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by Kary Pardy

Acing the Autopen: Helping Collectors Feel More

Confident with Mechanical Writing

ootage from a 1950s 9-second video shows a grey, boxy machine the first president who allowed his autopen usage to be documented in
using mechanical levers to exactly mimic the slopes and angles of a 1968 National Enquirer story entitled, “The Robot That Sits In For
Fa person’s handwriting. Since the invention and popularized use The President.”
of the power autopen in the mid-1900s, it’s been making the lives The “Autopen” name itself comes from the International Autopen
of celebrities and politicians easier while at the same time frustrating Company of Arlington, which manufactured machines by that name.
autograph collectors everywhere. While autopen signatures and written Their Model 50 was heavily used by John F. Kennedy’s team to sign
documents can be tricky, they are not impossible to spot, particularly his name. The use of autopen devices was so prolific within the US
when you’re equipped with the right information. Knowing the government that in 2005, the Justice Department made it official
autopen’s origins and methods will help collectors spot such signatures and issued a ruling that upheld the right of Presidents to sign bills
out in the wild, and the more you know, the closer you’ll be to deciding with autopen devices.
whether you want to collect or avoid this notorious handwriting mimic.
Beyond “Official Duty”
Of course, government officials were not the only ones to benefit
from the autopen’s services. Celebrities, sports stars, executives, and
anyone who needed easy writing duplication found help with an
autopen. While earlier models used a sample piece of handwriting and
a carved matrix for the pen to follow, more recent examples use stored
digital images or magnetic media. The real trick with autopens is that
most were equipped with an “arm” that could hold almost any pen or
writing device. Therefore, the ink or any smudges won’t give this type
of signature away – for that, you have to look deeper and consider the
very nature of the autopen.
These machines were created to duplicate signatures, handwriting,
and even entire letters in large quantities, and each copy will be exactly
the same.

This 2011 photo depicts Bob Olding of Damilic Corp, a leading present-day
manufacturer of signature machines, demonstrating the vintage Autopen Model 80.
The machine uses levers and your favorite pen to duplicate programmed signatures,
and while this can be a lifesaver for public officials, many in the government still use
it sparingly. Though President Bush received a Justice Department Ruling in 2005
to sign a bill via autopen, he opted not to, and went out of his way to sign in person.
Photo: via USA Today and Damilic Corp, Associated Press, 2011

From The Beginning
To begin, the term “autopen” has become the generic catch-all
for machines that duplicate human handwriting, and most specifically,
signatures. The earliest example dates back to an 1803 patent filed by
inventor John Isaac Hawkins, who also is credited with designing the
first upright piano and an early mechanical pencil. Thomas Jefferson
took an interest in Hawkins’ invention, known as the polygraph, and is
purported to have used it frequently.
The public wouldn’t gain access to mechanical writing until 1937
with the invention of the “Robot Pen” or using Robert M. De Shazo, Would you prefer a signature or an inscription? While a signature seems like the
Jr.’s more successful option introduced in 1942. De Shazo’s autopen obvious answer, dealer Paul Fraser writes that inscriptions may be the more valuable
gained traction with the American government – Gerald Ford and choice. They tell a story (and have built-in provenance if you can track them down),
Harry Truman are both rumored to have been users. Lyndon Johnson was and their unique details mean they are less likely to be signed with an autopen.
photo: peopleof.oureverydaylife.com

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