Detecting Forgery: Forensic Investigation of Documents

by Joe Nickell

Detecting Forgery reveals the complete arsenal of forensic techniques used to detect forged handwriting and alterations in documents and to identify the authorship of disputed writings. Joe Nickell looks at famous cases such as Clifford Irving's "autobiography" of Howard Hughes and the Mormon papers of document dealer Mark Hoffman, as well as cases involving works of art. Detecting Forgery is a fascinating introduction to the growing field of forensic document examination and forgery detection.

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Joe Nickell was an American skeptic and investigator of the paranormal.
Nickell was a senior research fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and wrote regularly for their journal, Skeptical Inquirer. He was also an associate dean of the Center for Inquiry Institute. He was the author or editor of over 30 books.
Among his career highlights, Nickell helped expose the James Maybrick "Jack the Ripper Diary" as a hoax. In 2002, Nickell was one of a number of experts asked by scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. to evaluate the authenticity of the manuscript of Hannah Crafts' The Bondwoman's Narrative (1853–1860), possibly the first novel by an African-American woman. At the request of document dealer and historian Seth Keller, Nickell analyzed documentation in the dispute over the authorship of "The Night Before Christmas", ultimately supporting the Clement Clarke Moore claim.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to the field of forensic document authentication, I wish there were more books like it out there. Nickell gives an excellent sense of the approach taken by authenticators and forgers alike, and brings to light many surprising facts about the field. For a forgery and authentication novice, this book is filled with a number of wonderful insights into just how much work has to go into both tasks - you have to know much about the evolution of handwriting, the aging of inks and paper, not to mention the myriad challenges of actually distributing newly-made forgeries as if you had just discovered them. Highly recommended for the generalist and autodidact.