

<p>In the majority of instances alterations are made some
time after the original has been written, in which case a
difference in the shade of the ink will be perceptible, even to
the unassisted eye. This is particularly true when the now
almost universal blue-black ink is used.</p>

<p>The period required for an addition to become as black as
the older writing depends very much upon the character of
the paper. If this be smooth and hard, and the writing has
not been dried with blotting paper, but allowed to dry
naturally and slowly, it will become black much quicker than
if the paper be rough and of an absorbent nature.</p>

<p>A fairly reliable test is to touch a thick stroke of the
suspected addition with a drop of diluted muriatic acid&mdash;as
much as will cling to the point of a pin. Apply the drop to
the suspected addition and to the older writing at the same
moment, and carefully watch the result. The newer writing
will become faint and watery, with a bluish tinge almost
instantly, but the change will be slower in the case of the
older writing, taking ten or even twenty seconds. The
longer the period required for the change, the older the
writing.</p>

<p>This same acid test is applied to prove whether a writing
is in ordinary ink, or has been lithographed or photographed.
If the two latter, the acid will have no effect.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p>

<p>On more than one occasion collectors have purchased as
original autographs of celebrities which proved to have been
lithographed or photographed, but the persons so deceived
have generally been inexperienced amateurs.</p>

<p>When the difference between a written and printed
signature has been once noticed it is hardly likely that an
observant person will be deceived. It is, however, as well to
be carefully on guard against this contingency, for modern
photography and process printing have been brought to such a
degree of imitative perfection that it is easy for a not too
keen-eyed person to experience great difficulty in forming an
opinion in the absence of the acid test. Fortunately that is
infallible.</p>

<p>It must, however, be admitted that up to the present no
great success has attended efforts to determine how long an
interval has passed between the writing of the original and
the suspected addition. Broadly speaking, the most that the
expert can hope to gain from an examination of ink under
these circumstances are hints, clues and suggestions rather
than definite, reliable facts. Fortunately it often occurs that
a suggestion so obtained proves of immense value to the
trained or careful observer, though it might convey no conviction
to others.</p>

<p>As in the case of nearly all deductive reasoning the handwriting
expert becomes sensitive to slight suggestions. If
called upon, as he sometimes is, to explain to others how and
why one of these slight and almost imperceptible signs fit in
with his theory, he fails. Therefore the cautious expert, like
a good judge, is careful in giving reasons for his judgment
only to cite those which are self-evident.</p>

<p>Many an expert has made a poor exhibition in the witness-box
by failing to convey to a jury the impression produced
on his own mind by a slight piece of evidence, the proper
understanding and interpretation of which can only be
grasped by those who have learned how to recognize faint
signs.</p>

<p>The process of chemically testing inks for the purpose of
ascertaining the points mentioned is quite simple, and is
distinctly interesting. In a very important case the services
of a qualified chemist will probably be requisitioned, but the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
cost of the necessary material and the time required to make
oneself proficient as a capable tester are so slight that even
the small fee that would be charged by a chemist is scarcely
worth paying.</p>

<p>The materials necessary are a few test tubes, some bottles
of lime water, diluted muriatic acid, a solution of nitrate of
silver in distilled water, in the proportion of ten grains to the
ounce, some camel hair pencils, and clean white blotting and
litmus paper. The whole need not cost more than half-a-crown.</p>

<p>The method of using these materials is best illustrated
by describing a test often needed by autograph collectors.</p>

<p>A very common method employed by forgers to give an
appearance of age to the ink used in spurious old documents
is to mix with ordinary ink, muriatic acid, oxalic acid, or
binoxalate of potash. The presence of these colouring agents
can be detected in the following manner.</p>

<p>In the first place, washing the letter with cold water will
make the ink become darker if acid has been used to brown
the ink, but the following test will settle the point beyond
dispute:</p>

<p>With a camel's-hair brush wash the letter over with warm
water. If, as sometimes happens, a sort of paint or coloured
indian ink has been used, this will be immediately washed
away and disappear, leaving a rusty smudge. If not, apply
the litmus paper to the wetted ink, and the presence of acid
will be shown in the usual way by the litmus paper changing
colour. If genuine, wetting makes no difference.</p>

<p>Next, pour a drop or two of the water from the writing
into a test tube from off the letter, add a little distilled water
and one or two drops of the nitrate of silver solution.</p>

<p>If muriatic acid has been used to colour the ink, a thick
white precipitate will be seen in the tube immediately.</p>

<p>If not, pour a few more drops of the water which has
been washed over the writing into a second test tube, add a
little distilled water and a few drops of lime water. A white
precipitate will be seen in the tube if either oxalic acid or
binoxalate of potash has been employed.</p>

<p>In many cases it will be sufficient to place the tip of the
tongue to a thick stroke. An unmistakable acid taste will be
noticed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p>

<p>Further and fuller particulars of the methods resorted to
by forgers to simulate ancient documents will be given in the
chapter on Autographs.</p>

<p>It is sometimes important to know whether a stroke has
been made over another, as in the famous case in which
the real issue turned on the question whether an apparent
alteration in a signature was really a pen-mark made to
indicate where the signatory should sign. It was obvious
that if the mark was made first the signature would be over
it; if, as was suggested, the mark was added in an attempt
to alter or touch up the signature, it must have been written
over the signature.</p>

<p>In cases of this kind an enlarged photograph leaves no
room for doubt. The ink is seen lying over the lower stroke
as plainly as a layer of paint in a picture can be seen
overlying the stroke beneath.</p>

<p>This is one of those apparently difficult points which
become marvellously simple when dealt with in a practical
manner.</p>

<p>Pages might be needed to explain what a very simple
experiment will reveal at a glance.</p>

<p>Take a word which has been written long enough for the
ink to have become dry, and make a stroke across it. For
example, make a letter <i>t</i> without the bar, then, after a lapse
of an hour or two, add the cross bar. When this is quite
dry and has become as dark as the first mark, examine it
with a good glass. The ink of the added bar will be seen
plainly overlaying the vertical stroke, but any doubt can be
promptly removed by taking an enlarged photograph.</p>

<p>Even when the second stroke is added while the ink on
the first is still wet the upper stroke can be distinguished,
though not so clearly as if the first stroke had been allowed
to dry first.</p>

<p>By practising and examining such strokes, the student
will soon learn to distinguish important signs which leave no
doubt as to which stroke was first made.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2>

<h3>Erasures.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> alteration of the figures and amount written on a
cheque is generally effected by erasure. At one time
chemicals were used for this purpose, but fortunately the
modern cheque is forgery-proof in this respect. No means
are known to chemists by which ordinary writing can be
removed from a cheque without leaving a sign too pronounced
to escape detection.</p>

<p>But even erasure on a cheque is extremely difficult, and
the experienced eye of the average bank teller can detect it
in the vast majority of cases. Frauds perpetrated by this
means are very rare, and are usually the result of gross carelessness
on the part of the person accepting the document so
altered.</p>

<p>The more frequent form of cheque fraud is effected by
adding to such words as six, seven, eight and nine. The
addition of <i>ty</i> and <i>y</i> is all that is necessary. But the
ordinarily careful business man never leaves sufficient blank
space between his words to admit of this addition, while there
are few bank tellers who do not carefully scrutinise a cheque
made out for these larger amounts.</p>

<p>It may be accepted as a satisfactory fact that cheque
forgery is not only extremely difficult, but rarely successful.
Great frauds are usually perpetrated by means of other
instruments, such as bills of exchange, credit notes, &amp;c.</p>

<p>An erasure is the easiest thing to detect if looked for.
To begin with it is only necessary to hold a scratched
document to the light to have the alteration revealed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p>

<p>Erasing must of necessity remove part of the surface of
the paper which is made noticeably thinner at the spot
erased.</p>

<p>In nearly every case the writing that has been added to
the erasure is blurred, owing to the rough and absorbent
character of the paper. Expert forgers have devised means
of counteracting this by rubbing in some substance which
partially restores the original smoothness and mitigates the
blurred appearance. But such devices ought not to be
successful for they are so easily detected.</p>

<p>As a matter of fact the only chance the forger of an erased
cheque has lies in the carelessness of the teller. Any crowding
of words and unequal spacing in the filling up of a cheque
ought to excite suspicion and provoke careful and closer
scrutiny, and, it may be added, it generally does.</p>

<p>The addition of letters intended to increase the value of a
number, such as the adding of <i>ty</i> to six or seven, is easy of
detection if properly looked for.</p>

<p>It is safe to assume that the addition has been made long
after the original word was written, and the point of junction
can be detected by the aid of a good glass.</p>

<p>Had the word been originally written sixty, the chances
are that there would be no perceptible break between the
<i>x</i> and the <i>t</i>. Few persons write such short words in a
disconnected manner. On placing the word under an ordinary
glass the point of junction will be plainly apparent, and a
microscope, or an enlarged photograph, cannot fail to reveal
the fraud. Of course these latter tests will not be possible
under the ordinary circumstances attending the paying out
of a cheque over the counter, but when once the peculiarities
of such alterations have been studied, it is marvellous how
quick the eye becomes in recognizing them at a glance.</p>

<p>Erasure in writings on stout thick paper is not quite so
readily noticed as those on thin paper such as cheques; but
the same methods of examination will apply&mdash;holding the
document to the light, or level with and horizontal to the
eye. A very effective application of the latter test is to bend
or curve the paper, making an arch. The bending has a
tendency to stretch and widen the erased part, and if any
smoothing substance such as starch or wax has been added<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
to restore the gloss of the scraped portion, it will usually
reveal itself by separating and coming away in dust or tiny
flakes. This process may be accentuated by drawing the
suspected document over a ruler, or, better still, a pencil,
repeating the motion several times.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2>

<h3>Pencils and Stylographs.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">It</span> is obvious that writing executed with a pencil or the now
much-used stylograph will differ in many respects from that
performed by an ordinary pen. It is not too much to say
that their use will eliminate many features and introduce new
ones. This change is mainly brought about by the different
way in which a pencil or stylograph is held in comparison
with a pen. There is a much greater sense of freedom. The
pencil can be, and is, turned and twisted in the process of
making a stroke as a pen cannot be, and the signs of this
freedom become apparent in a more rounded stroke. Even
a writer whose characters are acutely angular shows a
tendency to a more graceful outline. As a matter of fact,
it is comparatively rare to meet a pencilled writing that is
pronouncedly angular.</p>

<p>The same remarks apply with only little modification to
writing produced by the stylograph, and for the same reason&mdash;the
ease and freedom with which the instrument is held.</p>

<p>There is no possibility of mistaking writing produced by
a stylograph for that of an ordinary steel nib. The strokes
are absolutely uniform in thickness. No nib-formed writing
can be so, for it is impossible for a writer, however careful,
to avoid putting pressure on his pen at some point; and the
opening of the nib, however slight, must produce an apparent
thickening.</p>

<p>Therefore, recognising these facts, the expert is always
extremely careful in giving an opinion upon a writing
produced by pencil or stylo unless he have ample specimens
of the writer's productions done with these instruments.</p>

<p>At the same time, although an absence of characteristics
present in pen writing would be noticeable, the main features
would exist: for example, the space between words and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
letters would be the same; the dot over the <i>i</i> would be in its
customary position; the bar of the <i>t</i> would be of the same
type as heretofore. The principal changes would be in the
direction of a more uniform stroke with a tendency to greater
rotundity.</p>

<p>Persons who habitually employ the stylo very frequently
develop an unconscious habit of twisting the pen at certain
points so as to form a deep, rounded dot. This occurs
principally at the ends of words and strokes. A magnifying-glass
reveals this peculiarity at once, and, when discovered,
notice should be taken of the circumstances under which this
twisting is usually done. It will be found, most probably,
that the trick is uniform; that is, certain letters or strokes
are mostly finished with the dot.</p>

<p>There is a well-known public character who for years has
employed no other writing instrument but the stylo. His
writing possesses one peculiarity which is so habitual that in
four hundred examples examined it was absent in only five.
He forms this twist dot at the end of the last letter at the
end of every line. The inference and explanation is that, in
raising the pen to travel back to the next line, he twists it
with a backward motion in harmony with the back movement.
Another trick is to make the same dot in words on which he
appears to have halted or hesitated before writing the next.
In every such case there is an extra wide space between the
word ended by a dot and that which follows. It would
appear as if the writer mechanically made the dot while
pausing to choose the next word. This is a striking example
of the unconscious hand-gesture.</p>

<p>Something akin to it occurs in the handwriting of a
famous lawyer. Here and there in his letters will be noticed
a faint, sloping, vertical stroke, like a figure <i>1</i>. Those who
have seen him write explain it thus. While hesitating in the
choice of a word he moves his pen up and down over the
paper, and unintentionally touches it. It is such slips as
these which often supply the expert with valuable clues
to identity. When they occur they should be carefully
examined, for in the majority of cases a reason will be
found for their presence.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>

<h3>Anonymous Letters and Disguised Hands.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">That</span> mischievous and cowardly form of secret attack, the
anonymous letter, demands, unfortunately, a large amount of
attention from the handwriting expert. One of the most
pleasant rewards that can attend the conscientious and painstaking
student of handwriting lies in the knowledge that his
art may sometimes enable him to bring to deserved punishment
the assassin of reputation and domestic happiness.</p>

<p>It is a moot point, which has been discussed by legal
authorities, as to whether the handwriting expert is justified
in tendering evidence and opinions of a kind that may be said
to belong by right to the criminal investigator. By this is
meant that the expert should not be allowed to point out to a
jury such pieces of circumstantial evidence as the similarity
of the paper used by the suspected person with other found
in his possession; that he ought not to direct attention to
postmarks, coincidence of dates, similarity of ink used, the
employment of certain words and phrases, and other external
and indirect clues that point to the authorship. It is urged
that the whole duty of the expert is to say whether in his
opinion two or more writings are by the same hand or not,
and any expression of opinion outside this question is <i>ultra
vires</i>.</p>

<p>The obvious answer to this objection is that it is impossible
to limit the expert in the selection of those points which
appeal to and assist him in forming an opinion. It is
impossible to say what may or may not suggest a valuable
clue to a keen observer; and as the expert is often called
upon to give reasons for his opinion he is quite justified in
indicating the steps by which he arrived at it.</p>

<p>These circumstances arise more often in connection with
anonymous letters than with ordinary signature forgeries,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
for the field of exploration and the material examined are so
much larger. Details become invaluable. The quality and
make of the paper used, or a peculiar method of folding and
placing it in the envelope may afford a clue that will put the
expert on the high road to an important discovery. It is
impossible to say how or where a clue may lurk. The torn
edge of a postage stamp once supplied a hint that was
followed up successfully. A smudge on the envelope, that
matched a similar one on a packet of envelopes in the writing
case of a person quite unsuspected, led to conviction, as did a
number of an address that was crossed out and rewritten, the
anonymous writer having, by force of habit, begun with the
number he was in the habit of writing&mdash;his own.</p>

<p>In short, the expert has, <i>nolens volens</i>, to assume many of
the functions of the crime investigator in dealing with
apparent trifles, and even if they do not always help him in
reaching his goal, they provide material for exercising the
useful art of observation. Strictly speaking the expert
should, perhaps, ignore all outside suggestions as to the
authorship, and confine himself to saying whether or not the
specimens submitted are in the same handwriting; but in
practice this will be found extremely difficult, if not impossible,
for the student cannot shut his eyes to the accidental clues
that invariably arise in the examination of the evidence, and
almost before he realizes it, the most cautious expert finds
himself trespassing upon ground that by right should be the
preserve of the detective.</p>

<p>The points raised here may, however, be safely left to be
dealt with by the judgment of the student as they arise. In
the early stages of study they will probably not present
themselves with the same force and frequency as later on,
when they will be appreciated as providing useful private
pointers for guidance; and though at times they may put the
inexperienced student upon a false scent, he will have no
difficulty in detecting his error if, when in doubt, he follows
the principles laid down for the comparison of handwriting.</p>

<p>The first step to the examination of the anonymous
letter consists in procuring as many suspects as possible,
which, as before advised, should be lettered or numbered
and put aside, until the original, which in this case is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
anonymous letter, has been studied and mastered. The
external evidence of which so much has already been said
may or may not be looked for.</p>

<p>Next proceed with the examination and comparison of the
writings. It is presumed that the student has prepared his
notes of the peculiarities of the original; he has now to
search for them in the suspects. Suppose he begins with the
spurs and beards, having found them well marked in the
original. He will take any one of the suspects and examine
it for a repetition of the same signs. He may follow on with
the rest of the suspects, taking advantage of his memory
being fresh on this point, or he may prefer to exhaust one
suspect of all its evidences before proceeding with another;
but practice and experience will decide the best course in
this matter, and influence the line of procedure.</p>

<p>Whatever method is pursued, all have the same object&mdash;the
discovery of the peculiarities of the original in one or
more of the suspects, and the student will be wise if he
follow accurately the course laid down in the chapter on
"How to Examine a Writing."</p>

<p>It is generally safe to take it for granted that the writing
in an anonymous letter is disguised. There are occasions
when the author persuades another person to write for him,
but only rarely; for the perpetrator of a contemptible act is
not usually brazen and indiscreet enough to expose himself
to others. The same reasons lend strength to the presumption
that the writing will, so far as its general appearance goes,
be as much the opposite of the author's usual style as his
ingenuity can make it. The extreme back hand occurs very
frequently. It seems to be the first impulse of the anonymous
writer to avoid the right slope. Even when the normal hand
is a vertical, with a tendency to back hand, the extreme left
slope is often chosen. Fortunately, the assumed back hand
is one of the most transparent of disguises. If the student
has practised it, he will not need to be reminded how difficult
it is for a writer to conceal his mannerisms. By altering the
slope he has only stretched and lengthened his outlines, and
the expert soon learns to recognise them in their new form.</p>

<p>Another common disguise is the illiterate hand. This is
quite as easy of detection. It is no easier for the practised<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
and fluent writer to reproduce the shaky, irregular outlines
of the illiterate, than it is for the speaker of pure and cultured
English to imitate the coarse accent of the vulgar. However
good the copy it always breaks down early, and the sudden
and unconscious firm, clear and geometrically accurate stroke
reveals the practised writer beneath the mask. Sometimes
an accurately placed punctuation mark supplies the necessary
clue, for when once the art of proper punctuation has been
acquired it becomes almost automatic. Even experienced
novelists are caught this way occasionally. They will
introduce a letter, supposed to be the work of an illiterate
character. The grammar and orthography suggest the idea,
but the more difficult details of punctuation will be attended
to, even to the apostrophe that marks the elided <i>g</i> in such
words as "talkin'," "comin'," &amp;c.</p>

<p>Very difficult and troublesome is the letter written
throughout in imitation printed characters. The expert
has to rely upon the curved lines, accidental punctuation
marks and unpremeditated flourishes and hand-gestures;
but, broadly speaking, such a letter is beyond the skill of the
expert if unaided by accidental betrayal. If, as sometimes
happens, the writer is ingenious enough to adopt an alphabet
formed completely of straight lines and angles&mdash;an easy task&mdash;he
may boast of having produced a detection-proof writing;
that is, if characters formed with the aid of a rule can be
called writing, for it defies detection, because there are none
of the signs essential for comparison, and is less easy of
identification than an incomplete skeleton. In the absence
of external clues, an expert would refuse to do more than
offer a very guarded opinion, and it would be wiser to decline
to offer any comment whatever.</p>

<p>Another trick that has been resorted to by some persons
is writing with the hand constricted by a tight-fitting glove.
This produces a very effective disguise; but if the student
will practise with the same impediment, he will discover
many useful rules for guiding him on the road to penetrating
this entanglement.</p>

<p>It should be remembered that the less control a writer
has over his pen, the more likely is he unintentionally to
revert to those forms to which he is habituated, for, left by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
itself, the hand steers the more familiar course. Disguise,
alteration and variation on customary forms are the result of
premeditation. When the mind is occupied more with the
subject than the formation of characters, the latter naturally
assume that shape to which the force of custom has bent
them.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>

<h3>Forged Literary Autographs.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> collection of autographs, letters, and documents of
literary and historical interest has for many years been a
prominent feature in the collecting world, but at no time was
the quest more keen or conducted on more systematic lines
than to-day. The records of the leading sale rooms often
supply matter for surprise, the prices asked and obtained for
rare and choice specimens being such as to excite both
wonder and amazement, sometimes tempered with scepticism.</p>

<p>It is, therefore, not surprising that this profitable and
growing market should have attracted the fraudulent, for the
prizes when won are generally of a substantial character, and
amply repay the misapplied effort and ingenuity demanded.</p>

<p>The success which has attended too many of these frauds
may be largely accounted for by the fact that in many cases
the enthusiasm of the collector has outrun his caution.</p>

<p>Many a man famous for his astuteness in the pursuit of
his ordinary business has allowed himself to fall an easy
victim to the forger, thus exemplifying the familiar adage
that we are easily persuaded to believe what we want to
believe.</p>

<p>The recorded stories of some of the frauds perpetrated
upon ardent and presumably judicious collectors read like
the tales told so often of the triumph of the confidence
trickster, and one marvels how a person of ordinary power of
observation, to say nothing of experience, could fall a victim
to a fraud requiring little perception to detect. The
explanation doubtless lies in the direction indicated&mdash;the
ardour of the pursuit, the pride and joy of possessing
something that is absolutely unique.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p>

<p>The leading case&mdash;to use an expressive legal term&mdash;is
that known as the Vrain-Lucas fraud, the principal victim of
which was Mons. Chasles, probably the greatest of modern
French geometricians, and one of the few foreign savants
entitled to append the distinguishing mark of a F.R.S. of
England.</p>

<p>Lucas was a half-educated frequenter, and nominal
reading student of the great Parisian library, and for some
years had dealt in autographs in a small way, the specimens
he offered being undoubtedly genuine. Inspired by the
collecting ardour and the apparent blind faith placed in him
by M. Chasles, Lucas embarked upon a series of deceptions
so impudent, that it is easy to sympathise with the defence
put forward by his advocate at the trial, namely, that the
fraud was so transparent that it could only be regarded as a
freak.</p>

<p>In the period between the years 1861 and 1869, Lucas
sold to his dupe the enormous number of 27,000 documents,
every one a glaring fraud. They comprised letters purporting
to have been written by such improbable authors as Abelard,
Alcibiades, Alexander the Great to Aristotle, Cicero,
Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Sappho, Anacreon, Pliny, Plutarch,
St. Jerome, Diocletian, Juvenal, Socrates, Pompey, and&mdash;most
stupendous joke of all&mdash;Lazarus after his resurrection.</p>

<p>It is hard to believe, and but for the irrefutable records
of the Court, few would credit the fact that every one of
these letters was in the French language! And the dupe a
highly educated mathematician of European repute.</p>

<p>In the face of such incredible gullibility one is disposed to
regard the sentence of two years' imprisonment and a fine of
500 francs as extravagantly severe, even despite the fact that
Lucas received in all over 140,000 francs from M. Chasles.</p>

<p>The Chatterton and Ireland forgeries are familiar to all
educated persons. These, however, hardly come under the
head of the class of fraud with which the ordinary forger is
associated. In each of these cases the motive of the
deception was not so much to make money as a literary
reputation. In both cases presumably competent judges were
deceived. But the standard by which they gauged the
genuineness of the productions was not caligraphic, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
literary. In neither instance was there occasion or opportunity
for the handwriting expert to exercise his skill, for the
sufficient reason that there existed no material with which
the writings could be compared. What the literary expert
had to do was to examine and compare the style of the
compositions&mdash;a test in which the idiosyncrasies and
predilections of the judge played a leading part.</p>

<p>Probably the greatest, and for a short time the most
successful autograph fraud perpetrated in Great Britain was
that known as the case of the Rillbank MSS., the detection
and exposure of which were mainly attributable to one of the
authors of this work (Capt. W. W. Caddell).</p>

<p>Just before, and up till 1891, there was in Edinburgh a
young man named Alexander Howland Smith, who claimed
to be the son of a reputable Scottish law official, and a
descendant of Sir Walter Scott.</p>

<p>On the strength of his presumed connection with the
great novelist, he had no difficulty in disposing of, to an
Edinburgh bookseller, for prices whose smallness alone
should have excited suspicion, letters purporting to be in the
handwriting of Sir Walter Scott. Emboldened by success,
he embarked upon a wholesale manufacture of spurious
letters bearing the signatures of Burns, Edmund Burke, Sir
Walter Scott, Grattan and Thackeray. His principal victim
was an Edinburgh chemist, Mr. James Mackenzie, who, when
the fraud was not only suspected, but proved, distinguished
himself by a stubborn and courageous defence of the
genuineness of the documents.</p>

<p>Smith's <i>modus operandi</i> consisted in purchasing large-sized
volumes of the period of the subjects of his forgeries,
and using the blank leaves for the purpose of fabricating the
letters. In May, 1891, a number of alleged Burns' letters
were put up for sale by public auction at Edinburgh, fetching
the surprising paltry price of from twenty to thirty shillings
apiece.</p>

<p>It was a feature of all Smith's productions that the letters
were extremely brief&mdash;a feature common to literary forgeries.
The circumstance which first gave rise to suspicion was that
the letters attributed to Scott, Burke, Burns, General
Abercrombie, Grattan and Thackeray all began and ended<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
with the same words. Those signed by Sir Walter Scott all
began "I have your letter," and ended "I remain," a form
of phraseology the reputed writer never used, but which,
according to Smith, was common to all the distinguished men
whose handwriting he had counterfeited with considerable
success.</p>

<p>On the strength of the partial guarantee provided by the
sale of some of these documents at a reputable auction room,
Captain Caddell purchased a parcel of alleged Scott letters
without prior inspection. A brief examination disclosed their
fraudulent nature, and Smith was arrested. The Edinburgh
police took the matter up, and the impostor was convicted in
June, 1893, and sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment.</p>

<p>Thackeray and Dickens are favourite subjects with most
literary forgers, Washington and Benjamin Franklin running
them very close for favouriteship. American collectors are
particularly keen on procuring specimens of the last two-named,
and there is grave reason to believe that many fall
easy victims.</p>

<p>Fortunately the facilities for comparing and testing the
genuineness of the autographs of every distinguished person
whose holographs are most in favour with the forger, are
numerous. In addition to the splendid collection of specimens
extant at the British Museum Library, there are many
facsimiles available.</p>

<p>The excellent work on Autograph Collecting by Dr. Henry
T. Scott (Upcott Gill, London) is indispensable to the collector.
It contains some hundreds of specimens, specially selected for
the purposes of comparison, and gives besides many very
valuable rules and hints for detecting the real from the sham.</p>

<p>Dr. Scott, writing of the autographic letters of his
distinguished namesake, says:</p>

<p>"Of Sir Walter Scott's autographs it may be observed (1)
the paper is generally letter size, gilt edged, with a soft,
firm feeling to the touch, and an unglazed surface. (2) The
date and residence are placed on the top and right hand,
with a good space before the 'My Dear Sir,' uniform
margins on the left side of the paper of a quarter of an inch,
but on the right side no margin at all, the writing being
carried close to the edge. The folding is done with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
precision of a man of business, forming the space for the
address into a nice oblong almost in the centre of the sheet,
and the first line of the address is written nearly in the
centre of the space with the remainder below.</p>

<p>"The watermarks found on the paper are one of the
following: Valleyfield, 1809; C. Wilmott, 1815; J. Dickinson
and Co., 1813; J. Dickinson, 1816; J. Dickinson (without
date); J. Whatman, 1814; J. Whatman (without date);
Turkey Mill, 1819; Turkey Mill (without date);
G. C. &amp; Co., 1828."</p>

<p>The paper used by Burns for his correspondence was always
large in size, rough in surface, never glossy, and all four
edges had the rough edge that is the peculiarity of a Bank of
England note.</p>

<p>It is worthy of remark that in the case of the A. H. Smith
Burns forgeries, suspicion was first excited by a simple but
significant matter. The paper contained several worm holes.
These had been carefully avoided by the writer, he knowing
that if his pen touched them the result would be a spluttering
and spreading of the ink.</p>

<p>Now it is safe to assume that these worm holes, being the
effect of age, did not exist at the time the letter&mdash;if genuine&mdash;was
written; as the worm did its work long afterwards, it
must be regarded as a fortunate circumstance that in
perforating the paper it refrained from destroying the
writing, carefully selecting the wider spaces that the poet
had, with commendable foresight, left for the insect's
depredations.</p>

<p>The letters of Thackeray are in two styles of handwriting,
the earlier sloping slightly, the latter vertical, round, neat and
print-like, the capital <i>I</i> being invariably a simple vertical
stroke. His is the most neat and uniformly readable hand of
all the great literary characters. It is somewhat unfortunate
that he was not anything like so uniform in his choice of
paper. Letters are in existence on an extraordinary variety
of material, from a quarto sheet to a scrap torn from half a
sheet of note paper. On many of these letters is neither
address nor date, but when once the characteristics of the
charming handscript have been mastered, they are never
forgotten, and are recognisable amid the closest imitations.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>

<p>There are extant a number of forged Thackeray's. Their
distinguishing features are that they are invariably very short,
as if the forger feared to provide sufficient matter to supply
material for comparison; most are on single half sheets of
note paper, many on quarto sheets of varying texture and
quality, and the characteristic vertical <i>I</i>, Thackeray's trade
mark, always occurs. It is shaky and often out of the
perpendicular, as the genuine rarely is. In the forgeries we
have seen and suspect to be the work of A. H. Smith, a very
significant sign is a sudden thickening of the downstrokes of
tailed letters like <i>y</i>, <i>f</i>, <i>g</i>, producing a tiny diamond-shaped
excrescence in the middle of the letter. The glass reveals
that ragged-edged stroke which is inseparable from the
writing of the nervous copyist.</p>

<p>It is generally safe to be cautious about very short letters.
The forger well knows how difficult is the task of maintaining
an assumed character. Just as the mimic may
succeed in reproducing the tone and manner of a person with
sufficient closeness to deceive even the most intimate
acquaintances of the subject, yet fail to carry the deception
beyond a few words or phrases, so the literary forger
invariably breaks down when he attempts to simulate
handwriting over many sentences. So conscious is he of this
great difficulty that he often avoids it by boldly copying some
genuine letter. We have had offered to us "guaranteed"
Thackeray letters which we immediately recognised as such.
In one particularly glaring case the forger had copied the
original letter very fairly so far as the penmanship was
concerned, but while the original was written on a half sheet
of note paper, the forgery was on a different size paper, and
the writing across the length of the paper instead of the
breadth. This naturally disarranged the spacing between the
words, which in all Thackeray's writings is a pronouncedly
regular feature, and this variation was in itself sufficient to
excite suspicion.</p>

<p>The popularity of Dickens among collectors grows
steadily. Despite the fact that he was an industrious
correspondent, and that a very large number of his letters
appear from time to time in the market, the demand is ever
in excess of the supply. As a consequence he has suffered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
perhaps more than any of the literary immortals at the hands
of the forger. Yet it is safe to say that there should be no
writer so safe from fraudulent imitation, for there is a
peculiar distinctiveness about his caligraphic productions that
once seen and noted should never be forgotten. Specimens
are easily available. The catalogues of dealers are constantly
presenting them, and most public libraries possess examples,
either in the original holograph or in some form of
reproduction.</p>

<p>Probably no writer preserved his style with such little
change as Dickens. His signature in later years varied
somewhat from that of his literary youth, but the body of his
handscript retained throughout the same characteristics. It
was always a free, fluent, graceful hand, legible as that of
Thackeray when its leading peculiarities have been mastered,
but less formal and studied than his. It was always
remarkably free from corrections or interlineations. He
wrote with the easy freedom of the stenographer; indeed it is
easy to recognise in the delicate gracefully formed letters the
effect of years of training in the most difficult and exacting
form of handscript.</p>

<p>Perhaps the leading peculiarities in the Dickens holograph
are these:&mdash;</p>

<p>The date of the month is never expressed in figures, but
always written in full; in fact, abbreviation in any form he
never countenanced.</p>

<p>The letter <i>y</i>, both as a capital and a small letter is a
figure 7 except in the affix "ly," when the two letters become
an <i>f</i> or long stroke <i>s</i>.</p>

<p>The letter <i>t</i> is crossed by the firm downward bar, which
the character readers claim as a sign of great resolution.</p>

<p>Letter <i>g</i> is invariable in form.</p>

<p>Capital <i>E</i> consists of a downstroke with a bar in the centre.</p>

<p>The hook of many final letters has a tendency to turn
backwards.</p>

<p>New paragraphs are marked by beginning the line about
an inch from the left-hand margin.</p>

<p>A very marked peculiarity noticeable in many letters is
that the left-hand margin gradually grows wider as the
lines approach the bottom of the page. The narrowing is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
wondrously regular, a line drawn from the first letter on the
first line to the corresponding position on the last will touch
nearly every other line. This peculiarity appears to have
escaped every forger whose work we have examined.</p>

<p>If the signs relied upon by the readers of character in
handwriting are to be accepted, self-esteem was a pronounced
characteristic of the great novelist. His writing abounds with
those subtle symptoms of the prevalence of that weakness.</p>

<p>His signature is perhaps the best known of any with
which the British public are familiar. It is remarkably
uniform, and remained precisely the same from the time he
adopted it after the Pickwick period until his death. That
which he used in youth was less striking, but none the less
self-conscious.</p>

<p>After the Pickwick period Dickens adopted the use of
blue paper and blue ink. Letters in black ink, if undated,
may safely be attributed to the earlier period.</p>

<p>His note paper was in later years of the regulation note
size. The address, Gads' Hill Place, Higham by Rochester,
Kent, was in embossed black old English letter. His paper
was hand-made, and of good quality. The envelopes were
blue, of the same quality paper, but without crest, monogram
or distinctive mark. Dickens' vanity expressed itself in the
habit of franking envelopes, <i>i.e.</i>, by writing his name in the
left-hand bottom corner, after the fashion in vogue when
Peers and M.P.'s enjoyed the privilege of free postage.</p>

<p>His letters of the pre-envelope period&mdash;before 1842&mdash;were
on quarto sheets. These are exceedingly rare.</p>

<p>There is one feature about autographic forgery which
may always be relied upon to assist greatly in the work of
detection. As a general rule there is sufficient matter in
a literary forgery to supply the necessary material for
comparison. It must of necessity be a copy, if not of an
existing original, at least of the general style. The process
of imitation must be slow and cautious, and the signs remain
in shaky, broken lines, and a ruggedness entirely absent from
the writing of the real author, which is fluent and free.
Even the shakiness of age noticeable in a few distinguished
handwritings is different to the shakiness of the forger's
uncertainty.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2>

<h3>Forged Signatures.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> most difficult phase of the art of the handwriting
expert consists in the detection of forgery in signatures. It
will be obvious to the student who has followed the instructions
and illustrations already given that this difficulty is
brought about by two principal causes: first, by the paucity
of material for comparison; secondly, because of the very
important fact that a forgery must, by its nature, be a good
and close copy of an original. This means that the unconscious
tricks and irregularities that often abound in a long letter,
written in a more or less disguised hand, are almost entirely
absent from a forged signature. It follows, therefore, that
the student must have some other clues and rules to guide
him, for he cannot rely upon the chance of a slip or
accidental trick occurring in a signature that contains at
most perhaps a dozen letters.</p>

<p>The first step in the examination of a suspected signature
is to master thoroughly the various characteristics of the
genuine signature. These must be studied in every possible
relation, and from as many specimens as can be obtained.
The magnifying glass must be in constant use and the eye
alert to detect the angle at which the pen is habitually held,
the class of pen used, and the degree of pressure and speed
employed. These last-named points can only be discovered
as the result of practice and observation, and though at first
sight it may appear impossible to form a correct estimate of
the pace at which a pen has travelled, the student will, if
observant, soon learn to detect the difference between a
swiftly formed stroke and one written with slowness and
deliberation. By making a number of each kind of stroke
and carefully examining them through a glass, the student
will learn in an hour more than can be taught by means of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
verbal description. The study of the genuine signatures
must be continued until every stroke and its peculiarities are
as familiar as the features of a well-known face, for until one
is thoroughly impregnated with the original it will be useless
to proceed with the examination of the suspects.</p>

<p>At first sight the student will probably perceive very little,
if any, difference between the original and the suspect. It
would be a very clumsy forgery if he could. Gradually
the points of dissimilarity will become clear to him, and with
each fresh examination they grow plainer, until he is surprised
that they did not sooner strike him; they are so obvious that
the eye cannot avoid them; they stand out as plainly as the
hidden figure, after it has been detected, in the well-known
picture puzzles. There are few faculties capable of such
rapid and accurate development as that of observation.
Thousands of persons go through life unconscious of the
existence of certain common things until the occasion arises
for noticing them, or accident forces them upon the attention;
then they marvel that the thing should have escaped observation.
This is a truism, no doubt, but the force of every
platitude does not always present itself to every one. The
comparison of handwritings is so essentially a matter of
cultivating the powers of observation, that even if turned to
no more practical account than that of a hobby its value as a
mental exercise is great.</p>

<p>There are two principal methods by which a signature
may be forged: first, by carefully copying the original as
one would copy a drawing; secondly, by tracing it.</p>

<p>The first process is referred to as copied. The forger will,
most probably, have practised the signature before affixing it
to the cheque or other document, thereby attaining a certain
degree of fluency. But however well executed, close examination
with the aid of the magnifying glass will reveal those
signs of hesitancy and irregularity that one may reasonably
expect to find in a copy.</p>

<p>There is no part of a person's handwriting so fluent and
free as his signature. Even the most illiterate persons show
more freedom and continuity of outline in their signature
than in the body of their writing. This is explicable on the
ground of usage. A writer may feel a degree of momentary<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
uncertainty in forming a word that he does not write
frequently, but his signature he is more sure about. He
strikes it off without hesitancy, and in the majority of cases
appends some meaningless flourish, which may be described
as a superfluous stroke or strokes added for the purpose of
ornamentation, for adding distinctiveness, or, in some cases,
and particularly with business men, with the idea that the
flourishes help to secure the signature from forgery. Such
writers will probably be surprised to learn that there is no
form of signature so easy to forge as that involved and
complicated by a maze of superfluous lines and meaningless
flourishes. The most difficult signature for the forger is the
clear, plain, copybook-modelled autograph. A little thought
and examination will make the reason for this clear.</p>

<p>Let a signature be enveloped in a web of curves and
flourishes, making it look like a complicated script monogram.
The lines are so numerous that the eye cannot take them all
in at a glance, and, if copied, any slight irregularity or
departure from the original is more likely to pass undetected
amid the confusing network of interlaced lines. If, on the
other hand, the signature be simple and free from the
bewildering effects of flourishes, the entire autograph lies
revealed, a clear and regular outline, and the slightest
variation from the accustomed figure stands out naked and
plain. Most of the successful forgeries will be found to be
on signatures of the complicated order. Their apparent
impregnability has tempted the facile penman to essay the
task of harmless imitation; his success has surprised and
flattered him, and the easy possibilities of forgery opened up.
More than one forger has admitted that his initiatory lessons
were prompted by an innocent challenge to imitate a
particularly complicated "forgery-proof" signature.</p>

<p>It must be remembered that the eye of the casual observer
takes in a word as a whole rather than in detail. This
explains why an author can rarely be trusted to correct his
own proofs. He knows what the word should be, and in
reading his work in print he notices only the general expected
effect of a word. It needs the trained eye of the proof-reader
to detect the small <i>c</i> that has taken the place of the <i>e</i>, the
battered <i>l</i> that is masquerading as an <i>i</i>. So long as the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
general outline of the word is not distorted the wrong letters
are often passed; and it is much the same with a signature
with which one is fairly familiar. The trained examiner of
handwriting, like the proof-reader, knows what to look for,
and discovers irregularities that would escape the notice of
the untrained eye.</p>

<p>The first part of a genuine signature that should be
examined is the flourish, which includes all fancy strokes
appended to it, and any superfluous addition to the body of
the letters. A close scrutiny through the glass will show
that the lines forming the tail-flourish are generally clear,
firm and sharp in outline, being formed, not only without
hesitation, but with a dash and decided sweep that are
strongly at variance with the broken, saw-edged, unsteady
line of the copy. It will also generally be found to follow
an almost fixed rule in the matter of its proportionate
conformation: that is, supposing the writer finishes up with
a horizontal line under his signature, it will be seen, on
averaging a dozen or so of them, that the distance of the
line from the feet of the letters is proportionately uniform.
If the line be begun with a spur or curved inward hook, that
feature will be repeated. The end of the flourish or final
stroke, at the point where the pen leaves the paper, should
be very carefully examined. One writer finishes with an
almost imperceptible dot, as if the pen had been stabbed into
the paper; another finishes with a curve, either upward or
downward; a third with a hook turned upward, either a
curve or an angle; while a fourth continues the line till it
becomes finer and sharper to vanishing point. Some writers
are fond of concluding with a more or less bold and expansive
underline running horizontally with the signature. A close
examination will show a variation in the degrees of thickness
of such a line, which should be carefully noted and looked
for in other genuine signatures.</p>

<p>In this connection it will be found extremely useful and
instructive to study strokes, either horizontal or vertical, with
a view to discovering whether they were struck from right to
left, top to bottom, or <i>vice vers&acirc;</i>. The glass will render it
easy to detect beginning from end after a few failures, which,
by the way, should not be allowed to discourage, for every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
minute devoted to the study of handwriting is so much gain
in experience, and represents so much more learned, which
will never be forgotten.</p>

<p>The flourishes that occur on and about the signature
proper must be treated as exaggerated loops, and their
shoulders, arcs, hooks and toes carefully measured and noted.
For this purpose an average genuine signature should be
selected and gauged, which is done in this way: Place over
it a sheet of transfer paper. With the scale-rule and a fine
pencil draw horizontal lines that will touch the tops and
bottoms of the bodies of the letters, lines that touch the tops
and bottoms of the tailed and topped letters, and vertical
lines that follow the shanks of every topped or tailed letter,
including the capitals. The gauge, when completed, will
represent a framework fitting the signature, and its use is
twofold. It helps the eye to detect the variations in the
general contour of the signature, and, when placed over
another, brings out the points of difference. Due allowance
must be made for proportion. It is obvious that the distance
of letters will be greater in a signature written larger than
another, but the proportionate distances will be preserved.
The difference in the size of a letter is not very important,
except that it offers more scope for examination. For
example, a looped <i>l</i> may be very small or half an inch
long; but, if made by the same writer, the proportionate
width at top, bottom and middle will be preserved, and
compare with the same measurements in the smaller letter.
Signatures of the same writer do not often vary much in
size, though they may be thicker or finer according to the
character of the pen used; but observation will show that
the difference in a handwriting caused by the use of different
pens is much more imaginary than real.</p>

<p>The traced signature is produced by placing the paper
over the genuine autograph, holding it to the light, generally
on a sheet of glass, and tracing it with a fine point. Such
forgeries are often more easily detected than the copied
signature, for the reason that signs of the tracing process can
generally be found by careful examination. The fine, hard
point used to trace the autograph leaves a smooth hollow,
which can be seen through the glass on examining the back<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>
of the cheque or document. If the paper be held in a line
with the eye in a strong light, the ridge will be more clearly
perceived. The difference between a mark made by a hard
point and a pen can be tested by experiment. The hard
point must of necessity be pressed with a degree of force to
make the desired impression on the paper, and the result is a
smooth hollow. But if a pen be pressed hard, it produces two
parallel lines, and, instead of a hollow, a ridge is formed
between the parallels. Of course, it will be so slight as to be
hardly perceptible, except through a strong glass, but it will be
there nevertheless, and knowing what to look for, the expert
will generally have no difficulty in satisfying himself whether
the forgery has been traced or copied, a very valuable piece
of evidence when once settled, for it is within the bounds of
probability that the genuine signature from which the tracing
was made may be discovered. It is possible, and has often
occurred, that the writer of the original may have some
recollection of having written to the suspected person, or in
many ways a clue may be suggested. There is a well-known
case of a forgery being brought home to the perpetrator
through the accuracy of the tracing. It is a fact easily
proved, that no man can write a word twice, so exactly, that
if the two are overlaid they fit. If two such signatures be
produced, it is safe to assume that one has been traced or
otherwise mechanically produced. In the case mentioned a
signature on a cheque was pronounced a forgery by the
person supposed to have signed it. In examining specimens
of the genuine autograph, the experts came upon one which,
when placed upon that on the cheque, proved a perfect
replica, down to the most minute detail, showing beyond
question that it had been used to trace the forgery from.
It was further proved that the original had been in the
possession of the supposed forger, and the jury were asked to
decide whether it was probable that a man could reproduce
his signature in exact facsimile after a lapse of time, and
without the original before him. As the chances against such
a contingency are many millions to one&mdash;a fact the student
can verify&mdash;the jury decided against the forger.</p>

<p>At the risk of appearing tautological to a tiresome degree
it is necessary to accentuate the fact that the comparison of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
handwriting, and more particularly of signatures, is essentially
dependent on cultivating the faculty of observation. This
art cannot be taught; it can only be acquired by practice and
experience, like swimming or riding. The teacher can at
most indicate the method of study and some of the leading
principles of conducting an investigation. Most men are not
naturally observant, and the habit can be best fostered by
having an object; but when once a person has been taught
what to look for he almost instinctively notices details that
previously never struck him. This is specially true of the
study of handwriting.</p>

<p>The best method of practice that can be adopted by the
student is to begin by making a careful study of his own
signature and writing. He will be surprised at the number
of facts hitherto unsuspected that will be revealed to him.
The value of using his own handwriting as a subject of
examination lies in this, that the student can satisfy himself
how and why certain strokes are made. This he can only
guess at in the writing of others.</p>

<p>The preliminary exercise should consist in studying the
effect produced by the different methods of holding the pen.
The signature supplies excellent material for this class of
practice. Begin by holding the pen with the top end pointed
well towards the left shoulder, in the absurd and unnatural
position taught by the old school of writing masters. Repeat
the signature with the pen held a trifle less acutely angular,
and go on till six or eight signatures have been written at a
decreasing angle&mdash;until the top of the penholder points well
to the right, producing what is known as a backhand. The
effect of these angles must be carefully noted, and in a short
time it will be found possible to arrive at a very accurate
opinion as to how the writer of a particular signature
habitually holds his pen&mdash;an important and valuable piece
of knowledge. The practice should be extended to long
sentences, and a frequent repetition of all the letters, capital
and small, the magnifying glass being always used to examine
the effect of the various and varying strokes.</p>

<p>In examining a signature for comparing it with a
suspected forgery it should be copied very frequently, as the
clues and suggestions the experiments will produce are of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
much greater service than will at first appear, and of more
practical value than pages of theory, as the how and why
will be revealed for much that would be obscure without this
assistance. As experience grows, it will not be necessary to
adopt this copying process so often, for the eye soon becomes
alert at detecting slight shades of difference in strokes, and a
glance will convey more than could be explained in many
pages.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>

<h3>The Expert in the Witness-box.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">When</span> the expert has been called upon to give an opinion
upon the genuineness of writings he embodies his conclusions
in a report of which the following may be taken as a fair
example:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>To the Chief of Police.</p>
<p class="ind">Sir,</p>

<p class="center">REX <i>versus</i> JONES.</p>

<p>In accordance with your instructions dated &mdash;&mdash;
I beg leave to inform you that I have made a careful
examination of the document marked <i>A</i>, and attached
hereto, and compared it with the documents marked
<i>B</i>, <i>C</i>, <i>D</i>, <i>E</i> and <i>F</i>, also attached.</p>

<p>I have arrived at the conclusion that the document <i>A</i>
was written by the same hand as produced <i>B</i>, <i>C</i>, <i>D</i>,
<i>E</i> and <i>F</i>.</p>

<p>The main reasons which have led me to form this
opinion are these:&mdash;</p>

<p>First, although the writing in <i>A</i> bears at first sight
no resemblance to that of the other documents, the
difference is only such as experience leads me to expect
in a writing which has been purposely disguised, as I
believe this has been.</p>

<p>The writing on the five documents <i>B</i> to <i>F</i> I take to
be the normal hand of the author, and that on <i>A</i> to be
the same writer's hand altered so as to present a different
appearance. I will call the specimens <i>B</i> to <i>F</i> the
genuine examples, and <i>A</i> the disguised.</p>

<p>Experience shows that the person who writes an
anonymous letter generally seeks to disguise his hand by
departing as much as he deems possible from his normal
writing. The usual hand of the writer of the genuine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>
document is a free rounded hand sloping upwards
towards the right. The writing of <i>A</i> presents exactly
the features I would expect to find when, as appears to
be the case here, the writer has adopted the familiar
trick of sloping his writing in a direction opposite to his
normal hand. While the result of this change is to
alter the apparent style and general appearance of the
writing, the alteration does not extend to certain tricks and
characteristics which are plainly obvious in the genuine
letters and are repeated in the anonymous letter <i>A</i>.</p>

<p>The writing in the genuine letters contains fourteen
very distinctive peculiarities, or tricks of hand, which I
find repeated in the anonymous letter <i>A</i>.</p>

<p class="center">(Here describe them, as for example.)</p>

<p>1. The figure 4 in the dates is always made like the
print form of that figure.</p>

<p>2. The small <i>e</i> is always of the Greek form.</p>

<p>3. The small <i>t</i> is always crossed by a bar thick at the
beginning, tapering to a point, with its longest part
behind the shank of the <i>t</i> [and so on].</p></div>

<p>The various points of resemblance are set out in detail, a
separate paragraph for each, and each paragraph numbered.</p>

<p>It is extremely important that a report should be fully
descriptive and written in plain, non-technical language,
easily understood by the jury, who will have to decide
whether the resemblance has been made out.</p>

<p>Too many handwriting experts spoil the effect of their
evidence by employing technical language and presuming on
the part of the jury an acquaintance with the methods of
comparing handwritings.</p>

<p>Do not be satisfied by saying that certain letters resemble
each other. Show by an enlarged diagram how and where,
indicating the parts to which attention is called by arrows.
Place the single letters to be compared in parallel columns,
headed with the alphabetical letter distinguishing the document
in which the particular letter occurs. Use foolscap
paper, and write on one side of the paper only.</p>

<p>The usual method of dealing with the handwriting expert
in the witness-box is shown in the following extract from a
report of an actual case.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p>

<p>Mr. D. B&mdash;&mdash; was called by counsel for the prosecution
and duly sworn.</p>

<p>Q.&mdash;You have had considerable experience in examining
handwriting.</p>

<p>A.&mdash;Over twenty years.</p>

<p>Q.&mdash;Look at these documents. (Hands documents to
witness.) Have you seen and examined these?</p>

<p>A.&mdash;I have.</p>

<p>Q.&mdash;Have you formed any opinion upon them?</p>

<p>A.&mdash;I have, and have prepared a report.</p>

<p>In some cases the expert is allowed to read his report in
full. In others he is requested to give a verbal report, but
if the point be insisted upon, the judge generally permits the
report to be read, either by the expert or by counsel. A
copy of the report, together with the documents in dispute
are then usually handed to the jury for examination. The
expert may proceed to illustrate his point with the aid of a
blackboard and chalk, but much depends upon the attitude
taken by the judge and counsel. Some judges insist that the
expert shall confine himself to expressing his opinion, leaving
counsel to deal with the explanation and comparison; others
give the expert every opportunity of showing how he has
arrived at his opinions.</p>

<p>The examination in chief is usually a very simple matter.
The trouble for the expert begins when counsel for the
other side gets up to cross-examine.</p>

<p>In nearly every case the object of the cross-examining
counsel is to ridicule the art and get the expert to admit the
possibility of other writers possessing the same peculiarities
which are said to distinguish the letters before the Court.</p>

<p>Counsel's favourite trick is to select some letter and ask
the expert if he is prepared to swear that he has never seen
something just like it in some other person's writing. The
expert who knows his business will insist on keeping well to
the front the bedrock basis of handwriting comparison, which
is the application of the law of probability to cumulative
evidence. It is not a question whether some other person
may be in the habit of making a <i>t</i> or a <i>k</i> similar to those cited
as evidences of common origin, but whether it is probable
that two persons should make a dozen or more letters in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
precisely the same way under similar conditions and exhibit
precisely the same peculiarities of style. He should reply
with the unanswerable postulate that millions of persons
possess red hair, snub noses, a scar on the face, blue eyes,
bent fingers and a stammer; but it is millions to one against
any two persons possessing all six of those peculiarities.</p>

<p>In the course of his replies the expert may justifiably help
his own case by repeating, when opportunity occurs, such
irrefutable axioms as, No writer can say off-hand what
peculiarities he may exhibit; that there are scores of ways of
dotting an <i>i</i>, or crossing a <i>t</i>, and that few persons know which
form they mostly affect. Fifty such points may be gathered
from this little volume alone, while acquaintance with the
works of other writers on caligraphy will supply ample
ammunition for meeting and repelling the customary form of
attack on the handwriting expert.</p>

<p>Another method of discrediting a witness is to remind him
that experts have differed, the Dreyfus case being usually
cited. The answer is obvious. First it is essential to be
assured that those experts were all competent, for there are
degrees of competency in judging handwriting as in every
other subject on which opinion may be called. It is a
notorious fact that in the Dreyfus case the most competent
experts testified that the Henry letters were forgeries, the
authorities called on the other side being in most cases
unknown men or amateurs of no standing. A number of
these self-styled experts possessed no other qualification than
presumed familiarity with the handwriting of Dreyfus. It is
also worthy of note that several of the experts on both sides
proved most inefficient witnesses, obscuring their explanations
by the employment of technical phraseology which conveyed
little meaning to the lay mind.</p>

<p>Exactitude and regularity in the choice of the words used
in describing the parts of letters should be strictly observed
by the student. The rules given in the chapter on "Terminology"
should be mastered and adhered to. In most cases
the terms there applied to letter-analysis will be found to be
self-explanatory.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p>
<h2>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>

<h3>Handwriting and Expression.</h3>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">No</span> work dealing with the study of handwriting would be
complete unless it recognised that phase of it which touches
on the delineation of character by an examination of the
caligraphy.</p>

<p>That many valuable clues can be picked up by the expert
who applies the principles on which the graphologist works
is indisputable, nor is it necessary to accept all the theories
claimed as reliable by those who practice this interesting
branch of the art of writing-analysis.</p>

<p>There is no doubt that many persons have attained a
remarkable degree of proficiency in deducing from the hand-gestures
of an unknown person a very accurate estimate of
his or her character, and this fact should prove that the
principles of the art of graphology are based on scientific
grounds, or at least that the rules on which the student
works are regular and not, as some suggest, mere guess-work
or coincidence.</p>

<p>The elder d'Israeli, in his fascinating work, the "Curiosities
of Literature," devotes considerable space to the subject.
Among other things, he says:&mdash;</p>

<p>"Assuredly nature would prompt every individual to
have a distinct sort of writing, as she has given a peculiar
countenance, a voice, and a manner. The flexibility of the
muscles differs with every individual, and the hand will
follow the direction of the thoughts, and the emotions and
the habits of the writers.</p>

<p>"The phlegmatic will portray his words with signs of
labour and deliberation, while the playful haste of the
volatile will scarcely sketch them; the slovenly will blot
and efface and scrawl, while the neat and orderly-minded
will view themselves in the paper before their eyes. The
merchant's clerk will not write like the lawyer or the poet.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
Even nations are distinguished by their writing; the
vivacity and variableness of the Frenchman, and the
delicacy and suppleness of the Italian, are perceptibly
distinct from the slowness and strength of pen discoverable
in the phlegmatic German, Dane, and Swede.</p>

<p>"When we are in grief we do not write as we should in
joy. The elegant and correct mind, which has acquired
the fortunate habit of a fixity of attention, will write with
scarcely an erasure on the page, as Fenelon and Gibbon;
while we find in Pope's manuscripts the perpetual struggle
of correction, and the eager and rapid interlineations
struck off in heat. Lavater's notion of handwriting is by
no means chimerical; nor was General Paoli fanciful when
he told Mr. Northcote he had decided on the character and
disposition of a man from his letters and the handwriting.</p>

<p>"Long before the days of Lavater, Shenstone in one of
his letters said, 'I want to see Mrs. Jago's writing that I
may judge of her temper.'</p>

<p>"One great truth must, however, be conceded to the
opponents of the physiognomy of handwriting. General
rules only can be laid down. Yet the vital principle must
be true that the handwriting bears an analogy to the
character of the writer, as all voluntary actions are
characteristic of the individual."</p>

<hr class="min" />

<p>Professor Foli, in his very useful work, "Handwriting as
an Index to Character" (London: C. A. Pearson, Ltd.), says:</p>

<p>"The changes which handwriting undergoes as maturity
is reached prove how directly it is influenced by the nervous
condition of the writer.</p>

<p>"The writing proper to childhood is large, round and
accompanied by a laboured pen movement; whereas that
which is normal as manhood or womanhood is attained is
smaller, and turned off by a more rapid and fluent motion of
the hand.</p>

<p>"Illness, again, affects the writing. As the hand is
charged with more or less of the nerve fluid, so the writing
is stronger or weaker, firmer or feebler, as the case may be.</p>

<p>"This goes to show the important influence which the
nerve current exerts in fashioning the handwriting. Small<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
wonder that our handwriting alters day by day. Yet it does
not alter either. So far as its general appearance is concerned
I grant it <i>seems</i> to do so. But look at the really significant
points of the writing written at different times. Give a
glance at the height at which the '<i>i</i>' is dotted, the way in
which the '<i>t</i>' is barred, the manner in which the letters
are, or are not, connected and finished off. These things will
crop up with unerring uniformity time after time.</p>

<p>"You do, of course, get a studied handwriting now and
then, just as you sometimes meet with a formed facial
expression. But that does not express the true character,
simply because the control over the feelings or the power of
disguising what is felt is a salient point in the character;
and this very fact will serve to show that there is truth in
graphology.</p>

<p>"That the pen, whether it be a fine or a broad pointed
nib, plays a certain part in determining the thickness or
thinness of the strokes, I am willing to allow, but here again
we have no argument against graphology, for most people
have their favourite nib&mdash;just as they prefer one occupation
to another&mdash;and this is the one which will best serve to
define their characteristics. The same with the surface of
the paper upon which they write; some will select a smooth,
others a rough kind, but whatever that may be which is
adopted with comfort, it will be typical of the writer."</p>

<p>The following are some of the more marked signs of the
character they indicate. For a fuller exposition of their
application it would be well to study the work of Foli, before
mentioned, and of Rosa Baughan (Upcott Gill, London, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>),
with the scholarly work of J. Cr&eacute;pieux-Jainin, entitled, "Handwriting
and Expression," translated by J. Holt Schooling.</p>

<hr class="min" />

<p><i>General Characteristic.</i>&mdash;The fineness of an organism will
be revealed by a fine light penstroke. Coarse, low natures
make heavy blurred entangled lines.</p>

<p><i>Activity</i> is denoted by the length of the letters. Where it
is feeble the letters will be widely spaced and rounded.</p>

<p><i>Excitability</i> is shown by sharp strokes and stops. The
more acute and irregular the pen-strokes the greater the
intensity of feeling.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p>

<p><i>Aggression</i>, which is the inclination to attack, the
destructive force, is indicated by the final strokes of letters
and the cross-bars of <i>t</i>'s advancing well forward, the dots of
the <i>i</i>'s placed well forward. In such a word as "time" the
dot would probably be between the <i>m</i> and <i>e</i>. The style is
angular and well and evenly spaced, altogether a forward,
"go-ahead" writing.</p>

<p><i>Economy</i>, or acquisitiveness, is shown by the finishing
strokes being turned backwards, and inwards; by a cramped
hand, a disposition to curtail strokes, particularly the endings
of letters, as if the expenditure of ink was begrudged.</p>

<p><i>Secretiveness</i>, or extra caution, has its sign in the narrow,
tightly-closed form of the body of the letters <i>a</i>, <i>d</i>, <i>g</i>, <i>o</i>, <i>q</i>, the
<i>a</i> and <i>o</i> often being merely a narrow <i>v</i>. The general tendency
of the writing is to compression, the final strokes being very
short. When very marked, the letters dwindle into an
indistinct unformed condition. The substitution of dashes for
punctuation is another symptom.</p>

<p><i>Insincerity.</i>&mdash;Beware of the man or woman whose writing
is a fine, wavy line, upright, with short, stumpy and indistinct
tops and tails, words running at their end to an almost
straight line, the letters merely indicated. The flatter, finer
and more perpendicular this writing, the greater the
insincerity. Such a writer would probably be a polite,
pleasing and plausible person, but double-faced as Janus.</p>

<p><i>Love of praise</i>, glory, ambition are shown by a tendency
to write upwards, the lines of writing trending towards the
right-hand corner of the paper. The signature will usually
have a curved line below it, with a degree of flourish.</p>

<p><i>Self-esteem</i>, to which is allied conceit and ostentation,
shows itself in proportion to the size of the writing, the taller
and more flourished the upstrokes and the longer the downstrokes,
the greater the self-assertiveness. The flourish
beneath the signature will be very pronounced, often an
elaborate spider's web of interlaced lines. The writing is
more or less angular with the finals turned backwards and
inwards.</p>

<p><i>Will power</i> is shown by firm bars to the <i>t</i>, with a tendency
to descend from left to right, bludgeon-like downstrokes to
tailed letters, writing rather angular than rounded, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
final strokes finished by a heavy pressure. Straight, firm,
downward strokes take the place of the tails to <i>y</i>, <i>g</i>, <i>f</i>, <i>q</i>.</p>

<p><i>Sympathy</i>, good nature, kindness of heart are shown by a
flowing open hand, the finals of the letters being extended and
thrown out with an expansive movement. The tailed letters
are long and looped, and often turned up the right side of
the letter. The letters are well apart but not necessarily
unconnected, and the style is curved. As a general rule hard
matter-of-fact natures incline to an angular style; the
artistic and softer nature affects rounded, gracefully curved
strokes, and avoids straight perpendiculars or horizontals.</p>

<p><i>Constructiveness</i>, which implies the ability to combine and
connect words and phrases, is shown by joining the words
together, several being written without lifting the pen from
the paper. The more simple and ingenuous the method of
attaching the words, the greater will be the ability. When
this joining of words is carried to extremes, it may be taken
as a sign of good deductive judgment.</p>

<p><i>Observation</i>, by which is implied the keen, penetrating,
inquiring mind (which in excess becomes curiosity), is marked
by angularity of the strokes and finals; a small, generally
neat, handwriting, with the letters disconnected.</p>

<p><i>Punctuation</i> affords a very valuable clue to character-reading,
for reasons set out in the chapter "How to Study
a Handwriting." They are the most mechanical and
unpremeditated of hand-gestures, and are, therefore, the
more valuable.</p>

<p>When, for example, a dot is thick and heavy, we infer
that the pen has been driven across the paper with a strong,
decided movement of the hand, which would be consistent
with extreme energy and will power; whereas, when the dot
is light and faintly indicated we may be certain that only a
moderate force has been expended upon its production, which
would be compatible with less resistance and endurance in
the character.</p>

<p>Again, a dot whose outlines were blurred would show a
certain sensuousness of character&mdash;strong passions and a want
of restraint over the lower propensities; whereas, a dot whose
edges were sharply defined would tell of refinement and a
loathing against all that was coarse or vulgar.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p>

<p>Careful attention to punctuation indicates neatness, order,
method and love of arrangement; nor is it necessary that the
punctuation should be strictly correct, for the art is but
imperfectly mastered by most people, even the best educated.</p>

<p>Stops that partake of the appearance of a comma indicate
a degree of impetuosity; well rounded stops imply calmness
and tranquility of temperament. When the full stops are
fashioned after the form of a comma and droop towards the
right hand they indicate a tendency to sulkiness. When
they are merely angular we may infer impatience and a
"peppery" disposition.</p>

<p>Flourishes are always indicative of a certain amount of
assertiveness. The simpler the flourish the less artificial this
self-insistence; the more elaborate, the greater the desire to
seem what one is not.</p>

<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p>
<h2>BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HANDWRITING.</h2>

<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Most</span> of the works in this list relate to that aspect of the
study of graphology which is supposed to bear upon the
manifestations of character. But there is not one which the
student of handwriting can afford to ignore, since, apart from
the debatable question of character reading, they all contain
numerous hints and observations of extreme value to the
student whose objective is the acquisition of aptitude in the
more practical art of detecting forgery.</p>

<div class="bk1"><p><b>AUTOGRAPH COLLECTING</b>: A practical manual for Amateurs and Historical
Students. By <span class="smcap">Henry T. Scott</span>, M.D. London: Upcott Gill. Price 5<i>s.</i></p>

<p><b>A GUIDE TO THE COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS, LITERARY
MSS. AND AUTOGRAPH LETTERS, &amp;c.</b> By Rev. <span class="smcap">H. T. Scott</span> and
<span class="smcap">Samuel Davey</span>. (Out of print.) May be seen in British Museum and
many public libraries.</p>

<p><b>THE AUTOGRAPHIC MIRROR</b>: A monthly journal now defunct, but procurable
at second hand.</p>

<p><b>HANDWRITING AND EXPRESSION.</b> Translated and edited by <span class="smcap">John Holt
Schooling</span>, from the third French edition of "L'Escriture et le
Caractere," par <span class="smcap">J. Cr&eacute;pieux-Jainin</span>. Kegan, Paul and Trench.</p>

<p><b>CHARACTER INDICATED BY HANDWRITING.</b> By <span class="smcap">Rosa Baughan</span>. Upcott
Gill. Price 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p>

<p><b>THE PHILOSOPHY OF HANDWRITING.</b> By <span class="smcap">Don Felix de Salamanca</span>.
Macmillan.</p>

<p><b>HOW TO READ CHARACTER IN HANDWRITING.</b> By <span class="smcap">Henry Frith</span>.
Ward Lock. Price 1<i>s.</i></p>

<p><b>HANDWRITING AS AN INDEX TO CHARACTER.</b> By Professor <span class="smcap">Foli</span>.
C. A. Pearson. Price 1<i>s.</i></p>

<p><b>A SYSTEM OF GRAPHOLOGY.</b> By the <span class="smcap">Abb&eacute; Michon</span>. In French; no English
translation. A valuable work.</p>

<p><b>A HISTORY OF HANDWRITING.</b> Same Author.</p>

<p><b>A METHOD OF GRAPHOLOGIC STUDY.</b> Same Author.</p>

<p><b>A MEMOIR UPON THE FAULTY METHODS USED BY EXPERTS IN
HANDWRITING.</b> Same Author.</p>

<p><b>A DICTIONARY OF THE NOTABILITIES OF FRANCE JUDGED FROM THE
HANDWRITING.</b> Same Author.</p>

<p><b>THE HANDWRITING OF THE FRENCH PEOPLE SINCE THE MEROVINGIAN
EPOCH.</b> Same Author.</p>

<p><b>LES MYST&Eacute;RES DE L'&Eacute;CRITURE.</b> Preface by Desbarrolles. Same Author.</p>

<p><b>THE HANDWRITING OF JUNIUS PROFESSIONALLY EXAMINED BY
CHABOT.</b> Edited by the Hon. <span class="smcap">E. Twistleton</span>. John Murray. 1871.</p></div>

<p>This work is the only one hitherto published in England
explaining the methods of the handwriting expert. Mons.
Chabot, for many years the leading English expert, was
commissioned by Mr. Twistleton to examine the handwriting
of "Junius" with a view to deciding the authorship of the
famous letters. The result was an exhaustive volume in
which the process of handwriting analysis is illustrated by
thousands of examples. The conclusion arrived at was that
the writer of the "Junius" letters was Sir Philip Francis.</p>

<hr />

<p class="hd2"><i>Literary and Historical<br />
Autograph Letters and Manuscripts<br />
Purchased.</i></p>

<p class="hd2"><span class="fsm">OPINIONS GIVEN AS TO</span><br />
GENUINENESS OF DOCUMENTS.<br />
<span class="fsxs">ALSO ON</span><br />
SUSPECTED FORGERIES<br />
<span class="fsxs">AND</span><br />
ANONYMOUS LETTERS.</p>

<p class="center"><span class="fsxs">BY</span></p>
<p class="hd3"><span class="fsl">BLACKBURN &amp; CADDELL,</span><br />
19, CHARLWOOD PLACE,<br />
LONDON, S.W.</p>

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