History of Handwriting

Have you ever tried to forge your parents' signature on your progress report or report card? If you have before, or have at least tried, then you know that its not easy. The reason is because every person's style of writing is different. For example, some people put more space in between their letters, some put more pressure on their writing, some slant their letters, and some connect their letters or lift their pencil in between letters.

Important People who contributed to Forensics:

Camillo Baldo (1622): He wrote the first known book on graphology. It was titled, How To Judge the Nature and the Character of a Person from His Letter. He said that all writers write differently and no one has the same handwriting as another.
Gordon Allport (1930): Had 3 assumptions on handwriting: 1. personality is consistent; 2. movement is expressive of personality; and 3. the gestures and other expressive movements of an individual are consistent with one another.

Techniques or Indicators Scientists Use to Identify Handwriting or Forgeries

There are 12 techniques that scientists use to identify and analyze handwriting:

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

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

3. Ratio of height, width, and size of letters: Are the letters consistent in height, width, and size?

4. Lifting pen: Does the author lift his or her pen to stop writing a word and start a new word?

5. Connecting strokes: How are the capital letters connected to lower-case letters?

6. Strokes to begin and end: Where does the letter begin and end on a page?

7. Unusual letter formation: Are there any letters written with unusual slants or angles? Are some letters printed rather than written in cursive?

8. Pen pressure: How much pen pressure is applied on upward and downward strokes?

9. Slant: Do letters slant to the left or right? If slant is pronounced, a protractor may be used to determine the degree.

10. Baseline habits: Does the author write on the line or does the writing go above or below the line?

11. Fancy writing habits: Are there any unusual curls or loops or unique styles?

12. Placement of diacritics: How does the author cross the t’s or dot the i’s?

In-Class Handwriting Forgery Practice

In class we did several activities where we forged each others' handwriting. First we wrote the original sample which was to be forged by others.

Then we had another person freehand draw it.
Then finally someone traced it.
After that activity, we moved onto another. Mr. Kelly had us write our own fake checks with the name, "Joseph John Doe." Then we tore them up to pieces and put them into envelopes. Mr. Kelly then came around and picked them up. He then gave us a different envelope. We had to put the check back together and find out whose check it belonged to using the 12 techniques of handwriting that we had learned earlier.

Citations for Handwriting

http://www.llewellynencyclopedia.com/article/307
http://hubpages.com/hub/6-Common-Concerns-About-Handwriting-Analysis-The-Truth-Revealed
http://www.vletter.com/handwriting.htm