The 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 c that has taken the place of the e, the battered l that is masquerading as an i. So long as the 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.

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.

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 vice versÂ. 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 minute devoted to the study of handwriting is so much gain in experience, and represents so much more learned, which will never be forgotten.

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 l 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.

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 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—a fact the student can verify—the jury decided against the forger.

At the risk of appearing tautological to a tiresome degree it is necessary to accentuate the fact that the comparison of 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.

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.

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—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—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.

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 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.