N ODO G ATEWAY

A. Writing Materials

While an expert analyst can detect many instances of forgery, a good simulation can be undetectable. One example of a forgery the experts missed is the case of the "lost" Hitler diaries.

(Although there's a good reason why they missed it.) In the 1980s, a man named Konrad Kujau, a supposed collector of Nazi memorabilia, approached a German publishing company with 60 handwritten journals purported to be written by Adolf Hitler that had, according to Kujau, just been discovered in the wreckage of an airplane that had left Germany

after World War II. The texts seemed to be genuine, and Kujau had an apparently good reputation, so the publishing company paid $2.3 million for the lot.

The diaries were immediately published in installment form in a German newspaper owned by the same publishing company, and syndication rights were sold to several international publications, including The London Times. It was The Times that requested a professional handwriting analysis to ensure authenticity.

Three international experts in forensic handwriting analysis compared the diaries to exemplars that were apparently known to be written by Hitler. All agreed that the diaries were written by the same person who wrote the exemplars. The diaries were for real.

It was an analysis of the ink and paper used to write the diaries that revealed them as fakes. An ultraviolet-ligh t examination revealed that the paper contained an ingredient that wasn't used in paper until 1954. Hitler died in 1945. Further forensic tests on the ink showed it had been applied to the paper within the last 12 months. As it turns out, though, the handwriting analysis was in fact correct – the person who'd written the diaries had also written the exemplars. Kujau, later found out to be an experienced con artist, had also forged the exemplars the police were using as comparison documents.

The Hitler diaries debacle is an extreme case of fraud and expert forgery that spanned every stage of the analysis. And while this level of expertise is seldom found in forgeries, the fact remains that if the investigation had relied on handwriting analysis

alone, the "lost Hitler diaries" would now be part of the history books.

ANACHRONISM

Anachronism is refers to a something wrong in time and in place; the forger has trouble matching

the paper, ink, or writing materials to the exact date it was supposed to have been written

PAPER

These are sheets of interlaced fibers – usually cellulose fivers from plants, but sometimes from cloth rags or other fibrous materials, that is formed by pulping the fibers and causing to felt, or mat, to form a solid surface.

In one case, a document dated 1213 A.H. (A.D.

1790) was found to be written on paper composed entirely of chemically prepared wood cellulose.

Considering that this type of paper was not introduced not until about 60 years later, the document is obviously a fake one.

WATERMARKS

Watermarks is a figure or design incorporated into paper during its manufacture and appearing lighter than the rest of the sheet when viewed in transmitted light. The earliest way of identifying the date of manufacture of the paper is by the WATERMARK – a brand put on the paper by the manufactures.

° How watermark is made?

It is made when the semi-fluid paper pulp (mixture of cotton or other fibers) was being

drained on a grid of laid (warp) and chain (woof) wire. Fine wires forming the desired design were tied on top of the grid and impressed into the pulp. This impression made the paper thinner, and therefore, more transparent, where it appeared.

° Origin

First appeared on papers produced in Italy around 1270, less than 100years after the art of papermaking was introduced to Europe by Muslims from the Middle East. Early in the 19^th century, papermakers began to solder the watermark wires to the grid frame, thus insuring uniformity of impression and aiding in the detection of counterfeiting and forgery. The first British postage stamps of 1840 bore a watermark, but stamps of the United States were not so marked until 1895. When paper began to be machine-made, the watermark wiring was simply transferred to the grid cover of the dandy roll, a turning cylinder that passed over the paper.

° Concept of document`s age detection thru watermarks.

a Sometimes a LIMIT may be placed to the age of the document by means of watermark, the earknown dating from 1282. Unfortunately, not all papers contain watermarks.

b It is impressed into the paper by wire on the roller called “DANDY ROLL” that makes the paper, and these designs are changed from time to time.

c Usually watermarks are requested by their owners / manufacturers with the patient office.

d If present, it is one of the most reliable means of tracing the age of the paper.

However the questioned documents examiner`s finding is limited only to the APPROXIMATE DATE (YEAR) of the paper manufacture.

e In determining the age of the paper by watermarks, it is necessary to ascertain the owner of the watermark in question or its manufacturer.

f In the FBI, this is done by checking the reference file of the laboratory. One the manufacture is determine, then consideration is given to changes in design and defects of individual design.

g In recent years, some large manufacturers have cleverly incorporated inconspicuous changes in their watermark design in order to date their products.

h Obviously, document is fraud if it contains a watermark which was not in existence at the time the document purports to have been executed.

° In cast the watermark did not change, the following is applied:

a Consider any defect in the individual design may furnish a clue as to the age of the paper.

b The dandy roll, through constant usage, will somehow be damaged. This damage is also known as caused by WEAR AND TEAR which becomes progressively more and more as time goes by.

c The damage on the dandy roll will leave some peculiar markings on the watermark of the paper manufactured.

d The investigator, carefully determining the distinct markings caused by the dandy roll`s damaged surface, will coordinate will the paper manufacture regarding when such damage occurred on the dandy roll used.

DISCOLORATION – One way of tracing the age of the papers is through the observance of the changes in its physical characteristic particularly DISCOLORATION. Naturally, they start to discolor at edges from 2 to 3 years. While RUG-SHIP QUALITY papers, they are very old before discoloration starts.