Dickens Epistolary Legacy and Document Forensic Analysis - Detecting Forgeries

Doris Jones

Charles Dickens created some of the most memorable and entertaining characters in English literature. Yet, most readers of the Dickens canon are unaware that the author also wrote letters rather prolifically to family, friends and business associates. To date, more than 14,000 letters have been authenticated as original Dickens texts. The preservation of this number is quite phenomenal since Dickens destroyed the majority of his letters in 1860 (Craig, 2020). Many of the surviving epistles chronicle the origins of his great works such as A Christmas Carol, Hard Times, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and many more. In a recent interview with expert epistolary analyst, Dr. Leon Litvack, who is also the Principal Editor of The Charles Dickens Letters Project at Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, we talked about the depth of the collection and how the project is constantly on the lookout for forgeries. Litvack shared that depending on the condition and content of a Dickens letter, at auction some can fetch as much as British Pounds Sterling 5-10,000. Litvack adds that the quest for Dickens' historical memorabilia is gaining momentum and has fomented a lucrative enterprise. Such activities may explain, in part, why scholars like Litvack are vigilante in their resolve to hunt down forged epistles posing as authentic correspondence. The British Academy’s Oxford University Press is the official publisher of The Pilgrim Edition of The Letters of Charles Dickens and more than 12 volumes have been released (Storey, et al., 2009). As an interesting footnote, AUC Faculty Librarian, Benjamin Carter and I embarked on a journey of discovery that revealed how each volume of the letters is published upon request. Accordingly, the letters hinge their overarching relevance on authenticity while maintaining the integrity of the Dickens legacy.

In 2022, Litvack discovered two Dickens letters were being offered for auction at Fonsie Mealy’s as Lot Numbers 636 and 637 (Fonsie Mealy’s, 2022). The letters were immediately withdrawn from auction following Litvack’s forensic confirmation that they were forgeries. In an interview with The Guardian, Litvack said “The handwriting is wrong. It’s the signature that is always the giveaway. I have letters from the same period that will confirm that these are forgeries” (Alberge, 2022). So, what does an expert epistolary analyst look for when document authentication is the objective? The study of handwriting is a very important part of forensic science. As a handwriting and documentation practitioner, Harralson (2013) claims that an analysis of handwriting is determined by detecting very subtle features. She adds that: "It is generally accepted that handwriting has a combination of features that are unique and identifiable for each writer. It is believed that not only are no two signatures written exactly alike by one person, but that no other person writes all the same features in the same way as another writer. This principle is also based on the examination of multiple handwriting features as this could not be supported if the examiner relied upon one or two handwritten features. Handwriting is not only unique but its various features are interrelated, creating a complex handwriting formula for each individual writer." (Harralson, 2013, p. 5)

In the case of the forged Dickens letters, uncovering the forger’s presence to expose commercial fraud does require expertise and a thorough understanding of handwriting. In the figure below, Litvack outlines some additional forensic skills that he uses to detect forged letters such as dates of correspondence; punctuation; form of address and signatures:

Figure 1. How the fake was flagged up. Sunday Telegraph 2022.

In today’s hyper-digitized Google and “Deepfakes” culture, demands for and a re-commitment to document authentication are stronger than ever. To detect forgeries, an understanding of forensic document analysis in theory and practice represents an integral framework of Dr. Litvack’s scholarship and for other documentary heritage practitioners. The Dickens case study also argues that document analysis is an interdisciplinary and rhetorical exploration involving Anthropology, History, Politics, Forensic Science, and International Law. As primary documents, the Dickens letters further elicit concerns and questions such as: Where and when were the letters written? Is more corroborating evidence needed to understand the letter’s content? And, perhaps most important, are the letters the authentic correspondence of Dickens? These questions bolster calls for archival instructional practices while taking a more expansive approach to document analysis, information literacy, digital literacy, and lifelong learning to foster a new generation of information seekers and communicators.

References

• Alberge, D. (2022). New Chapter in Saga of Forged Dickens Letter. Sunday Telegraph.
• Craig, L. (2020). Review of the book The Charles Dickens Letters Project ed. by Leon Litvack and Emily Bell. Dickens Quarterly 37(4), 454-457. doi:10.1353/dqt.2020.0046.
• Fonsie Mealey’s. (2022). Lots 636-637. Withdrawn. Dickens (Charles)
• Harralson, H.H. (2013). Key Concepts in Forensic Handwriting Examination. Forgery and Simulation. In H.H. Harralson (Ed.), Developments in Handwriting and Signature Identification in the Digital Age. New York: Routledge.
• Gill, A. (1863, June 14). Charles Dickens – Caricature of the English novelist by Andre Gill. Dickens hurries from London to Paris to read from his novels. Lebrecht Music & Arts.
• Litvack, L. (2022, March 9). Personal Interview.
• Storey, G., et al. (2009). The Letters of Charles Dickens. Volume Seven 1853-1855. The British Academy. The Pilgrim Edition. Oxford University Press.
• Figure 2: Letter from Charles Dickens to Catherine Hogarth, May 1835. Extract from letter: 'The sudden and uncalled-for coldness with which you treated me... both surprised and deeply hurt me.'. LETTERS OF CHARLES DICKENS to his wife Catherine, Hogarth; May 1835 - November 5, 1867, n.d. Autograph. The series comprises 136 letters, of which the first sixty (mostly undated) were written before their marriage on April 2, 1836, and the last four after their separation in 1858. May 1835. Source: Add. 43689 f.2 first page.
• Figure 3: Letter from Charles Dickens to Catherine Hogarth, May 1835. LETTERS OF CHARLES DICKENS to his wife Catherine Hogarth; May 1835 - November 5, 1867, n.d. Autograph. The series comprises 136 letters, of which the first sixty (mostly undated) were written before their marriage on April 2, 1836, and the last four after their separation in 1858. May 1835. Source: Add. 43689 f.3.
• Figure 4: Letter from Charles Dickens to Catherine Hogarth, May 1835. LETTERS OF CHARLES DICKENS to his wife Catherine, Hogarth; May 1835 - November 5, 1867, n.d. Autograph. The series comprises 136 letters, of which the first sixty (mostly undated) were written before their marriage on April 2, 1836, and the last four after their separation in 1858. May 1835. Source: Add. 43689 f.3v last page.
• Figure 5: A last letter of Charles Dickens. England [Rochester, co. Kent]; 1870. [Whole folio] Autograph letter of Charles Dickens to Charles Kent. One of Dickens' last letters, written on the day before he died. Gad's Hill Place, Rochester, June 8, 1870 Originally published/produced in England [Rochester, co. Kent]; 1870. Source: Add. 31022, f.1. Language: English.
• Figure 6: Autograph: Letter from Charles Dickens written to Charles Kent on the day before his death, arranging to meet him the next day. June 8, 1870. Source: British Museum. English novelist: February 7, 1812 – June 9, 1870.