explained and illustrated in this article.

In approaching the subject of detecting forged or fraudulent
handwriting let it be understood as a fundamental principle that there
are hardly two persons whose writing is similar enough to deceive a
careful observer, unless the one is imitating the other. Hands, like
faces, have their peculiar features and expression, and the imitator
must not alone copy the original, but at the same time disguise his
own writing. Even the most skilled forger cannot entirely hide his
individuality and is bound to relapse into his habitual ways of
forming and connecting letters, words, etc. The employment of extreme
care can be detected by signs of hesitancy, the substitution of curves
for angles, etc., which appear very plainly when the writing is
critically examined with a magnifying glass. When a signature has been
forged by means of tracing over the original, the resemblance is often
so exact as to deceive even the supposed author. In these cases the
microscope is generally effective in detecting the forgery, as well as
the methods employed. Perfect identity of two genuine signatures is a
practical impossibility; if, therefore, two signatures superposed and
held against the light completely coincide it is almost certain that
one of them is a forgery.

The methods employed in executing forged handwriting are varied and
depend largely on the individual skill and inclination of the party
attempting it.

The most frequent class of forgeries consists of erasures, which means
the removing of the genuine writing by mechanical or chemical means.
Erasing with knife, rubber, etc., has practically been abandoned by
expert forgers, on account of the almost certain detection which must