Paul Fraser, Chairman.
Over the past 40+ years, we have compiled an extensive reference library of known genuine autograph examples to assist us in authentication.
- Always research the example under ultra-violet light, microscope and magnifying glass. In extreme cases, use chemical testing
- Talk to the seller and find out any known history or provenance that comes with the piece
- Date the item to within the signer’s lifetime
- Ensure that the paper, ink and method are typical of the date
- Check that the style of signature is contemporary to the period stated
- View the size and position of the letters. Most people maintain the same size, position and angle throughout their lives
- Inspect the proportions of the letters. Even where signatures vary in size, it is still normal for all the individual letters to be in proportion
- Examine the idiosyncrasies of the writer and the scope and style of the individual characters
- Consider the flow of the signature or writing. Forgers often keep the pen on the page after the stroke, which creates a dot or blob of ink, where it would be more normal to lift for a lighter finish. Sometimes it is better to look at the document upside down, as it is easier to see a different flow
- Ensure that the flow of the pen is uninterrupted, with varying degrees of heavy and light pressure and thickness of strokes
- Check for abnormal absorption of ink. Also, India ink has a sheen, printing ink does not
- Be wary of a feathery spread of ink – typical of when a signature is not contemporary with the medium
- Check for secretarial or proxy signatures, usually either written slowly and displaying too much attention to detail of individual characters, or too fast with the opposite effect
- Be on alert for Autopen signatures, which normally produce a squiggle, as the machine finds straight lines difficult
- Look out for distinct national characteristics, such as French script
- Check for stamped signatures, which display ink shading around characters where the ink on the pad has transferred to the paper
- Scrutinise for signs of tracing. A traced item is usually shaky or sometimes there are pencil marks or indentations under the ink
- If the content is superb, then it warrants even further scrutiny due to its increased potential value
- Recognise that the signature is of more value if considered to be signed at the height of their career, or most important point in their life
- Forgers ultimately make mistakes with content, dates, the medium used, or the general spirit of the piece
1400s
It was not until the 15th Century that accomplished people started to sign their own name.
View item1750
Different paper existed pre-1750. Wove paper without grid pattern (visible when held up to the light) was post-1750.
1780
Steel pens were introduced. However, 1820 marked a turning point in writing history with the rise of the steel-point pen mass-produced by John Mitchell in Birmingham, England, this new writing instrument quickly eclipsed the quill.
1910
The very first felt-tip marking pen was patented by Lee Newman in 1910.
Until then, people used quills and various homemade instruments to make their mark. Being the first of its kind, the design was a rather primitive one: a cylinder filled with ink that led to a felt tip.
1950s
Autopen machines were introduced.
With an Autopen autopen, the pen is static when it hits the page rather than flowing like in a genuine signature. They often start with a dot and end with another one. Autopens signatures are usually of the same thickness and pressure throughout, and resemble a signature in black marker pen. Uniformity is obviously something very hard to achieve when signing your own name, as you adjust the position of your hand.
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1940s
Biro arrived during WWII to enable pilots to write upside down if necessary and in the air rather than on a surface.
Ladislao José Biro’s world-famous invention, described as “a simple but remarkable invention” by the Wall Street Journal, the ballpoint pen was borne after Biro, the Jewish-Hungarian journalist and artist whose name is now synonyms with his creation, noticed the speed at which newspapers were printed and how quickly the ink dried.