Handwritting

History of Handwriting Analysis

(from where it began and how it improved)

2,000 years ago, people began noticing the different traits in handwriting. Aristotle noticed a correlation between handwriting and different personalities. Only until 1622 an Italian physician and professor of philosophy at the University of Bologna, published a book correlating and analyzing character through the study of handwriting. Later in the 1890’s a Germany philosopher and graphologist, Dr. Ludwig Klages, applied the gestalt theory to graphology. This broadened the scope of graphology by advancing his theories of rhythm and form of level in writing.


List of 12 Handwriting Characteristics

1. Line quality: Do the letters flow or are they written with very intent strokes.



Look over the “line quality” of the paper you are examining. Make line quality observations about your sample.


2. Spacing of words and letters. What is the average space between words and letters?


Make notes over the “spacing” of your evidence paper


3. Ratio of height, width, and size of letters: Are the letters consistent in height, width, and size?
Observe your ratios and record your findings. Measure short and tall letters.


4. Lifting pen: Does the author lift his or her pen to stop writing a word and start a new word?
Observe the “lifting pen” habits and record your findings.


5. Connecting strokes: How are capital letters connected to lower-case letters?
Observe the “connecting strokes” habits and record your findings.


6. Strokes to begin and end: Where does the letter begin and end on a page?
Observe the “strokes” habits and record your findings.


7. Unusual letter formation: Are any letters written with unusual slants or angles? Are some letters printed rather than written in cursive?
Observe your “unusual letter formation” habits and record your findings.


8. Pen pressure: How much pressure is applied on upward and downward strokes?
Observe any “pen pressure” habits and record your findings.


9. Slant: Do letters slant to the left or right? If slant is pronounced, a protractor may be used to determine the degree.
Observe the “slant” habits. Use a protractor to record your findings.


10. Baseline habits: Does the author write on the line or does the writing go above or below the line?
Observe any “baseline” habits and record your findings.


11. Fancy writing habits: Are there any unusual curls or loops or unique styles.
Observe any “fancy writing” habits and record your findings.


12. Placement of diacritics: How does the author cross the t’s or dot the i’s.
Observe any “diacritics” habits and record your findings for the top and bottom samples.


Handwriting Analysis Template.

The identification of handwriting is based on individual features that distinguish one person's writing from that of another. Like fingerprints handwriting shares almost no similarity in their combination of characteristics. There are natural variations in the handwriting of each individual. These variations must be closely and carefully studied by the examiner, in order to distinguish between what is a "variation" and what is a "difference". The examiner also needs to recognize "class characteristics" and "individual characteristics". Class characteristics are among common to a group such as a particular writing system, family grouping, foreign language system, or professional group. Individual characteristics are those which are personal or peculiar letters or letter combinations, which, taken together, would not occur in the writing of another person. Hand writing is closely compared to the handwriting characteristics exhibited by the questioned writing in order to determine authorship. Therefore, the twelve characteristics listed above are useful to determine even the slightest difference in the writing. Distinguished patterns allow the detectives to distinguish them.


Easier Forging Technique
In my opinion, the easiest way to forge someone handwriting and or signature is by tracing. Tracing allows you to basically draw the words and be close to the person’s handwriting. Yet, the most effective way of forging someone’s handwriting is by free handing. The forger does not only get the idea of the person’s writing but can manage to try to imitate their handwriting efficiently. Also, the indentation in the paper that would be left from tracing would be much more evident than the indentation created by free handing.


Check Forgery Activity For the Check Forgery Activity we each wrote a check and ripped it up and placed it in an envelope. We then looked our peers check individually and we analyzed the characters of their handwriting by utilizing the twelve characteristics see the different types of handwriting. Our group was able to identify the different handwriting characteristics, since everyone’s handwriting in the group differed from one another. The most distinguishing characteristic in my analysis were my q, g, and y. I tend to connect these letters to the corresponding letters and leaving a loop. Therefore, my handwriting was easily identified.

Famous Forgery Case

Mark Hofmann and the King James Bible
In 1980, Hofmann said that he had found a seventeenth-century King James Bible with a folded paper gummed inside. The document appeared to be the transcript that Joseph Smith's scribe Mat Harris had presented to Charles Anthon a Columbia classics professor, in 1828. According to the Mormon scripture Joseph Smith- History, the transcript and its unusual "reformed Egyptian” characters were copied by Smith from the Golden Plate from which he translated the Book of Mormon.


Hofmann forged the document to fit Anthon's description of the document, and the "discovery" made Hofmann's reputation. Dean Jessee, an editor of Joseph Smith's papers and the best-known expert on handwriting and old documents in the Historical Department of the LDS Church, concluded that the document was a Joseph Smith holograph. The LDS Church the discovery of the Anthon Transcript was announced in April and purchased from Hofmann for more than $20,000 dollars. Hoffman was also involved in bombings and his home was searched. To the detective’s surprise, they found the engraving plant where the forged plate for the Oath of Freedman had been made. Hoffman pleaded guilty to the murders and the forging.