A signature is a fingerprint of the hand. Read carefully, with patience and the right tools, it does not lie. Below is a description of what happens to a signed item from the moment it is received in our office until a certificate is issued.
Every item that arrives at our office passes through the same six stages. There are no shortcuts for well-known signers, no faster lane for high-value pieces.
Within forty-eight hours of arrival, the item is unboxed by two staff members and assigned a submission identifier. Before any handling, it is photographed in its received condition.
Provenance — the chain of ownership — is read before any opinion is formed on the ink itself.
Before the ink is read, the paper and binding themselves must be consistent with the period and circumstance of the alleged signing.
The signature is examined under loupe and, where useful, under low-power microscope. We read not only the shape of the letters but the order in which they were made.
The signature is compared against our binder of known exemplars for the subject — signed documents, published signatures, and items we have previously certified.
The examiner writes the opinion in plain English — what was examined, what was observed, and the conclusion. The opinion is signed by hand, the certificate number is issued, and the record is entered into the registry.
For reading pressure variation, ink behaviour at letter junctions, and the texture of pen lifts.
Reveals indentations, erasures, and the depth of the pen stroke.
Distinguishes inks of different chemistry and ages.
Reveals stroke order at points where letters cross.
Period-organised binders of known signatures for our active subjects.
Every prior opinion we have rendered is searchable.
Open a Touchstone trade account. We respond to applications within two business days.