Forensic Anthropology Forensic Chemistry Forensic Document Examination Forensic Entomology Forensic Firearms and Tool Marks Forensic Impression Evidence Forensic Medicine and Pathology Forensic Odontology Forensic Serology and DNA Forensic Trace Evidence Miscellaneous and Crime Scene Forensic Toxicology Computer Forensics Forensic Engineering Forensic Profiling

Forensic Document Examination Time Line

5000 B.C.

Carbon inks used by Egyptians [Ref. 9, p. 124].
1700ca.

The Phoenicians are writing with a 22-letter alphabet [Ref. 3, p. 15].
105 A.D.

Ts'ai Lun, Chinese sword maker, uses mulberry bark, old rags, lime and a sieve to make the first paper [Ref. 4, p. 166].
400

Iron compound inks [Ref. 9, p. 121].
812

First paper money issued as bank drafts by Chinese Government [Ref. 3, p. 69].
1000

First appearance of paper in Europe, a cotton manuscript in England [Ref. 9, p. 121].

1041-48

Pi Sheng invents moveable type [Ref. 3, p. 75].
1107

Chinese invent multicolor printing to reduce counterfeiting of paper money [Ref. 3, p. 75].
1250-59

Goose feather quill for writing [Ref. 3, p. 81].
1282

Earliest known watermark [Ref. 9, p. 121].

1490

First known British paper mill [Ref. 9, p. 121].
1609

France - F. Demelle advocates analysis of speed, letter formation and pen movement [Ref. 10, p. 21].
1710

Jacob Christoph Le Blon invents three-color printing [Ref. 9, p. 175].
1714

Henry Mill first granted patent for the typewriter in England [Ref. 9, p. 134].
1780

First steel pen, Birmingham, England [Ref. 9, p. 128].
1794

Surgeon removes a wad of paper filled with shot from a wounded man and physically matches it to a ballad sheet in suspect's pocket [Ref. 1, p. 53].

1806

Englishman Ralph Wedgewood patented carbon paper [Ref. 11, p. 28].

Joseph Bramah invents printing machine for banknotes [Ref. 3, p. 257].
1819

Quill reservoir pen, "fountain pen" [Ref. 9, p. 128].

1839

Esparto grass papers [Ref. 9, p. 121].

1841

Typewriter ribbon invented by Alexander Bain [Ref. 11, p. 30].
1856

Perkins invents the first aniline dye ink [Ref. 9, p. 125].

1864

Invention of rubber stamp.
1865

Giovanni Caselli, commercial facsimile system connecting Paris with other French cities [Ref. 1, p. 39].
1866

Mechanized wood pulp paper making patented [Ref. 9, p. 121].

1870

Checkwriters first introduced.

1872

Christopher Latham Sholes of Milwaukee, was 52nd man to develop a typewriter. His machine, Type-Writer, was the first practical commercial machine.
1880

Earliest counterfeit money examination.
1885

Vanadium inks [Ref. 9, p. 121].
1888

Ball point pen first patented by John Loud.
1892

Cold tar ink, nigrosine, derived from aniline hydrochlorate [Ref. 9, p. 121].

"Identification of black ink using protocols developed by Robertson and Hoffmann [Ref. 12, p. 402].
1898

Roland Molineux implicated by handwriting evidence in accidental cyanide poisoning of woman.
1900

Albert Patrick murdered William Rice with chloroform and forged checks in Rice's name.
1906

Friedendorff develops table for torn document physical match examinations [Ref. 12, p. 424].
1909

Underwood introduces bicolor red and black typewriter ribbon [Ref. 1, p. 8].
1910

Albert S. Osborne, creates working reference for the examination and identification of handwriting [Ref. 12, p. 420].
1913

U.S. Congress enacted a statute admitting proven handwriting of a person to be used as evidence [Ref. 1, p. 130].
1931

Metzger, Heess and Rall developed a technique to recover latent chloride and sulfate ions in erased or altered ink entries. These latent chemicals cannot be removed and therefore form a permanent record of the entry despite removal of pigment [Ref. 12, p.410].
1936

F.B.I. establishes National Fraudulent Check File [Ref. 9, p.137].

1937

Patent for dot matrix print head using 30 wires [Ref. 11, p.19].
1938

Carlson files patent for xerography process [Ref. 13, p.3].
1940

Ball point pen [Ref. 9, p.128].
1942

American Society of Questioned Document Examiners established.
1945

Reynolds ball point pen mass marketed [Ref. 10, p.109].
1951

Bette Nesmith produced the first correction fluid, 'Mistake Out.' [Ref. 11, p.26].
1961

IBM Selectric Typewriter formally introduced [Ref. 11, p.3].
1965

Paillard, a Swedish company, patented the ink jet printer [Ref. 11, p.20].
1972

Diablo, first print wheel typing unit [Ref. 11, p.11].
1978

Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA) to restore latent handwritten impressions invented by Bob Freeman and Doug Foster

References

[1]. Lane, Brian, The Encyclopedia of Forensic Science, Headline Book Publishing PLC, 1992.
[3]. Hellemans, A. and Bunch, B., The Timetables of Science, Simon & Schuster Inc., 1988.
[4]. Hall, J. C., Inside the Crime Lab, Prentice-Hall Inc., 1974.
[9]. Morland, N., Science in Crime Detection, Robert Hale Ltd., 1958.
[10]. Nichell, J., Detecting Forgery, The University Press of Kentucky, 1996.
[11]. Kelly, J. S., Significant Dates of Modern Typewriting Methods, American Board of Forensic Document Examiners, 1993.
[12]. Söderman, H. and O'Connell, J. J., Modern Criminal Investigation, Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1935.
[13]. Kelly, J. H., Classification and Identification of Modern Office Copiers, American Board of Forensic Document Examiners, 1983.