NCJ Number
56862
Journal
FORENSIC SCIENCE Volume: 11 Dated: (1978) Pages: 1-31
Date Published
1978
Length
31 pages
Annotation
TYPEWRITER MAKE AND MODEL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS ARE REVIEWED, AND COMMENTS ON VARIOUS SYSTEMS USED BY POLICE LABORATORIES AND PRIVATE DOCUMENT-EXAMINER OFFICES ARE OFFERED.
Abstract
IDENTIFICATION OF TYPEWRITER MAKES AND MODELS IS A COMPLEX PROBLEM BECAUSE THERE IS A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF TYPEWRITERS, A LARGE INCREASE IN TYPEWRITERS MANUFACTURED EACH YEAR, A LARGE NUMBER OF TRADEMARKS AND MODEL DESIGNATIONS, A LARGE NUMBER OF TYPEFACE STYLES WITH DIFFERING DESIGNATIONS, FOUR OR FIVE SYSTEMS OF TYPEWRITING MECHANISMS, AND STANDARDIZATION OF TYPEFACE DESIGNS AND DIMENSIONS OF CHARACTERS PRODUCED BY DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS. AN ATLAS WAS PUBLISHED IN STUTTGART, GERMANY, IN 1972 AND UPDATED IN 1974 AND 1976, WHICH IS RESTRICTED TO PICA TYPEFACES FROM TYPEWRITERS COMMON IN WEST GERMANY, OF BOTH DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN ORIGIN. THE ATLAS IS THE RESULT OF A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH AND STUDY OF MORE THAN 200,000 TYPEWRITING SPECIMENS OVER A 20-YEAR PERIOD. INCLUDED IN THE ATLAS ARE 63 TYPEWRITING SPECIMEN TABLES, 63 SYSTEM TABLES BELONGING TO THE SPECIMENS AND INDICATING TRADEMARKS AND MODEL DESIGNATIONS, 1 TABLE PRESENTING THE BASIC FORMULA OR CODING REFERENCE, 24 PUNCH CARDS, 1 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF TRADEMARKS AND MODEL DESIGNATIONS, AND 1 TABLE WITH TRADEMARKS OR BRAND NAMES VISIBLE ON MOST TYPEFONTS. TO BE ABLE TO FIND A PARTICULAR TRADEMARK IN THE ATLAS, IT IS NECESSARY TO HAVE A TYPESCRIPT LONG ENOUGH TO PRESENT ALL KEY LETTERS. A SYSTEM FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF TYPEWRITER MAKES USING THE CARD INDEX WAS DEVELOPED BY THE FRENCH NATIONAL POLICE IN 1969. IT CONSISTS OF ABOUT 1,300 CARDS, EACH WITH 2 OR MORE COPIES. THE ENGLISH EDITION OF THE FRENCH SYSTEM GIVES GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE TYPEWRITER IDENTIFICATION PROBLEM, THE PURPOSE OF FILES, METHODS OR SYSTEMS OF CLASSIFICATION, AND A DESCRIPTION OF PRINCIPAL AND SECONDARY CODING REFERENCES. OTHER TYPEWRITER IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS, ONE IN CANADA AND ONE IN THE UNITED STATES, ARE BRIEFLY DESCRIBED. SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE THE IDENTIFICATION OF TYPEWRITER MAKES AND MODELS ARE GIVEN. ILLUSTRATIONS AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)