When dealing with identity theft crimes or crimes dealing with other forgeries, handwriting analysis is highly useful.
Then in 1803, Abba Michon wrote a few more books on graphology, quickly followed by Alfred Binet who became enveloped in his fascination with the “science of the future.”
The Swiss scientist, Max Pulver was next. He was the first the actually uncover and investigate that similartity between personality and handwriting.
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| This is a forgery of a signature ( the top is the origional signature, the bottom is the attempted forgery) |
In 1910, Milton Newman Bunker, a shorthand teacher wanted to know why he put wide spaces between his letters and long finals on his words. He then began to study the graphology and in 1915, Bunker and amazing discovery. He recognized that each of his students formed shorthand strokes in a unique manner. Bunker realized that it was not the letter which showed personality, but the shape of the formations within the letter. He suggested that an O with an open top indicated a person who would speak very openly. He checked and found this to be true. He then found that other letters with the same circle formation such as "a", "d", "g" and "q" had the same effect as the "o."
12 Characteristics of Handwriting
- Line Quality - do the letters flow or are they shaky or does is waver?
- Spacing - is the spacing between words/letters consistent? Crowded or far spaced?
- Ratio of Characters - the ratio between letter height and width: is it consistent?
- Pen Lifts and Separations - do strokes stop at each letter or between words? Do they keep going?
- Connecting Strokes - do the capital letter connect to lowercase letters?
- Completion of Letters - are letters complete or are they only partially written?
- Letter Formation - are there strange extra lines or extra capital letters? Any backwards letters?
- Pressure - is there pressure on the upward stroke or the downward stroke?
- Slant - is there any slant to the letters? Is it consistent?
- Line Habits - where on the line is the writing? Is it consistent?
- Embellishments - are there any extra or fancy curls or lines? If so, what?
- Diacritic Placement - how are letters crossed or dotted? Is is centered, to the left or right, high or low?
Famous Forgery Case
Charles Lindbergh, Jr.
On March of 1932, the 20 month-old son of a famous aviator was kidnapped. Despite the families attempts at bargains, the child was never found. In May later that year, Charles Lindbergh, Jr.'s body was found. How could they find the infant's killer? Through traking of the ransom checks and where they were cashed, they found the perpetrator...Bruno Hauptmann. Upon searching his house and garage, police found $14,000+ of the ransom money, proving his association with the crime. Hauptmann attempted to trick the authorities into thinking the money was his friend's, but graphology proved him wrong. Through analyzing the handwriting from the ransom notes, authorities were able to stick Bruno to the crime. And as if the writing wasn't enough, the wood in Bruno Hauptmann's attic matched perfectly with the hand-made ladder that was used by Hauptmann to climb through the window of Lindbergh's house. In 1936, Haupmann was convicted of the kidnapping and murder of the small infant, Charles Lindbergh, Jr.
