Every year on January 23, the world celebrates Handwriting Day, which was founded to remind all of us about the uniqueness of handwriting, the need to practice it, the uniqueness of each person’s handwriting.
The Day was initiated by the Association of Manufacturers of Stationery, which announced January 23 as the date of the “handwritten” holiday.
The history of the development of handwriting dates back thousands of years. In ancient times, writing meant “decorating something”. Now we say, for example, such phrases like “paint a picture”, “paint the ceiling”. Therefore, first people learned to draw, and then images began to play the role of writing. In addition, as you know, the picture is designed to please our eyes. Therefore, it is clear that the letter must be beautiful. In the days of our ancestors and parents, there was a calligraphy discipline. Moreover, this handwriting was not easy for schoolchildren, because they wrote with quills’ pens. The students carried inkwells and quills. In addition, what precision the quill required! Tilt it like that, it is written thickly, and if you tilt it differently, you get a thin line. This aerobatics is not available to modern ballpoint pens.
Today, scientists are talking about seven key characteristics of handwriting that can be used to create a portrait of a person. We are talking about the size of the letters, inclination, shape, direction, and the force of pressure on the writing instrument, the nature of writing words, and the overall assessment of handwriting.
Handwriting is an important tool used by experts of the Institute in handwriting and signature research, during which identification and diagnostic tasks are performed. Handwriting forensic examination provides answers to the following questions:
- Is the handwritten text (handwritten notes) in the document (name of the document and its details, column, line) executed by a certain person?
- Are handwritten texts (handwritten entries) made in the document (documents) (name of the document and its details, column, line) by one person?
- Is the signature made on behalf of the person (surname, name, patronymic of the person on whose behalf the signature is indicated) in the document (name of the document and its details, column, line) by the person on whose behalf it is indicated or another person?
- Is the handwritten text in the document executed (title of the document and its details, column, line) under the influence of confusing factors (natural, artificial)?
- Is the signature made on behalf of the person (surname, name, patronymic of the person on whose behalf the signature is indicated) in the document (name of the document and its details, column, line) under the influence of confusing factors (natural, artificial)?
- What gender is the handwritten text made of?
- To which age group does the performer of the handwritten text belong?
On Handwriting Day, there is a tradition to write a letter in your own hand. Remember that a standard text message on your phone can simply be forgotten, lost, ignored. At the same time, a paper document written in unique handwriting unique to you will remain with a loved one as a good memory!
