Customer Reviews

Pen, Ink, & Evidence: A Study of Writing and Writing Materials for the Penman, Collector, and Document Detective

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PEN, INK, & EVIDENCE is a good companion volume to Nickell's DETECTING FORGERY: FORENSIC INVESTIGATION OF DOCUMENTS. Like that work, it is apparently targeted towards the beginner (me) and NOT the practicing professional. For example, when an analysis technique is mentioned (and not all techniques are covered) Nickell tends not to go into elaborate detail on the actual practices. The chapter notes serve as a bibliography and are valuable leaping off points for more indepth research and understanding.

This book is divided into five major sections: (I) Writing Instruments, (II) Ink, (III) Paper, (IV) Writing, and (V) Examining Documents. There are three appendices covering (1) Eighteenth Century Scripts, (2) Chronology of Writing and Writing Materials, and (3) Laboratory Identification of Pens, Inks, & Papers.

Nickell has access to a huge array of relevant materials which are profusely included in black and white photographs throughout the book. The photographs are of fair quality and I assume that higher quality photos would result in higher price (duh).

Overall, I found it interesting, useful, and satisfyingly broad in subject coverage. Nickell's writing style is accessible and clear. The ubiquitous use of anecdotes is essential and entertaining. E.g., "Of course, one approach to duplicating security watermarks -- like those placed in prescription blanks for alchohol during Prohibition ... -- was simply to dupe a legitimate paper company intor producing paper bearing watermarks." -pg 85. I want to know more about alcohol prescriptions during Prohibition!