Introduction
On a recent trip to the Princeton University library rare books section I had the opportunity to view a speech written by Abraham Lincoln. The paper used by Lincoln was about twice the size of our normal 8 1/2" X 11" printing paper currently used by consumers, students, and writers. I asked the person in charge of this particular section how he knew that the document was authentic. His answer was that it was real because of the size of the paper. To me, a fine art fraud investigator and researcher, this answer seemed representative of the way fine art in general is looked upon: even those in control of highly valuable works rarely take the time to ascertain whether what they manage is authentic or bogus. This is not so surprising given that 67% of consumers really do not care about the authenticity of what they buy.
Documents supporting authenticity or inauthenticity fall into this chasm of indifference. The recent Killian case is symptomatic of this situation. In this case the allegations grounded in a particular document alleging that President Bush acted unethically went unchallenged systemically. It was only through those document examiners' complaints found on various blog sites that a more rigorous investigation was set up which demonstrated that the documents were complete fakes.
Document Authentication
Authenticating works of art is grounded in the process of scientific analysis, provenance research, and connoisseurship. Provenance research focuses on establishing a document trail indicating that a particular work was from the hand of the artist. Document authentication consists of verifying those aspects of the document which corroborate that it was created when it was supposed to be by whoever was supposed to have created it, or part of the trail of the history of the work. A second aspect of document authentication has to do with the signature on the document. Here handwriting analysis comes to bear on establishing authenticity. The focus of this article will be on document analysis rather than handwriting analysis.
What aspects of a document lend themselves to authenticity determinations? One of the best case studies of what is involved in establishing a document's authenticity / inauthenticity is the Killian episode.
Killian: A Case of a Questionable Document that Went Unquestioned
The Killian Documents issue emerged from a September 8, 2004 TV broadcast by 60 Minutes Wednesday. It involved four documents alleging that then-to-be-President-again George W. Bush failed to complete his service requirements in the Texas Air National Guard (TANG). It was later found that CBS failed to authenticate the documents and that in fact the documents were forgeries. The authentication process consisted of the following steps.
An absence of an exemplar
The first requirement in studying the authenticity of a document is that the document questioned be the original document and not a copy. Killian failed in this respect since the four documents provided were copies of the originals. Lt. Bill Burkett, the supplier of the documents to CBS, claims to have burned the documents after faxing them to CBS.
Typography (Etymology: typos-type, graphos-written) is the art and technique of arranging type. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading (line spacing), adjusting the spaces between groups of letters (tracking) and adjusting the space between pairs of letters (kerning)[Wiki]. Typography allows authentication investigators to ascertain what process produced a given document and the time the document was created by examining fonts, spacing, subscripts, apostrophes, headers, and body/style of print. The red flag in the Killian case was that the typed documents looked more like documents produced by a word processor. But word processors were not used by TANG at the time the documents were supposed to have been created. The fundamental issue was that the documents provided could not have been produced at the time because TANG used typewriters not word processors. A typewriter creates a fixed space in between letters. A word processor or computer, when it creates type, is capable of producing proportional spacing between letters which resembles typesetting. When type is set, the space in between letters varies for different combinations of letters to create a more pleasing effect. This is known as proportional spacing and a typewriter is not capable of producing it. Document experts noted that proportional spacing between the letters was not in agreement with the typewriter fixed width used during the period the document originated. Further, the documents did not match 400 + sample documents provided by TANG. Additionally, superscripts such as the th in 10th, apostrophes, and center headers all failed to match the typewriter technology in use by TANG at the time. The significant point regarding typography in the documents is that the documents supplied were not corroborated by the typical documents used by the organization in font, layout, spacing, subscripts, apostrophes, and header layout. More importantly, investigators noted that no matter how hard they tried to duplicate the documents supplied, with various typewriters used by the organization, it was impossible to reproduce the typography. The only way to do so was to use a technology present now but not available on the dates of the documents.
The Person behind the Documents and His Profile
The author of any document has particular ways of constructing a document. He or she might like to sign a written document rather than rubber stamp a signature. Some organizations may only apply a printed or typed signature without the signer providing a handwritten one. In the Killian situation, document examiners indicated that it was not clear that Killian signed the documents. Killian's secretary Knox noted that she did not type the memos, and his family stated that Killian hand wrote his memos and did not type. Knox went on further to say that the wording used was not typical for the TANG.
The Organization and its rules and regulations regarding writing documents
Organizations have particular ways of constructing documents. Wording, font size, and style, categories used and so on are different as one moves from one organization to another. Organizations also differ in the programs and computers used to generate the writings emanating from their employees. The formatting and programs used provide the telltales of the origination of a particular document. According to the Killian investigators, the dates provided, terminology, abbreviations, and paper sizes were incorrect as per the formal regulations for formatting written correspondence.
Killian and its Conclusion
Based on a failure to provide the exemplar documents, typography and technology contradictions or impossible matches, author writing profile, and organizational formatting rules inconsistent with documents supplied, CBS news examiners after months of upholding the authenticity of the Killian documents relented and agreed that the documents were not authentic.
Tying Killian to Provenance Research
There are several important aspects of the Killian fiasco. One is that it is a reminder that even in large organizations with hundreds of individuals responsible for authenticating documents it seems to be the case that authentication may be on the bottom of the list even for newspapers. Killian is not the first case of failing to document supporting evidence for reports. Second, the investigation of the case provides a paradigm of what factors and processes are involved in document authentication. Third, Killian has wide applicability in provenance research since documents are provided to authenticate a work of art but not much information exists on how one goes about authenticating the documents supporting authenticity. Remember our library manager and the Abraham Lincoln speech. What are the factors and processes involved in Provenance research?
Provenance Research and its Factors, Problems and Processes
Original Documents
In providing a document trail for a fine art purchase the usual factors are original bills of sale, taxes paid on the sale, wills noting that a particular individual received the work, catalogues raisonné, gallery inventory, and any document which has a connection to the authenticity or inauthenticity of the work in question. It is important to have original documents because tests may be performed to establish the date of the paper used and inks applied. Copies may provide a date but not an accurate one linked to the time of creation. Copies may provide a time period when copies were available but cannot provide ink dates. Like the Killian case they are problematic but can still provide evidence of a link to the work.
Signatures
Some catalogues are available which provide signatures of artists to be used as exemplars. It goes without saying that any signature by an artist on a document corroborating the authenticity of the work should match the exemplar signatures. Signatures and graphology analysis will be examined in a later article.
Typography
Font size, letter spacing, subscripts and superscripts, style of font, apostrophes and quotation marks, provide telltales of time, machine used, culture, and technology.
Organization System and Structures of Communication
Business, military, religious and public and private governing bodies maintain processes and structures in written communication taking place in and outside the organization. Who may construct written documents, how they are sent, to whom they are sent, and if anyone else signs off on the written documents are usually found in the employee manuals of an organization. Gallery and auction house documents could be examined to determine if the documents supplied by an organization to prove authenticity were issued via correct procedures and processes or created outside the organization.
The Author's Document Creating Behavior
From the Killian situation we found out how individuals prefer certain behaviors in developing written correspondences. Document construction preferences may include yellow pad only or computer writing programs. Literary Forensics looks at wording, spelling, idiom use, style, and so on as identifiers of culture, time, and individual behavior patterns. The Charles Lindbergh kidnapping in the 1930s is an example, of using recorded documents to identify the author of various documents related to the crime. The document experts were able to establish that the guilty party authored the ransom notes and that the individual was of German descent. The next article will examine various cases of using handwriting analysis to determine authorship.
What to expect in Fine Art Questioned Document Analysis
Assume for a moment that you have just purchased a Picasso crayon drawing for $30,000. The drawing came with a document stating that the work previously belonged to a Joe Black, the marketing manager of a large gallery. The steps involved to ascertain that the document is authentic are as follows:
- Ascertain if the document is a copy or the original.
- If original, test for paper age and age of ink applied.
- If the paper and ink were created after the date of the document, the document is not authentic.
- If the document is a copy, tie the date of issuance with the technology associated with the date.
- Look particularly at the typography to determine if the typography matches the technology available and in use at the alleged time of production in terms of font size, font spacing, style of font, location of subscripts, apostrophes, headers, and formatting.
- Determine and compare organizational system and structures related to the creation of documents.
- Identify predilections of document author/s in terms of style, writing preferences and any idiosyncrasies associated with author/s' writing i.e., the use of a Mont Blanc pen only.
The results of the investigation of the factors in document authentication should confirm one another. If some of the data is contradictory such as mail room clerk signing the Certificate of Authenticity rather than the President of the company, further investigation should take place.
Note here that forensic document analysis may be expensive and that a costs/benefit analysis should be undertaken before any monies are spent.
The focus of document analysis is that a document consists of many parts which should be consistent. Inconsistency may be a sign that further analysis is required. Note further that document analysis conclusions are developed in gradations; authentic, highly probable, limited probability, or inauthentic.
— by Dr. John Daab CFE, CFC | July 27, 2009
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