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I’m currently binge watching Bridgerton (swoon!) and I am thrilled with all the letters flying about! But, what really made me stop and think was when Lady Featherington had her housekeeper, Mrs. Varley, forge a letter. They hold the real and forged letters side-by-side and the two are quite pleased with their work (and, unfortunately, achieve the disastrous results they hope for).  It made me wonder… how hard is it to forge handwriting?
I came upon this new software which answers the question: not hard at all. Researchers at the University College London created some quite incredible software that replicates your handwriting based on a sample and then adjusts the spacing, height, and a lot of other technical writing categories I had never heard (you can watch their video to see how it works). Aside from the freaky potential of forgery, it promises some touching possibilities like allowing “stroke victims, or those who’ve lost the ability to write, to generate meaningful hand-written notes.” Preserving handwriting is a beautiful thing unless, of course, you want to shred a love letter exchange - shame on your Featherington!
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 The Los Angeles Times published the article, “Pioneer of the L.A. look: Paul R. Williams wasn’t just ‘architect to the stars,’ he shaped the city.” It’s quite an amazing story about the impressive life and work of Paul R. Williams. Williams was a largely overlooked Black architect who designed an incredible amount of iconic buildings in Los Angeles, including the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co. building, the Al Jolson memorial shrine, and the Modernist Crescent Wing of the Beverly Hills Hotel.
What makes Williams such an interesting subject for this blog is that the writing on the side of the Beverly Hills Hotel is “a zingy sign crafted from Williams’ own handwriting”! More, more! In other handwriting news today (seems to be a big handwriting news day - who knew?!)... Pittsburgh's channel 2 CBS News hosted handwriting expert Michelle Dresbold who claims you can improve your life by changing your handwriting. Big claims with small changes. Here’s her advice:
 5 Red Flags to watch out for:
The one thing the Dresbold did not address is if changing these five flags will save all your problems?  Boston’s News 7 reported that in the midst of a Rhode Island home renovation project, two workers found a purse filled with love letters in an attic crawl space.
The letters were written by Army-Air Force Pilot Lt. John Jack Bowen in the mid-1940s, during WWII, to his fiancee, Nancy Allen. In one letter, Bowen tenderly writes, “‘I can’t wait to come home and marry you.” Sadly, Jack did not make it home alive. Nancy never married and never stopped wearing her engagement ring until the day she died. Nancy treasured her love letters. What a treasure for us discover them 77 years later. The British Express asked a forensic handwriting expert to examine Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s annual letter signatures. It appears those mere 11 letters reveal quite a bit about their current psychological state. Do tell...
Oh no! Homesick Harry. Clearly, there are no secrets when you sign :( As often happens, I fall down a rabbit hole of research and find myself in the most amazing places. I am currently deep, deep, deep in the 800+ page book of love letters between artist Georgia O'Keeffe and photograher/gallerist Alfred Stieglitz. Holy cow, those two know how to woo!
Fortunately, I knew very little about their relationships. Unfortunately, I've since googled a bit too much and know we're headed for quite a rollercoaster ride. But, either way, their letters are so engaging -the ride is thrilling! Thinking about love letters, I came across the article: "How to Write a Love Letter, According to Experts." At first, I wanted to hate this article. What gall to think you can tell someone how to write a love letter! What a presumption to claim to be a love expert!?! Either you got it or you don't. Right? Well... I read on and actually agreed with all the advice (things like be authentic, focus on specifics and go deep, use your voice, etc.). But the jury is still out if these tips can aid the lovers' search for expression. The Stieglitz/O'Keeffe letters are amazing (and only a portion of the total collection). Beyond being aesthetically stunning (what else would you expect from those two) - including O'Keeffe's right alignment and swirly lines, and Stieglitz's perfectly thick script and unparalleled openness - these two perfected epistolary hotness. They were suggestive but not crude, tantalizing as they built to a crescendo, and both quite specific about what they admired in one another and how each completed the other. O’Keeffe once asked Stieglitz to not “write me those letters that always knock me down.” She goes on to say that Alfred puts “so much of himself into those letters” that she can hardly stand it. They are like “too much light- you shut your eyes and put one hand over them and then feel round with the other hand for something to steady yourself by.” What a treasure that we still have these letters for all to read, enjoy, and be in awe of. I cannot get enough so it's a good thing there are thousands of these odes to comb through! |
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