Re: Forensic handwriting analysis (WAS Re: Signature verification)

A Jones wrote:

Which prompts me to ask out of curiosity - does anyone know of examples
where the services of a trained graphologist/forensic handwriting
expert/handwriting examiner have been successfully used for genealogical
purposes? Or any examples which provide useful warnings against such
services?

An Internet search using some of the above keywords will soon find
various individuals offering their expertise in these areas, albeit mostly
in connection with legal and commercial enquiries (some of them specifically
exclude enquiries from private individuals). On the other hand Wikipedia
(at least at the time of writing) describes graphology as "a
pseudoscientific study".

AJ

I asked a forensic handwriting expert in Sydney to see if he could make out a previous surname which had been savagely obliterated in a birthday book. Despite all sorts of tests, unfortunately he couldn't. Nice man - he refused to charge for his services as there was no result.
--
Anne Chambers
South Australia

anne dot chambers at bigpond dot com
.