Directed--Formal, Broken and Nervous Lines--Retouched Lines and
Shades--Tracing Usually Presents a Close Resemblance to the
Genuine--Traced Forgeries Not Exact Duplicates of Their
Originals--The Danger of an Exact Duplication--Forgers Usually
Unable to Exactly Reproduce Tracing--Using Pencil or Carbon-Guided
Lines--Retouching Revealed under the Microscope--Tracing with Pen
and Ink Over a Transparency--Making a Practice and Study of
Signatures--Forgeries and Tracings Made by Skilful Imitators Most
Difficult of Detection--Free-Hand Forgery and Tracing--A Few
Important Matters to Observe in Detecting Forgery by
Tracing--Photographs a Great Aid in Detecting Tracing--How to
Compare Imitated and Traced Writing--Furrows Traced by Pen Nibs--Tracing
Made by an Untrained Hand--Tracing with Pen and Ink Over a
Transparency--Internal Evidence of Forgery by Tracing--Forgeries
Made by Skilful Imitators--How to Determine Evidences of Forgery by
Tracing--Remains of Tracings--Examining Paper in Transmitted
Light--Freely Written Tracings--A Dangerous Method of Forgery.


Forgery by tracing is one of the most common and most dangerous
methods of forgery.

There are two general methods of perpetrating forgeries, one by the
aid of tracing, the other by free-hand writing. These methods differ
widely in details, according to the circumstances of each case.

Tracing can only be employed when a signature or writing is present in
the exact or approximate form of the desired reproduction. It may then
be done by placing the writing to be forged upon a transparency over a
strong light, and then superimposing the paper upon which the forgery