Charles Hamilton (handwriting Expert)
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Charles Hamilton, Jr. (December 24, 1913December 11, 1996) was an American paleographer,
handwriting Handwriting in Italian schools (XXth - XXIst century) Handwriting is the personal and unique style of writing with a writing instrument, such as a pen or pencil in the hand. Handwriting includes both block and cursive styles and is separa ...
expert and author of historical works. He invented the term "philography" as another term for his profession. He is the author of a number of books on this topic. He was also an autograph dealer. He died in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
at the age of 82.


Early life and studies

Hamilton was born in Ludington, Michigan and grew up in
Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...
, and then in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. His father was in the lumber business. At the age of twelve he collected his first autograph, which was
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
's. Kipling was well known for refusing requests for autographs, but Hamilton, who had just read '' The Jungle Book'', included a dime for the return postage, and told Kipling that the dime was Hamilton's allowance for carrying out ashes from the furnace. He graduated from Beverly Hills High School, as the
valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...
of his class. He then received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in English literature from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
in Los Angeles. He was a voracious reader of literature and history.


Career and military

In the 1930s he moved to New York City to work in publishing. He enlisted in the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
in 1942, and during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he won a bronze star and six battle stars. In 1945, after his service, he returned to New York City and began seriously dealing in autographs and manuscripts. He was called upon by the New York City police to consult in a number of notable cases, including the hunt for the Zodiac Killer. In a notable case, he called the so-called Hitler Diaries "patent and obvious forgeries". The British historian who was claiming them to be authentic eventually changed his mind and sided with Hamilton; the forger was unmasked and convicted in 1983. He dealt with a great many historic documents. He once owned a note that Queen Isabella wrote regarding the jewels she sold to pay for
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
' discovery of the New World. He owned the first draft of the Bill of Rights, and a letter written by
Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...
but signed with his pseudonym, Thomas Howard. He owned another letter penned by
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
with advice for an unwed mother: "Let her wear a ring and no one need be the wiser". He is also credited with resolving a great number of questions regarding frauds and forgeries.


Methods

In his book, ''In Search of Shakespeare; A Reconnaissance into the Poet’s Life and Handwriting'', Hamilton describes what is needed to be a professional handwriting expert: Knowledge of history and literature; as well as in watermarks, ink and paper; and above all in the handwriting of noted persons in all areas; as well as the ability to read difficult scripts, to accurately judge the authenticity of documents, and to recognize forgeries. According to Hamilton, accuracy is essential because a professional handwriting expert's opinions will often be tested in a court of law. Talent, Hamilton states, may be partly instinct, but it will also be the "result of decades of daily experience in the examination of old handwriting".Hamilton, Charles. ''In Search of Shakespeare; A Reconnaissance into the Poet's Life and Handwriting''. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. (1985)


Shakespeare

He is noted for his work in studying the handwriting and documents regarding
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. In his book, ''In Search of Shakespeare; A Reconnaissance into the Poet’s Life and Handwriting'', he considers that Shakespeare's will was written in the playwright's own handwriting or "
holographic Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interfe ...
". He also considers the handwritten evidence that three pages inserted into the play '' Sir Thomas More'', and the drafts of the applications for the Shakespeare coat-of-arms are also in Shakespeare's handwriting. Hamilton presents charts and examples that compare the handwriting in each document. Hamilton has said that in his Shakespeare studies his essays and ideas all begin with his observations of handwriting. He has drawn some interest, and also has his critics. Gary Taylor has said that Hamilton is a considerable paleographer, but some of his views on Shakespeare are controversial and "too recent to have been subjected to thorough scholarly scrutiny."


Hofmann forgery

In 1983, Hamilton certified as genuine a letter purportedly by
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...
that was forged by
Mark Hofmann Mark William Hofmann (born December 7, 1954) is an American counterfeiting, counterfeiter, forgery, forger, and convicted murderer. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished forgers in history, Hofmann is especially noted for his creation ...
and sold to Gordon B. Hinckley, a member of the First Presidency of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
.


Books

Among his 17 published books are: * ''Collecting Autographs and Manuscripts'' (1962) * ''The Signature of America: A Fresh Look at Famous Handwriting'' (1979) * ''Great Forgers and Famous Fakes'' (1980) * ''American Autographs'' (1983) * * ''The Hitler Diaries: Fakes That Fooled the World'' (1991) * ''In Search of Shakespeare; A Reconnaissance into the Poet’s Life and Handwriting'' (1991) * * ''Leaders & Personalities of the Third Reich, Vol. 2'' (1996), R. James Bender Publishing. *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Charles 1913 births 1996 deaths American palaeographers American philologists University of Southern California alumni 20th-century American philologists